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GEORGICJL ESSAYS.

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ESSAY I.

On the beneficial Ejects of a Spirited Agriculture,

x\griculture, in every civilized nation, has
been justly regarded as an object of the first
importance, and, of all the useful arts, the most
deserving of public attention and encourage-
ment. At the same time that it furnishes a
steady supply of all the necefsary means of
subsistence, and comfortable accommodation
to the individual, it contributes, most efsenti-
ally, to the strength, the opulence, and the in-
dependence of the State. It must, therefore,
appear surprising, that in this countr)', so much
distinguished by other improvements, the im-
provement of the soil should have continued
so long the object of general neglect, and
should never, till of late, have received that
public encouragement, to which it has so just
a claim.

Volume IL B

D. H. HILL LIBRARY
tjprth Carolina State College

10 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

Literary merit has been patronised by the
most disiinguished names. Improvements in
the arts and sciences have been encouraged by
pubhc honours- and rewards. Laws and re-
gulations have been estabHshed, and bounties
held out, to give energy and succefs to the
exertions of the merchant and manufacturer.
Much blood and treasure have been spent in
the acquisition of foreign territor}', and foreign
trade ; and the lives of many thousands have
been hazarded and lost, for their extension and
defence. But the cultivation and improve-
ment of our native soil, though an object un-
deniably of the first consequence to the nation,
has been, in a great measure, overlooked, and
suffered to languish under the prefsure of
numberlefs hardships and discouragements.

Public neglect, however, is not the only
misfortune which agriculture hath experienced.
From the indolence and inattention of the
proprietors themselves, it hath suffered still
more severely. Blind to their own private
interest, as well as to the general good of their
country, they continued long to regard hus-
bandn' with an indifferent eve, and have
never, generally, till within these few years,
taken any proper measures to extricate their

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 11

estates from that wretched system of manage-
ment to which, from tune immemorial, they
had been unhappily subjected.

In many instances, and at a period not very
remote, the pride of family distinction, attach-
ing the idea of meannefs to the labours of the
peasant, led gentlemen of fortune to consider
practical farming as beneath their rank, and
as bringing them too much upon a level with
the inferior orders of society. Besides, the \
greater part of our young noblemen and •
gentlemen were trained up in the persuasion,
that the science of agriculture formed no part
of the education, and the knowledge of rural
economy, none of the accomplishments, that
belong to men of rank and fashion. The con-
sequence of this has been an almost total ig-
norance, and a rooted dislike, of the operations
of husbandry among that order of men, who
are most concerned and best able to promote
its improvement. Abstracting themselves en-
tirely from country affairs, they engaged in
other employments deemed more honourable,
or more suitable to their station, or else de-
voted their time to the pleasures and amuse-
ments of gay life, at a distance from their
estates, which they seldom visited, and of

B 2

12 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

which they knew little, except, perhaps, the
amount of the rental. Tlie cultivation of their
lands was, of course, left to the management
of a clafs of men, generally without know-
ledge, without capital, and without enter-
prise ; attached to the customs and fashions of
their fathers, and as unwilling to adopt, as
they were unable to form, any rational plan
of improvement.

^.

It must be admitted, however, that this
charge of neglect does not apply universally.
Upwards of forty or fifty years ago, many
gentlemen both in England and Scotland,
began to study agriculture as a science, and to
regard practical husbandry as an honourable
as well as a profitable employment. By a
course of experiments and observ^ations, and
at no inconsiderable expense, they gradually
introduced an improved system of husbandry
into their estates j by which means, they have
at last brought them to a high state of culti-
vation. In every county or district where
this has taken place, the consequences are
visible and striking. The value of land has
increased amazingly. Tlie tenants are in a
thriving condition, and many of them rising
to atlluence. It must be acknowledged, like--

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 13

wise, to the credit of the farmers, that many
of them have displayed much skill and in-
dustry in the cultivation of their farms ; and
have contributed, in no small degree, to the
improvement of practical husbandry.

The effects, however, of these laudable ex-
ertions have been partial and limited. They
have awakened the public attention ; they
have thrown much light upon this important
subject ; and have done much good in par-
ticular counties and districts. But they have
never been able to diffuse a spirit of industry
and improvement generally through the king-
dom ; nor to establish a system of agriculture
upon principles capable of universal appli-
cation.

When these circumstances are considered,
we cannot wonder that the progrefs of agri-
culture has been so slow, and that, in so few
instances, it hath reached to any degree of
perfection. If I am rightly informed, a com-
paratively small part of the kingdom can boast
of a complete state of cultivation. A very
large proportion, though in a progrefslve state
of improvement, is still, by many degrees^
short of perfection. And vast tracts of land,

B3

14 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

capable of cultivation, still remain in a state of
nature, or under a course of management,
little superior to what existed some centuries
ago.

The period, however, is now arrived, when
the eyes of the nation seem to be opened ;
and a taste and spirit for agricultural improve-
ment, which, for some time, have been ad-
vancing with slow laborious steps, are now
beginning to operate with a vigour and to an
extent hitherto unknown. By the persevering
efforts of a patriotic individual, a Board of
Agriculture has been established, for the
purposes of collecting information respecting
the present state of husbandly through the
nation ; of rousing and spreading a spirit of
industry among the people ; and of devising
and employing the most effectual means of ac-
celerating and bringing to perfection the cul-
tivation of the soil in every part of Great
Britain,

From such an institution, patronized by our
Gracious Sovereign, sanctioned by the autho-
rity of Parliament, and under the management
of the hrst names in the kingdom, we are
warranted to prognosticate the happiest effects.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 15

An increase of produce, both of grain and
of live-stock, which will advance in proportion
to the degree of perfection to which improve-
ments in Agriculture are carried, must be the
immediate and happy consequence. This will
not only secure us from scarcity and famine,
evils ever dreadful to a nation, but will afford
an abundant supply of food for the inhabitants ;
and not infrequently a large surplus for ex-
portation ; besides furnishing in greater quan-
tity, and of an irnproved quality, the raw
materials of many of our most valuable and
profitable manufactures, such as wool, flax,
hides, tallow, &c. As Agriculture advances,
the number of inhabitants will, of course,
multiply : for population always keeps pace
with the cultivation of the soil, Productive
labour, the great source of national wealth,
will increase, without any considerable ad-
dition of unproductive consumers. Hence
will arise an accumulation of the general stock
and revenue of the kingdom, which wdll fur-
nish large resources for supplying the exigen-
ces of the State, in respect both of internal
government, and national defence, — resources
not only plentiful, and at hand, but subject to
none of the difficulties and uncertainties, to

B4

16 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

which those drawn from foreign territory and
foreign trade, are unavoidably exposed.

Besides, Agriculture is peculiarly friendly to
the health and morals of the people. Tlie
exercises, in which it employs them, are ge-
nerally in the open air, and of such a nature as
to render them hardy and robust ; and to pre-
serve them from those diseases, to which men
employed in sedentary occupations, or con-
fined within the noxious atmosphere of large
towns, are usually liable.

And as Agriculture contributes to bodily
health and vigour, so it tends to preserve in-
nocency and simplicity of manners. At the
same time that it promotes population, it
pbliges the people to continue in a divided
and scattered state, thereby preventing that
growth and prevalence of corruption, which an
easy and frequent intercourse is so apt to pro-
duce. And as every day hath its particular
task, which can seldom be anticipated or post-
poned, they have neither leisure nor oppor-:
tunity allowed them for contracting habits of
idlenefs and intemperance. By their situation
and manner of life, tlicy are prevented from
Ipeing often witncfses to scenes of profligacy

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 17

and vice, and thereby kept in a great measure
free from the contagion of bad example ; the
frequency of which proves so destructive of
the morals of the crowded city. Hard and
constant labour serves to keep the pafsions in
check, and affords no time for the contrivance
and execution of deliberate schemes of wick-
ednefs. In short, as idlenefs is the first step
to profligacy, so the habits of industry are
highly favourable to the interest of virtue, as
they keep men out of the way of those tempta-
tions, by which virtuous principles may be
shaken and overthrown.

It deserves consideration, likewise, that
Agriculture, when in a flourishing state, con-
tributes greatly to the prosperity of trade and
manufactures. With what superior advantage
may these be carried on, when, instead of
being obliged to depend upon the precarious
and often expensive supplies of a foreign
market, the numerous trading vefsels that
crowd our ports can be completely victualled,
and at the same time supplied with many
valuable articles of commerce ; and when the
manufacturer can be furnished with a constant
and plentiful supply of provisions from the
produce of our own country.

18 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

Besides, as the people become more wealthy,
a taste for refinement will, of course, spread
and be more generally indulged. Not satis-
fied with bare necefsaries, men will look out
for the elegances and delicacies of life. Hence
the demands upon the manufacturer and the
merchant will increase ; and hence fresh en^
couragement to activity and improvement will
be derived. But the advantage will not be
wholly on the side of trade and manufactures ;
it will return back to the farmer w^ith interest,
and be amply repaid by a ready market, and
a high price for the productions of the field.

The truth is, Agriculture and Manufactures
ought to go hand in hand ; and a wise Go-
vernment, so far as the interference of Govern-
ment may be competent and proper, will
study to direct their several operations, and to
adjust the encouragements that may be necef-
sary for their improvement and succefs, in such
a manner as to render them mutually advan-
tageous, and jointly subservient to the general
welfare.

In short, this great plan for promoting in-
dustry and agricultural improvement, if carried
into full effect, will have*the happiest influence

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 19

on the political sentiments of the people at
large. When they find themselves the objects
of public attention and care ; and when they
see Government chalking out to them a path
by which they may rise to opulence and con-
sideration ; when they experience from their
masters a kind and liberal treatment i and
when they find themselves protected in the
enjoyment of the fruits of their honest in-
dustry, by the operation of laws wisely framed
and impartially executed, they become natu-
rally and warmly attached to their native soil,
repay the friendly attention of their superiors
with honour and esteem ; and look up with
veneration to that system of Government under
which they flourish and are happy, and will
be ready, in the moment of danger, to stand
forth in its defence.

20 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

ESSAY II.

On the Pirn-Tree.

v^F this very useful genus of plants there are
various species, all of which flower in the
months of April and May. Tliere being male
and female flowers on the same plant, the
male flowers are collected in conic bunches,
and the females in close cones, which grow
into the real cones, containing the seed. To
this genus Linnaeus has added the Fir-tree,
the Cedar of Lebanon, and the Larch, their
generic characters being the same as the Pinus.
All the species, except the Larch, are ever-
greens. In the edition of Miller's Gardeners*
Dictionary, published by the ingenious Dr.
^fartyn, Regius Profefsor of Botany in the
University of Cambridge, there will be found
the best directions for propagating all the
different species of Pines, so that in this Efsay
I shall principally confine myself to the histo-
rical account of such as are generally known.

1. The WILD PINE, or SCOTCH FIB.

This is called the Scotch Fir, because it-
grows naturally on the Highlands of Scot-

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 21

]and, where the seeds, falling from their cones,
come up and propagate themselves without
any care. But it is not in Scotland only that
these trees thrive naturally i for they grow
spontaneously in Denmark, Norway, and
Sweden. And though, from the above in-
stances, it would seem that they delighted
principally in these northern parts ; yet when
the plants are properly raised and planted out,
no climate comes amifs to them ; for they will
thrive and grow to be good timber-trees in
almost any part of the temperate globe. The
timber of this tree is what we call Deal,
which is sometimes red, sometimes yellow, but
chiefly white. The Pinaster is a variety of the
Scotch Fir, and is titled Pinaster Latifolius,
julb virescentibus sive pallescentibus. This
tree throws out large arms, and its leaves are
larger and longer, and of a paler green than
those of the Scotch Fir. It is a native of Italy,
though it abounds in the south of France ; and
in Switzerland, where there are great plenty
of these trees, the inhabitants cut them into
shingles for the covering of their houses, which
soon become so compact and close, by the
sun's melting the resinous substance, as to be
proof against all weather. There are two other
varieties ; Pinus maritima altera j ap.d Pinaster

'22 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

tenuifolius, julo purpurascente. — Bauh. Pin.
The white inner rind of this tree, when dried
and ground in a mill, is used by the in-
habitants of some northern countries as a sub-
stitute for flour, which, after undergoing a par-
ticular operation, is converted into bread.

The valuable plantations of Firs now
growing upon Crooksbury Heath, in the
county of Surrey, prove to what a profitable
purpose such kind of land may be applied :
The Heath consists of near 3700 acres 3 the
soil a deep sand, and covered with short
heath. In 1776 twelve acres of this Heath
were planted with Scotch Firs, four years old,
at the distance of four feet. The ground was
no ways prepared, but the holes were simply
dug, and the plants put in. In 1788 the plants
were thinned, being then about the height of
fourteen feet, and produced eight pounds per
acre. The thinnings were sold for hop-poles,
and the brandies were made into bavins for
burning lime. Mr. Giles of Farnham, in the
neighbourhood of this Heath, has for many
years used no other poles than Firs for hops,
and which he has found to answer full as well
£.s Ash or Alder. Those he has at present,
have been nine vears in use, and at this time

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 23

are perfectly sound. He has attended with
much accuracy to their durable quality as
applied to the purpose of hop-poles : and he
finds that Larch is the best, the Weymouth
Pine the next, and the Scotch and Spruce, the
least durable. The second thinnings (1794)
are now taking place, and the trees are con-
verted into scantlings and rafters, being about
forty feet in height. The number of trees at
present standing upon the twelve acres, are
computed at 18,531, and are valued at 5731.

It would appear from the hardy nature of
the Fir, and the readinefs with which it grows
in almost every part of this island, that it is an
indigenous tree ; yet Caesar exprefsly says that
it is not a native. In his description of the
country, he observes that Britain had all the
trees of Gaul, except the Beech and Fir:
Materia cujiisqnc generis, ut in Gallia, prater
Fagum et Abietem. As all the British
words for the Beech are clearly of Roman
derivation, Faighe, Faghe, or Faydh, it is pro-
bable that it was introduced into Britain with
the Roman colonies ; but with regard to the
Fir, the case is otherwise, for many of its
names are purely British ; and this is a testi-
mony not to be overthrown. The ingenious

54 georgical essays.

Mr. Whitaker, in the first volume of his
History of Manchester, p. 309, treats this sub-
ject with great learning and precision. He
says, " Among the many Roman names for
" the Fir in the British language, there are
*' three which are purely and absolutely
" British. The Scotch distinguish the Fir
" by the British appellation of Gius ; the
** Irish, by the British appellation of Giumhus ;
" and the Welch, by the British appellation
" of Fynniduydh. Had the Fir been origin-
" ally introduced into the fields of Britain by
" the Romans, all the British appropriated
'' appellations of it must have been, as some
" of them evidently are, the mere derivatives
" of the Roman Abies, Z-aban, S-ibuydh,
" S-apin, and S-abin. And the existence
" of one British appropriated appellation for
" the Fir is a strong argument in itself that the
" tree was not introduced by the Romans,
**' but that it was originally British.

" Firs actually appear as early as the third
** century in the Unromanized regions of
" Caledonia and Ireland, and appear as the
** acknowledged Aborigines of the country.
" Firs are frequently mentioned in the poems
*>* of the Caledonian Bard, not as plants seen

GEORCICAL ESSAYS. 2d

" by bini on the continent or in the provinces,
" not merely as forming the equivocal imagery
'* oFa similitude, but as actually and anciently
" growing in both. The spear of a warrior,
'"' says an Irishman in Ulster, pointing to
" a neighbouring tree, is l/'kcf that blasted Fir :
" And it is compared by another to the Fir
" of Slimora particularly, a mountain in the
" north of Ireland. And the tomb of a fallen
" warrior, upon the western shore of Caledonia,
" is thus described from the reality by the
" Bard : Dost thou not bdwldy Malvijia, a rock
" with its head of heath ? Three aged Firs
" bend from its face ; green is the narrow plain
" at its feet,

" The Fir is also discovered in our Mancu-
" nian mofses, together with the Birch and
" the Oak, as frequent as the Oak, and much
" more frequent than the Birch, The Fir of
" our mofses is not, as the wild hypothesis of
*" some afsert it to be, a mere mimickry of the
" natural Fir, merely an Oak or a Birch that,
" lying for ages in the unctuous mafs, has
" discharged itself of all its original properties,
" and has adopted all the characteristic pro-
" perties of the Fir. Had this been the case,
"it could not pofsibly be distinguished from
" the Oak or the Birch, and all the trees of

Folu?ne II, C

'26 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

" our mofses must have been equally and
'' absolutely Firs. The Fir is the only tree of
" our mofses that exhibits a resinous quality.
" And the Fir of our mofses is as much
" discriminated to the eye, by the peculiar
" nature of its grain, as the Oak or the Birch.
" Nor is this all : Tlie Fir is perpetually dis-
" covered in such of our mofses particularly
" as were demonstrably prior to the settle-
" ment of the Romans among us. It is dis-
" covered in such mofses as appear to the
" present period actually traversed by the
" roads of the Romans. It is discovered
" immediateiv ad'oinins: to the road, and
" absolutely on both sides of it. Thus is
" the Fir found very frequent in the mofs of
'■' Faiisworth, close to either margin of the
" street, and mingled with Oaks and Birches.
" And as the road demonstrates the mofs to
" have been formed before the settlement of
" the Romans at Manchester, so the trees dis-
" covered in the mofs must have been all
" equally cotemporary with it, and all equally
" with it prior to the settlement of the Romans
'' at Manchester. This argument carries a de-
" cisive authority with it : But we can pro-
'•' secute it fairly up to demonstration : Tlie
" Fir has been discovereed in our mofses, not
" only in such parts as are immediately con-

I

INSERT FOLDOUT HERE

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 27

** tiruous to the Roman roads over them, but
•■' ill such as are actually occupied and covered
" with the line of" the Roman roads, and in
^' the black spongy earth immediately beneath
'' the Roman gravel. It has been very
" recently dug up by myself under the roots
" of the road over Fails worth Mofs. And
" I have now in my own pofsefsion two
" pieces of tried genuine Fir that were
" bedded with the remains of a Birch-tree
" one yard and a half in the mofsy soil, and
" three yards under the crown of the Roman
" gravel.

" These are three arguments which are all
" sufficiently convincing of themselves : Tliese
" are three arguments which, springing from
" as many different sources, all happily unite
" together in one common channel, and form
" tosfether an irresistible tide of evidence.
" And a fact w^iich relates to the remotest
" antiquity, and which is afserted against the
" the highest historical authority, cannot be
" too powerfully demonstrated. The Fir then
" was one of the trees of Britain before the
" arrival of the Romans among us."

The Scotch Fir. Plate 1. a. A male
e-atkin. b. llie gem, or winter lodge (Hiber-

C2

28 GEORGICAL E5SAVS.

naculum). c. The scale, or squama, d. A
cluster of stamina, d. Ditto, magnified, e. A
single stamen, e. Ditto, with its scale c, mag-
nified, f. Tlie future cone. g. A single scale
of the cone, with its two embr}'os. g. Ditto,
magnified, ii. A single embr>^o, magnified.
?. The cone. k. Tlie same opened, to show
how the seeds are lodged. /. The inner side
of a scale, m. Tlie two winged seeds.

2. T/ie WEYMOUTH PINE.

This grows naturally in most parts of
North America, where it is called the AVhite
or Masting Pine, and is one of the tallest
trees of all the species ; often growing a hun-
dred feet high in these countries. Of this tree
the best masts are made, and Dr. Douglafs, in
his " Historical and Political Summary of the
British Settlements in North America," savs,
that upon the banks of the river Merimack,
in the year 1735, there was cut a White Pine
that was seven feet eight inches in diameter
at the butt-end The bark of this tree is very
smooth and delicate, especially when young ;
the leaves are long and slender, five growing
out of each sheath ; the branches are pretty
closely garnished with them, so make a fine

GEORGICAL ESiAVS. 29

appearance ; the cones are long, slender, and
very loose, opening with the first warnilli of
the spring, so that if they are not gathered in
winter, the scales open and let out the seeds.
As' the wood of this tree was generally thought
of great service to the navy, there was a law
made in the ninth year of Queen Ann for the
preservation of the trees, and to encourage
their growth in America ; it is not much
above half a century since these trees began
to be propagated in England in any plenty,
though there were some large trees of this
sort growing in two or three places long be-
fore, particularly at Lord Weymouth's, and
Sir Wyndham Knatchbull's in Kent ; and it
has been chiefly from the seeds of the latter
that the greatest number of these trees now in
England have been raised ; for although there
has annually been some of the seeds brought
from America, yet these have been few in
comparison to the produce of the trees in
Kent ; and many of the trees which have
been raised from the seeds of those, now pro-
duce plenty of good seeds, particularly the
trees in the gardens of his Grace the Duke of
Argyll at Whitton, which annually produce
large quantities of cones. This sort and the
Scotch Pine are the best worth cultivatinjr of

C 3

50 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

all the kinds for the sake of their wood ; the
others may be planted for variety in parks, &c.
where they make' a good appearance in
winter, when other trees are destitute of
leaves.

3. The STONE PINE.

This is a tree of which there should be a
few in all plantations of ever-greens. It will
grow to a considerable height, and arises with
a straight and fair stem, though with a rough
bark. The leaves contribute to the diversify-
ing of the scene, as they differ in colour from
the other sorts, and are arranged in a different
manner. The cones which it bears are large
and turbinated ; they strike the eye by their
bold appearance when hanging on the trees,
and when closely examined, exhibit a beauti-
ful arrangement of scales. They produce a
kernel as sweet to the taste as an almond, with
a slight flavour of the turpentine. This tree
is a native of Italy, where the kernels are
served up in deserts at the table ; they were
formerly kept in the shops, and thought to be
salutary in colds, coughs, and consumptions.
The Stone Pine may be sawed into good
boards, though the timber is generally allowed
riot to be quite so valuable as the other sorts.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 31

The colour is not the same in all trees ; some
exhibiting their timber of a very white colour ;
others again are yellower, and smell stronger
of the turpentine. Martial represents it as
dangerous to stand under this species of Pine,
on account of the maiinitudc ot its cones :

*d

Poma sumus Cybeles ; procul hinc discede, viator,
Ne cadat in niiserum nostra ruina caput.

Lib. xiii. Ep. 2.5.

4. The SWAMP PINE.

This is a very large growing tree, and is
highly proper, as its name imports, to be plant-
ed in moist places. The leaves are long, and
of a delightfiil green colour ; three ifsue out
of each sheath, and adorn the younger branches
in great plenty. Its propagation is the same
as the Weymouth Pine j and the planting out,
and after-management, is exactly similar. It
will grow on upland and dry grounds j but
it chiefly delights in moist places.

5. The CEMBRA PINE.

The Cembra Pine is a fine tree ; the leaves
are very beautiful, being of a lighter green
than most of the Pines, and are produced five
in a sheath. They are long and narrow ; and

C4

3'2 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

as they closely ornament the branches all
round, they render the tree, on that account,
very desirable. The cones also have a good
effect ; for they are larger than those of the
Pinaster, and the squaniie are beautifully ar-
ranged. This tree is a native of the Alps, and
is well described by Mr. Harte, in his ele-
gant Efsa3'S in Husbandry, under the title of
Aphemousli Pine. He considers it as a tree
likely to thrive vv'ith great advantage on our
bleak, barren, rocky, and mountainous lands ;
even near the sea, and in north, or north-east
aspects, where something of this hardy kind is
much wanted. The timber is large and has
many uses, especially within doors, or under
cover. The bark of the trunk is not reddish,
like the bark of the Pine, but of a white cast,
like that of the Fir. The shell which incloses
the kernel is easily cracked, and the kernels
are covered with a brown skin which peels
off. They are about the size of a common
pea, triangular, like buck-wheat, and white as
a blanched almond, of an oily agreeable taste,
but leaving in the mouth that small degree of
asperity which is peculiar to wild fruits, and
not unpleasing. 'llicse kernels sometimes
make a part in a Swifs desert. Wainscotting,
flooring, and other joiner's work, made with

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 3S

tiic planks of the Aphcrnousii, are of a finer
grain, and more beautifully variegated than
deal, and the smell of the wood is more agree-
able. From this tree is extracted a white
odoriferous resin. On this occasion the curious
planter may consult a very scarce book, Dc
Arborilms Coniferis, Bcsinifrris, aliisque Stm-
piterna fronde Virentibus, written about two
hundred years ago, by Pietro Beloni. In the
plantations belonging to Jeremiah Dixon, at
Gledhow, near Leeds, may be seen several of
these Pines. They are there called the Gled-
how Pine. This tree grows higher up the Alps
than any other Pine, and is even found in
elevations where the Larch will not grow,

6. The SILVER FIR.

This is a noble upright tree. The branches
are not very numerous, but the bark is smooth
and delicate. The leaves grow singly on the
branches, and their ends are slightly indented.
Their upper surface is or a fine strong green
colour, and their under has an ornament of
two white lines, running lengthways on each
side of the mid-rib, on account of which
silvery look, this sort is called the Siver Fir.
The cones are large, and grow erect j and
when the warm weather comes on, they

S4 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

soon shed their seeds y which should caution
us to gather the cones at an early season.
This tree is common in the mountainous parts
of Scotland, and in Norway, and affords the
yellow deal. From its yielding pitch, it has
obtained the title of Picea, or Pitch-tree.

7. Th SPFiUCE FIR.

The Spruce Fir is a beautiful tree, as well
as a valuable one for its timber, producing the
white deal. It is a native of Norway and
Denmark, where it grows spontaneously, and
is one of the principal productions of their
woods. It also grows plentifully in the
Highlands of Scotland, where it adorns those
cloud-capped mountains with a constant ver-
dure. The long-coned Cornish Fir is a variety
of this tree, and differs scarcely in any respect ;
except that the leaves and cones are larger.
The varieties of the NorT\-ay Spruce go by the
names of Picea major prima, sive Abies rubra:
Abies alba, sive foemina.

The Spruce Fir, Plate 2. a. A catkin
of male flowers, b. A single stamen, b. Ditto,
magnified, c. The future cone. d. A single,
scale, with its two embr)^os. d. Ditto, mag-
nified. €. The embryo, with its pointal.

INSERT FOLDOUT HERE

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 35

R. Ditto, magnified. /.The cone. ^. A single
scale, with its two winged seeds, h. A seed.

8 The CEDAR of LEBANON.

This tree is generally supposed to be an in^
habitant of Mount Libanus only, but it is now
found upon Mount Taurus, Amanus, &:c.; and,
from its hardy nature, it may be easily na-
turalized to any climate.

In the garden of the old palace at Enfield,
stands a Cedar of Libanus, of considerable
stature. Tlie body, exclusive of the boughs,
contains about 103 cubical feet. This tree
was planted by Dr. Uvedale, who kept a
flourishing boarding-school in this house at
the time of the great plague in 1665. It is
in height about 45 feet at present, eight feet
having been broken off from its top by the
high wind in 1703. Several other Cedars of
considerable size are scattered about in dif-
ferent parts of this kingdom. Of these, one
of the most remarkable was blown down by
the hurricane that happened on the 1st of
January, 1779. It grew on the North-side
of Hendon Place, eight miles from London. —
The height 70 feet ; the diameter of the hori-
zontal extent of the branches, 100; the cir-

36 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

cumference of the trunk, seven feet above the
ground, 16 ; twelve feet above the ground, 21 .
At this latter height it began to branch ; and
its Hmbs, about ten in number, were from six
to twelve feet in circumference. This tree is
supposed to have been two hundred years old,
and planted in the reign of Queen Elizabeth :
Tradition says by her Majesty herself. When
blown down, it was perfectly sound and un-
decayed, and seemed as if not grown to ma-
turity. The following are the dimensions of
a fine Cedar growing at Hillington. The
perpendicular height is 53 feet j the diameter
of the horizontal extent of the branches from
East to West, 96 ; from North to South, 89 ;
the circumference of the trunk, close to the
ground, 13i; seven feet above the ground.^
12i; twelve feet above the ground, 14 feet
8 inches ; and thirteen feet and a half above
the ground, just under the branches, 15 feet 8
inches. It has two principal branches, one of
which is bifid If foot above its origin : Before
it divides, it measures in circumference 12 feet :
after its division, one of its forks measures 8^,
feet, the other 7 feet 10 inches. The other
primary branch, at its origin, measures 10
feet: and soon dividing, throws out two
secondary ones, each 5^. Its age is supposed
to be 116 years.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 37

We do not exactly know when and by
whom the Cedar was first introduced to Eng-
land. Turner, one of our earliest herbalists,
where he treats " of the Pyne-tree, and other
of that Kynde," says nothing of it. Gerarde,
published by Johnson in 1636, mentions it not
as growing here ; and Parkinson, in his
Thcatrum Botanicum, 1640, speaking of the
Cedrus Magna conifera Libani, says " The
branches, some say, all grow upright, but
others, strait out." It is very certain, from,
what Mr. Evelyn says, that the Cedar .of
Lebanon was not in 1664, cultivated in Eng-
land; but from the warm manner that he
exprefses himself upon this head, it is probable
that it soon after became an object of the
planter's attention.

There are said to be a few Cedar-trees still
remaining upon Mount Libanus, which arc
preserved with a religious strictnefs : For we
are ijiformed, from the Memoirs of the Mifsion-
aries in the Levant, that, upon the day of the
Transfiguration, the Patriarch of the Maronites,
(Christians inhabiting Mount Libanus,) at-
tended by a number of bishops, priests, and
monks, and followed by five or six thousand
ot the religious from all parts, repairs to these

38 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

Cedars, and there celebrates that festival which
is called " The feast of Cedars." — We are
also told that the Patriarch officiates pontifically
on this solemn occasion ; that his followers arc
particularly mindful of the Blefsed Virgin on
this day, because the scripture compares her
to the Cedars of Lebanon ; and that the same
holy Father threatens with ecclesiastical cen-
sure those who presume to hurt or diminish
the Cedars still remaining.

Tlie epithet of lofiij;, sometimes given to the
Cedar, is by no means just ; since from the ex-
perience we have of these trees growing in
England, as also from the testimony of travellers
who have visited the few remaining ones on
Mount Libanus, they are not inclined to be
lofty, but, on the contrary, extend their
branches very wide. The Psalmist makes a
proper allusion to this tree in his description
of the flourishing state of a people, " They
shall spread abroad like a Cedar in Libanus."
Had Milton been as good a naturalist as he
was a poet, he would not have wrote,

-' and over head upgrew

Insuperable height of loftiest shade,

Cedar, and Pine, and Fir, and branching Palm.

PARADISE 1.0ST, B. JV.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 59

The only relic of Dr. James Shcrards fa-
mous botanic garden at Elsham, is a Cedar of
Lebanon, which girts nine feet, at three feet
from the ground.

9. The BALM OF GILEAD FIR.

This beautiful tree is a native of North
America. It rises with an upriglit stem, and its
branches are garnisned with solitary, flat, ob-
tuse leaves, slightly emarginated at top, of a dark
green colour on their upper surface, and marked
with whitish lines underneath. The cones
are roundish and small, llie buds and leaves
are remarkably fragrant, hence its name.
From wounds made in this tree is obtained
a very fine turpentine, which is sometimes
sold in the shops for ihe true Balm of Gilead.
It delights in a rich deep soil.

10. The LARCH-TREE.

This tree is a native of the Alps and
Apennine mountains. It is of quick growth,
and will rise to the height of one hundred
feet ; the branches arc slender, and their ends
generally hang downward. These are gar-
nished with long, narrow leaves, which arise
in clusters from one point, and. spread open

40 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

above like the hairs of a painter's brush ; they
are of a light green, and fall in autumn, like
other deciduous trees. In the month of April
the male flowers appear, which are disposed
in form of small cones; the female flowxrs are
collected into oval obtuse cones; these in
some kinds have bright purple tops, and in
others they are w^hite. These differences,
however, are accidental, as the seeds taken
from either of the varieties will produce plants
of both sorts. The cones are about one inch
long, and obtuse at their points ; the scales lie
over each other, and are smooth ; under each
scale two winged seeds are generally lodged.
It is remarked that those trees which have
been planted in the worst soils, and most ex-
posed situations, have thriven the best, w^hich
is a great encouragement. At Ruftord, the
seat of the late Sir George Savile, there are
large plantations of Larch upon a blow^ing
sand, in which situation they far outstrip every
other kind of tree. Some trees cannot bear
too great a luxuriancy, and the Larch, in
particular, is apt to grow top-heavy from
much shelter and nourishment : They should
therefore be planted' in clumps, and not as
single trees; neither should the plants be
taken from ver)^ warm nurseries, if intended

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 41

to be placed out upon exposed situations, but
rather raised as near the spot as pofsible,
taking care that the soil be good. When
they are intended to grow large, they should
not exceed three or four years when planted ;
for though trees of a greater size will remove
very well, yet experience has shown us that
the youngest trees, with good roots, bear
change of situation the best. The Larch is
a tree not sufficiently known in this kingdom ,
but there is great reason to apprehend that it
will soon prove a very important acquisition
to the planter. In Switzerland they cover the
roofs of their houses with shingles made of
Larch. These are generally cut about one
foot square, and half an inch in thicknefs,
which they nail to the rafters. At first the
roof appears white, but in two or three years
it becomes as black as coal, and all the joints
are stopped by the resin which the sun extracts
from the pores of the wood. This shining
varnish renders the roof impenetrable to wind
or rain. It makes a cheap covering, and, as
some say, an incombustible one ; but that is
rather doubtful. From this tree is extracted what
we erroneously call Venice Turpentine. This
substance, or natural balsam, flows at first
without incision ; when it has done dropping.
Volume IL D

42 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

the poor people, who wait on the Fir-woods,
make incisions, at about two or three feet
from the ground, into the trunk of the trees,
and into these they fix narrow troughs, about
twenty inches long. The end of these troughs
is hollowed like a ladle ; and in the middle is
a small hole bored, for the turpentine to run
into a receiver, which is placed below it. As
the balsam runs from the trees, it pafses along
the sloping gutter, or trough, to the ladle, and
from thence runs through the hole into the
receiver. The people who gather it visit the
trees morning and evening, from the end of
May to September, to collect the turpentine
out of the receivers. When it flows out of the
tree, the turpentine is clear, and of a yellowish
white ; but, as it grows older, it thickens, and
becomes of a citron colour. It is procured in
the greatest abundance in the neighbourhood
of Lyons, and in the valley of St. xMartin, near
Lucern, in Switzerland. At an early age,,
this tree makes posts and rails, more durable
than Oak, and when used as piles, it does not
seem to suffer any decay after a long period of
years.

The scales of the Larch cones are so closely
glewed together, that it is with the greatest

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 43

difficulty we can separate them without
bruising the seeds, which renders them unfit
for vegetation. It is on this account that
little good seed can be procured from the
wholesale dealers. Mr. Speechly, gardener to
his Grace the Duke of Portland, has commu-
nicated to me the following method of raising
Seedling Larches, which at once obviates all
the difficulties complained of, and secures to
the planter a certain crop at a moderate
expense.

" Let the cones be collected in the month
of November, or beginning of December, and
when gathered, lay them in heaps about six
inches thick, in a shady, but exposed situa-
tion, taking care that the heaps be not too
large, which would occasion mouldinefs. In
this manner let them be exposed to the weather
till the beginning of May, which is the pro-
perest season for laying them upon the beds,
as there is not power in the sun before that
time to cause the cones to expand sufficiently.
Then let beds of four feet ip breadth be pre-
pared on ground newly dug ; a rich, light,
and sandy soil, is the most proper. The
mould should be raked from the middle to the
sides of the beds, so as to form a kind of ridge

D2

44 gEorgical essays.

on each side, to prevent the cones, or therf
seed, from falling into the alleys, which should
be two feet in breadth for the convenience of
the weeders. The beds being thus tinished,
the cones should be so disposed, that every"
part of the surface shall be covered -, and if a
few cones are dispersed upon the others, the
seeds will be shed with greater certainty. If
the weather comes warm and dry, the cones
will soon expand, so that it will be proper to
examine the beds frequently, to see when a
sufficient quantity of seed is shed. The cones
may then be removed to a second bed, pre-
pared in the same manner as the former ; but
before they are taken off, it will be proper to
give them a shake in a coarse sieve, v^^hich
will occasion a considerable quantity of seed
to fall from them, especially if this operation
be performed in the middle of the day, for
the morning and evening dews contract the
cones, and prevent their parting with the
seed. As soon as the cones are removed from
the beds, let the seed be covered with a little
fine mould, which should be sifted about a
quarter of an inch thick over every part.
Should the weather become hot and dry, a
few gentle waterings will greatly promote the
growth of the young plants. After this.

OEORGICAL ESSAYS, 45

inothing more will be required but keeping
the beds clear of weeds. Tlie cones may be
removed from the second to a third bed, and
great succefs has even been had upon a fourth
bed. No time can be fixed for the laying of
the cones upon the beds ; it depends entirely
upon the drynefs and warmth of the weather.'*

And here it will be necefsary to remark,
that a plentiful stock of seed is absolutely ne-
cefsary, in order to obtain a full crop of plants ;
for when these stand thin on the ground, they
are very liable to be thrown out by the frost
in the first winter. A full crop should rise
like a brush j the roots will then be matted
together, forming a tough bed that will resist
the severest winter. Plants raised in the
manner here recommended, rise with greater
vigour than those sown in the common way 5
from which it appears that the seed of the
Larch, and probably of all the Pine tribe,
decreases in its vegetative power, after it has
})een taken from the cones.

1 1 . The CAN AD J SPRUCE FIR.
This is a native of North America. It
grows on the mountains and higher lands, and
firrives at a considerable size, llie varieties

D3

46 GEORGTCAL ESSAYS.

are: The White Canada Spruce, the Red
Canada Spruce, and the Black Canada Spruce.
These only differ in the colour of their cones,
which are small.

The best season for sowing the seeds of
Pines, is about the end oi March ; and when
the seeds are sown, the beds should be covered
with nets, otherwise when the plants begin to
appear, with the husk of the seed on their
heads, tlie birds will pick them off and destroy
them.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 47

ESSAY III.

Vn the Action of Lime and Marl as Manures ; and
making of artificial Marl for the Purposes of Agri-
culture.

X HE principles on which different ma-
nures produce advantages, in the soils to
which they are applied, seem to claim a more
particular investigation than the subject has
hitherto received. A very ingenious writer *
has indeed made great advances in these in-
teresting researches; yet it is apprehended
much still remains undone, and the inquiry is
truly worthy of all the elucidation which can
pofsibly be procured.

Manures have been supposed to act, either
by adding nourishment to the soil ; by pre-
paring the nourishment, which it already con-
tains, for the digestion of the plants j by en-
larging the vegetable pasture of the soil ; or
by attracting the food of plants in greater
plenty from the air.

* Home's Principles of AgricuUure and Vegetation;
a work well deserving the attention of everj' pliilosophi-
cal farmer.

D4

48 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

Under the second of these heads are placed
those manures, which, as they are not supposed
themselves to afford nutriment, are suspected
of exhausting the soil, by too hastily reducing
the putreseible matter into mucilage ; and
thus, though greater crops be at first produced,
leaving the land in a weaker state than it was
in before the reception of the aid afforded by
these transient auxiliaries.

Lime is, in general, clafsed among these
forcing manures, perhaps with some degree of
injustice. It is probable that lime may afford
food to plants, by the salts it may form in
conjunction with the acids with which it may
meet. Its effects will doubtlefs be more or
lefs durable, in proportion to the nature of the
land on which it is laid *. On stiff clays, the
effects of forcing manures will be much more
permanent, than on light sandy soils. Some-
thing may likewise depend on the state in
which lime is used.

Lime is calcareous earth deprived of its

*For a particular account of the efifecl of lime on

different soils, see Mr. Young's Tour through the East

of England, Vol. IV. p. 394-, &c. See also Home's
Principles of Agriculture, p. 58.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 49

fixed air * and water, but which has acquired
in its calcination a considerable proportion of
fire, as is apparent from the great heat, and
even ignition attending the slaking of lime
with water, and its solution in acids f .

How far this last principle may be advanta-
geous to lime as a manure, is well deserving
the inquiry of the practical farmer ; whether,
when applied to dry, light soils, it may not be
prejudicial, by increasing the property of cal-
careous earth to attract to itself and retain the
moisture of the soil, and by even evaporating
too much of its water, till the extinction be
completed. The evaporation of water, in the
slaking of lime, is surprisingly great ; besides
which, the lime obstinately retains a consider-
able portion, viz. one-fourth, or one-fifth of its

* Fixed air enters into the composition of many bodies
in which it remains in an unelastic state. It is the va-
pour which escapes from fermenting substances, and is
let loose from alkalme salts, or calcareous earth, by the
addition of acids, occasioning that brisk motion in them
which is called effervescence. It may also be discharged
from these bodies by the action of lire.

fVide Opuscules Physiques et Chymiques, par M.
Lavoisier, Tome premier, p. 2U ; or Henry's Translation
of the same book, p. 252.

50 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

weight, of the water employed in the procefs,
though dried in a considerable degree of heat.
It may, perhaps, also prove injurious, by too
quickly rendering the oily parts of the soil
miscible with water, and thereby expending
them too fast.

On the other hand, the fiery particles con-
tained in quick-lime may be of singular ser-
vice in cold wet land, by promoting the difsi-
pation of part of the water, by afterwards ab-
sorbing and condensing other parts of it, and
by more forcibly decompounding the aluminous
and metallic salts which are often contained
In such grounds. It may also be useful in
destroying rushes and other weeds, and by-
burning the smaller fibres of the grafs or corn
roots, may make the plants more strong and
healthy.

It may admit of some doubt, however, whe-
ther calcareous earth, in its reduction to the
state of quick-lime, be not deprived of another
principle which may have great use in vegeta-
tion. Some manures, as has been before ob-
seri/ed, improve land by enlarging the ve-
getable pasture, viz. by breaking down and
attenuating the soil, and thus giving room for

CEOR<5lCAL ESSAYS. 51

the roots to spread out in search of nourish-
ment, and for the nutritious juices to percolate
more freely. Tliis property in manures de-
pends , on their disposition to ferment ; and
hence it is that dung should always be laid on
the land before the procefs of putrefaction
has proceeded too far. This is contrary to
the practice of that excellent farmer, Mr.
Bakewell, and I should therefore have been
very diffident in embracing an opinion op-
posite to his, if I had not found it supported
by many writers on agriculture j Mr. Young
in particular blames Mr. BakevveU's manner,
in suffering his dung to lose all its moisture,
and the body of it to become powder like
snuff, before he applies it. Though he
acknowledges it to be very strong, yet the
diminution in quantity, says he, will make it
nearly resemble a rich top-drefsing of soot,
which has a moderate effect for only one
crop *. But is there no reason to suspect that
the whole advantage arising from fermentation
in manures, is not due to the mere mechanical
effect produced by the intestine motion, in
destroying the cohesion of the earthy particles ?
Is there not something discharged during this

* Farmer's Tour through the East of England, Vol. IV.
p. 44-9.

53 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

procefs which may be absorbed by the roots
of the plants, and afford them nutriment and
support ? It is well known that both in the
vinous and putrefactive fermentation, much
fixed air is disengaged, and it is certain also
that this kind of air is contained in considerable
quantity in most vegetables^

But the subsequent facts seem to place the
doctrine which has been here advanced on a
more firm foundation than that of conjecture.
Dr. Percival made a number of very interesting
and entertaining experiments, the last spring,
on the influence of fixed air on vegetation;
and his trials seem to evince that it affords
actual nourishment to plants, and continues
life in them, a considerable length of time,
without any other support. The following
experiment he has selected, at my desire, from
many others which furnish a similar coi>t
elusion. -

" Tuesday, April 18th, 1775; A sprig of
" mint was suspended, with the root upwards,
" in a vefsel of fixed air *. Tlie succeeding

*As Ihis experiment was made in Dr. Kooth's
machine, there must necefsarily have been a quantity of
common air mi\ed wiLli the fixed air. Plants confined In
vefsels of pure fixed air, die.

CEORGICAL ESSAYS. 53

" day It was as fresh and verdant as when first
" gathered. Another sprig, collected at the
*' same time, and from the same bed, which
" lay upon my table, was quite withered.
*' Fridky, the fourth day, a curve Was formed
*' in the middle of the stalk, and the top of
** the sprig had risen about an inch perpen-
" dicularly towards the mouth of the vefsel.
" Saturday, the mint continued to grow and
" to ascend, looked vigorous and fresh : The
" root which was very small appeared quite
" dry so that the nourishment, probably, was
" imbibed by the leaves. Tuesday, havino-
" been absent two days, the plant was not
" supplied with fresh streams of air : It was
" still in vigorous vegetation. Friday, the
*' eleventh day of the experiment, the plant w^as
" taken out. It was perfectly fresh, but whilst
" it lay on my study table the leaves grew soft
" and flaccid, and in lefs than six hours it seemed
" to be withered. The mercury in Fahrenheit's
" thermometer, during the course of this ex-
" periment, stood from 60 to 69 degrees in
" the shade and open air, at two o'clock in
" the afternoon."

It also appears from Dr. Hales's experi-
ments, that air enters in considerable quantity

54 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

into plants, not only with the principal fund
of nourishment by the roots, but also through
the trunks and leaves, and is likewise mixed
with the earth both in an elastic and un-
elastic state.

The analogy between animal and vegetable
nutrition likewise tends to confirm this theory.
A great quantity of this elastic fluid is dis-
engaged from the aliment in the stomach and
bowels, during the progrefs of digestion, and
though, when from a weaknefs of these organs,
it is accumulated in too great quantity, it may
degenerate into disease, yet there is but little
doubt of its great utihty in the animal eco-
nomy, in giving tone and vigour to the fibres,
and checking the tendency to putrefaction
inherent in all animn.1 bodies : nav, it has even
been supposed, by some philosophers, to be
the bond of union, the cement by which the
elementary particles of bodies are combined.

Now calcareous earth or lime-stone, before
calcination, or when it has been exposed to
the open air for several months after that
operation, contains this fixed air and water
to the amount nearly of one half of its

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 55

weight * : When laid on land, in this state, it
gradually attracts the acid contained in the
earth as well as that of the air ; in uniting
with it an efFervescence is produced, which
will be in proportion to the quantity and
strength of the acid cither sudden and violent,
or moderate and long continued. The latter
will generally be the case, and is more de-
sirable, as, by the gentle but constant agitation,
the earth will be kept continually loose, and
from the slow detachment of the fixed air,
the roots of the plants will more effectually
absorb it, without an uselefs expense of it
being suffered f.

Marl is generally allowed to be, when pro-
perly applied, a very lasting improvement.

* It appears from the ingenious Mr. Lavoisier's ex-
periments, that one hundred pounds weighs of chalk
contains about thirty-one pounds fifteen ounces of fixed
air, fifteen pounds seven ounces of water, and fifty-two
pounds ten ounces of alkaline earth. O/iuscules Physiques
et Chjmiquesy fiar M. Lavoisier., Tome Jiranier^ Ji. 213.—
Henry's Translation, p. 251.

f On this account, when applied to corn land, this
manure should not lie too long exposed to the air before
it be ploughed in.

56 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

Mr. Young mentions instances of its continu-
ance for forty and fifty, and, of one species,
even for an hundred years. The nature of
this manure is clearly ascertained by the in-
genious Dr. Ainslie, in the sixteenth Efsay of
the first Volume of these Efsay s. By his ex-
periments we are not only made acquainted
with the component parts of marl, but the
farmer is also taught to determine the different
proportions of these parts in different marls ;
a knowledge of great importance, as he will
hereby be enabled to judge with precision of
the quantity to be applied, according to the
contents of the marl, and the nature of the
land intended to be improved.

We learn from these experiments that marl
consists of calcareous earth, clay, and sand,
mixed in various proportions in different par-
cels of that manure. The first of these sub-
stances is involved, as it were, in coatings of
the clay. Alay not this covering, by de-
fending it from the sudden action of the acids
contained in the ground, and preventing the
too rapid effects of the calcareous earth itself
on the putrescent and oily matter of the soil,
account for the greater permanency of this
compound than of calcareous earth aloDkC,

georgical essays. 57

either in a caustic or mild state ? For though
it appears from Dr. Ainslie's experiments,
contrary to the impudent afsertions of an ad-
vertising quack in agriculture, that marl does,
not form any salt with the acid of the air,
even from long exposure to the atmosphere,
yet it is probable that when powdered and
mixed with the soil, it will not only unite with
the acid which it may find there, but also at-
tract it from the circumambient air.

But a more important benefit arising from
Dr. Ainslie's analysis, has perhaps been hitherto
overlooked ; I mean the artificial composition
of marl for the purposes of agriculture ; and
I trust that the scarcity of this substance in
some countries will be a suf^cient apology for
my soliciting the attention of the public to the
subject. Mr. Young relates, " that the far-
" mers in Fleg-hundred, bring it from Norwich
" to Yarmouth by water, and then from four
" to eight miles by land, at the expense of
" seven shillings and four-pence per cart load ;
" and that in the neighbourhood of Colchester
•' they give, after it has been brought from
" Kent by shipping, from 7s. to 9s. a load
" for it, and carry it even ten miles*."

* Young's Farmer's Tour through the East of England.
Vol. IV. p. 4.03.

Volume If. E

58 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

Artificial composts, of ditferent kinds, have
long been used in agriculture, but no attempt
has been made to introduce the use of artificial
marl. Though the ingenious experimentalist
above-mentioned, has demonstrated of what
materials the constituent parts ot marl consist,
though he even proceeded to make factitious
marl for the purposes of chemical experiments,
yet the idea does not seem to have occurred to
him, nor, as far as I can find, to any other
person, of bringing the use of it into actual
practice. Alany countries which contain no
marl, have sufficient plenty of clay, and the
farmer may likewise often procure lime .or
chalk at an easy expense j the third ingre-
dient, though of lefs importance, and not
alwavs found in marls, is to be met with in
almost every country. Clay, by the addition
of water, becomes soft and ductile ; in this
state it may easily be mixed with any portion
of chalk or of effete lime *^, and a due quan-
tity of sand.

Let a floor of brick be laid, as for the pre-
paration of mortar, on this let the clay be suf-

*Linie is said to be effete when it has recovered its
air and water.

OEORGICAL ESSAYS. 59

ficicntly moistened, and then a proper quan-
tity of calcareous earth and sand be well in-
corporated with it by treading or by wooden
stampers. When this is completed, let it be
thrown aside, and another parcel compounded
in the same manner*.

* Since this Efsay was read before the Agriculture
Society of Manchester, as I was travelling between
Bradford and Halifax, I was driven, to take shelter from
a violent storm, into the stable of a labouring farmer,
who was loading his cart with dung. The nature of
bis employment induced me to ask him some questions
relative to manures, and among others whether the
country produced any marl To this he answered in
the negative, but informed me that clay was procurable,
and that there was plenty of lime. On my telling him
that from these ingredients he might make marl, 1 was
not more surprised than pleased to find that he was well
acquainted wiih the fact, and that he had actually exe-
cuted what 1 had only surmised to be practicable. He
said, thai about eight or ten years since, he had made
artificial .mari, by throwing, alternately, layers of lime
and clay, and then exposing the heap, during the winter,
to the weather; by which means it mouldered down,
and became a sufficiently uniform niafs. At the proper
season it was laid on the field, which produced, the
ensuing year, a most excellent crop of wheat. When
we consider the solvent power which is so eminently
pofsefsed by quick-lime, this mode of producing an union
between the calcareous and argillaceous earths will ap-
pear very leasible, and vv-ill be attended with much lefs
labour and expense than that which I had proposed.

E2

^0 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

This may at first appear a difficult operation,
but it will seem lefs so, when it is considered,
that the quantity of clay and sand together, in
good marl, is not large, in some one-third, in
some one-fifth, and in others not above one-
sixth or one-seventh of the whole mafs. Me-
chanical invention may doubtlefs point out
methods of expediting and rendering the pro-
cefs more convenient, and such as may be
within the reach of common farmers.

The clay used for this purpose should be as
free from metallic impregnations as pofsible.
If it contain too great a quantity of iron, it
will appear by the high degree of rednefs
which it will acquire by calcination ; if vi-
triolic or aluminous salts, the metallic or
earthy parts may be discovered by adding to
the water, in which the clay has been digested,
a solution of salt of tartar or pot-ash, which
will precipitate the basis of the salt, if of iron,
in a brown ponderous powder j if aluminous,
in a white or greyish earth.

The lime, that we may come nearer to na-
ture in our imitation, should not only be
slaked, but be exposed to the open air, and
often turned for several months, that it may

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 61

recover its air ; for it requires a long series of
time before it recover the whole of which it
has been deprived in calcination *.

When mixed it may, if thought proper, be
formed into mafses of a convenient bulk to be
scattered on the ground, and heaped up to
dry, previous to its being carried to the field.
By this method, much may be saved in the
weight of the carriage, if the marl be to be
conveyed to any distance from the place where
the mixture is formed.

The marl may also be compounded of dif-
ferent proportions of clay, calcareous earth,
and sand, according to the nature of the land
to which it is to be applied. To light or sandy
land, a greater quantity of clay will be pro-

*I find that Dr. Home thinks that lime produces little
effect on vegetation till it is become effete. It may be
known to have recovered its air hy its no longer forming
lime water, and by effervescing violently with acids
without growing hot. If, however, the method de-
scribed in the last note be used, it will be sufficient if the
lime be fallen, without waiting for the recovery of its
air; as this point will be acquired during the long time
which the mixture is to be exposed to the action of the
atmosphere.

E3

62 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

per; to stiff strong land, more calcareous
earth and sand ; and to very strong clay it may
be suificient to apply a mixture of calcareous
earth and sand with little or no clay.

Upon the whole may we not conclude, that
lime, in most cases, is a stroiiger manure, when
it has recovered the air of which it has been
deprived in calcination, than it is when brought
fresh from the kiln ; and that when procured
for the purposes of agriculture, its efficacy and
permanency will in general be increased, by
mixing it, in its effete state, with the other
ingredients which enter into the composition
of marl ?

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 63

ESSAY IV.

On raising the Pine-Jpp/e by Oak Ldaves instead of
1 anncrs Bark.

1 Presume that the leaves of the Oak abound
with the same quaHty as the bark of the tree ;
therefore, the sooner they are raked up after
they fall from the trees, t!ie better, as that
quaHty will naturally decrease during the time
they are exposed to the weather. After being
raked into heaps they should immediately be
carried to some place near the hot-houses,
where they must lie to couch. I generally
fence them round with charcoal-hurdles, or
any thing else, to ke^p them from being blown
about the garden in windy weather. In this
place we tread them well, and water them in
case they happen to have- been brought in
dry. Vic make the heap six or severi^ fefet in
thicknefs, covering it over with old mah, or
any thing else, to prevent the upper leaves
from being blown away. In a few days the
heap will come to a strong heat. Tor the first
year or two that I used these leaves, I did not
continue them hi the heap - longer than ten

E4

64- GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

days or a fortnight ; but in this I discovered a
considerable inconvenience, as they settled so
much when got into the hot-house as soon to
require a supply. Taught by experience, I
now let them remain in the heap for five or six
weeks, by which time they are properly pre-
pared for the hot-houses. In getting them
into the pine-pits, if they appear dry, we water
them again, treading them in layers exceed-
ingly well till the pits are quite full. We then
cover the whole with tan to the thicknefs of
two inches, and tread it well till the surface
becomes smooth and even. On this we place
the pine-pots in the manner they are to stand,
beginning with the middle row first, and fill-
ing up the spaces between the pots with tan.
In like manner we proceed to the next row,
tin the whole be finished ; and this operation
is performed in the same mamier as when tan
07ilij is used.

After this, the leaves require no farther
trouble the whole season through, as they will
retain a constant and regular heat for twelve
months without either stirring or turning ; and
if I may form a judgment from their appear-
ance when taken out, (being always entire and
perfect) it is probable they would continue
their heat through a second year ; but as an

GEORGICAL ESSAYS, 65

annual supply of leaves is easily 'obtained,
such a trial is hardly worth the trouble of
making.

After this, the Pines will have no occasion to
be moved but at the stated times of their ma-
iiagementj viz. at the shifting them in their
pots, &c. when at each time a little fresh tan
should be added to make up the deficiency
arising from the settling of the beds ; but this
will be inconsiderable, as the leaves do not
settle much after their long couching. During
the two first years of my practice, I did not use
any tan, but plunged the pine-pots into the
Jeaves, and just covered the surface of the beds,
when finished, with a little saw-dust, to give
it a neatnefs. This method was attended with
one inconvenience ^ for by the caking of the
leaves they shrunk from the sides of the pots,
whereby they became exposed to the air, and
at the same time the heat of the beds was per-
laiitted to escape.

Many powerful reasons may be given why
Oak leaves (for I have not tried any other
kinds) are preferable to. tanners bark.

First, They always heat regularly ; for, du-

-66 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

-ring the whole time that I have used them,
which is near seven years, I never once knew
of their heating with violence ; and this is so
frequently the case with tan, that I affirm, and

'indeed it is well known to every person con-
versant in the management of the hot-house,
that Pines suffer more from this one circum-

' stance, than from all the other accidents put
together, insects excepted. When this acci-
dent happens near the time of their fruiting,
the effect is soon seen in the fruit, which
always comes ill-shaped and exceedingly small.
Sometim.es there will be little or no fruit at
all ; therefore gardeners who make use of tan
ohItj for their Pines, should be most particularly
careful to avoid an over-heat at that critical
season — the time of showing fruit.

. Secondly, The heat of Oak leaves is con-
stant, whereas tanners bark generally turns
cold in a very short time after its furious heat
is gone off. This obliges the gardener to give
the tan frequent turnings in order to promote
its heating. Tliese frequent turnings (not to
mention the expense) are attended with the
worst consequences ; for by the continual
moving of the pots backwards and forwards,
the Pines are exposed to the extremes of heat

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. '67

and cold, whereby thc^ir growth is consi-
derably retarded ; whereas, when leaves are
used, the Pines will have no occasion to
be moved but at the time of potting,
&c. The Pines have one particular advan-
tage in this undisturbed situation; their
roots go through the bottoms of the pots and
mat amongst the leaves in a surprising man-
- ner. From the vigour of the plants, when in
this situation, it is " highly probable that the
leaves, even in this state, afford them an un-
common and agreeable nourishment.

Thirdly, There is a saving in point of ex-
pense, which is no inconsiderable object in
places where tan cannot be had but from a
great distance, as is the case, herej the article
of carriage amounting to ten shillings for each
waggon-load. Indeed, this was the principal
reason that first induced me to make trial of
leaves.

My last ground of preference is the consi-
dera,tion that decayed leaves make good ma-
nure; whereas rotten tan is experimentally
found to be of no value. I have often tried
it, both on sand and clay, also on wet and dry
lands, and never could discover, in any of my
experiments, that it deserved the namx of a

6S GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

manure; whereas decayed leaves are the
richest, aiid, of all others, the most suitable for
a garden. But this must only be understood
of leaves after they have undergone their fer-
mentation, vrhich reduces them to a true ve-
getable mould, in which we experimentally
know that the food of plants is contained —
but whether that food be oily mucilage, or salt,
or a combination of all three, I leave to philo-
sophers to determine. This black mould is,
of all others, the most proper to mix with
compost earth, and I use it in general for
Pines, and almost for ever)^ thing that grows
in pots. For flowers, it is most excellent.
The remainder of this vegetable mould may
be employed in manuring the quarters of the
kitchen-garden, for which purpose it is highly
useful.

Leaves, mixed with dung, make excellent
hot-beds— and I find that beds compounded
in this manner preserve their heat much longer
than when made entirely with dung. In both
cases the application of leaves will be a con-
siderable saving of dung ; a circumstance very
agreeable, as it will be the means of prevent-
ing the contests, frequently observed in large
families, between the superintendant of the
gardens, and the directors of the husbandr}-.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. Q9

ESSAY V.

On Buck Wheat.

X3ucK Wheat is an object of husbandry in
a threefold light. It is propagated

1 . As Grain ;

2. As Manure ;

3. As Green Fodder.

However, the main intention of its propa-
gation, whether as a crop, or as a melioration
of the soil, or as a green provender for cattle,
being the same, namely, the cleansing of foul
land, it will be convenient to keep the three
objects in nearly the same point of view.

Buck Wheat is sown indiscriminately on
all kinds of Soil, but poor land has the pre-
ference : indeed it is to this species of soil that
it seems most especially adapted. — Hence it is
tliat in the most sandy lands about Berlin, par-
ticularly between Werneiche and Welsicken-
dorff, Lewenberg, Steinbeck, and Wollenberg,
so far as to the forest about Freyenwalde, this
grain is cultivated to the greatest advantage.

70 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

Preparation of the Soil.

The Land, as it is generally a foul stubble,
ought to receive, as soon as the hurry of wheat-
sowing is over, a good ploughing before the
winter set3 in, and to be left in the rough state
through the winter, that it may partake of the
benefits of snow and frost j care should be
taken to make clean and deep furrows between
the ridges, and, where necefsary, crofs fur-
rows, with proper judgment, according to the
situation of the land, in order to prevent the
bad consequences of standing water. As soon
as the very important businefs of sowing the
spring crops is over, this land ought to be
rolled and repeatedly well harrowed, in order
to bring the rubbish to the top, and which
w^hen freed from the adhering soil, ought to
be either burnt in gathered heaps upon the
spot, or carried off from the land. Another
ploughing and good harrowing will prepare
the land for sowing.

Time of Sonnng.

Buck Wheat should never be so\vn before
the beginning of June ; as it has been gene-
rally observed, that if it be sown so early as
to come into blofsom before Midsummer, the

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 71 •

blofsoms suffer much by the blight. I am not
a sufficient Naturalist to be able to account for
this, only I can say with certainty that I have
been so informed by the most experienced
farmers as well in Germany as in England.
Besides, it being a tender plant on its first ap-
pearance, the frosty mornings of the month of
May, frequently destroy it in one night.
Another good reason for not sowing too early
is, that, if intended for green fodder, it may
come into blofsom at that time which (particu-
larly for the dairy farmer) is often the most
distrefsing in all the year ; viz. the month of
July, when the prime of the grafs is gone, the
vigour of the vegetation spent, and the pastures
frequently quite burnt up by heat.

An opportunity of a gentle shower should
be taken for sowing the seed, and it will show
itself above ground in six or seven days ; and
as this grain vegetates very rapidly, it will
soon cover the whole surface of the land, and
thereby prevent the coming up of weeds.

The usual quantity of seed is from eight to
ten pecks per acre, but herein the farmer ought
to be guided by circumstances. If the land
has sufficient moisture to bring on a quick ve-

*?2 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

getation, this quantity is certainly sufficient ;
JDUt if it should happen to be a very dry time,
three or foui' pecks more ought not to be an
object of consideration, because in this case
some seed will be lost in the ground by not
vegetating at all, and some by the pilfering of
pigeons, crows, and pheasants, these birds
being exceedingly fond of this grain. In the
year 1795, which was uncommonly dry, I
sowed four bushels per acre ; and had reason
to applaud myself for this seeming prodigality.

Buck Wheat gets to perfect maturity at the
same time with other grain, and therefore
takes its turn for harvesting with the other
crops ; only as it is very apt to heat, the farmer
ought to be careful not to carry it home till
the stalk, which is very succulent, is perfectly
dry. I should always recommend, instead of
putting it into a barn, to stack it into a rick,
and to lay bush faggots horizontally at proper
distances between it, in order to give vent to
the heat.

"When winter-thrashing comes on, this grain
is the fittest to begin with, as its straw is only-
good for litter in the farm-yards, and will be
a saving of straw, which can be more usefully
applied for other purposes.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. IS

The Application of Buck Wheat.

The application of Buck Wheat is to be
considered in a three-fold light :

1". As Grain J

2. When it is sown for Manure ;

3. When it is intended for Green Fodder.

' 1 . Application of the Gi^ain.

Buck Wheat ought to be applied 1 . As food
for man.

If it has been got up at harvest perfectly
dry, and kept from heating, it produces plenty
of very good flour, though certainly not quite
so white as wheat flour. I have treated my-
self, in my younger years, with many an excel-
lent tart and cake made of it. But more
generally it is used for making porridge. The
better sort of people in Germany have it
managed by the miller, in the same manner as
barley is drefsed for making what is called
pearl or French barley. In this shape it
appears frequently at gentlemen's tables, and
is eaten with pleasure. But persons who arc
not so over-nice as to have their appetite
taken off" by the sight of a few brownish husks,
merely break the grain as it comes from the
flail by means of a hand-mill with which
Volume IL F

74 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

every house in the country is provided, and
then it wants no other art of cookery than to
boil it in water, with a little salt, till it is
pretty stiff; and then it is eaten with milk, or
melted butter poured over it. Prepared in
this plain and cheap manner, it certainly con-
stitutes three parts out of four of the daily
food of millions of people in Germany. All
who have been in the Electorates of Branden-
burgh and Saxony, and in the Dukedom of
Silesia, must have been struck by the appear-
ance of vigour, and strong constitutions, in
the coimtry people of both sexes, all of whom
have been brought up with Buck Wheat, and
continue to make daily their three hearty
meals of it, by which they are enabled to go
cheerfully through more hard work than
would appear credible, or even pofsible, to
any English farming servant or dairy maid.
For children, likewise, it proves an exceeding
pleasant and nourishing food, of easv digestion,
and is very frequently used in the nurseries of
families of the first distinction there.

The comparative cheapnefs of this grain,
ought, in justice, to be an additional recom-
mendation of it. In the late time of scarcity,
when wheat was sold at 12s. per bushel, or

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. IJ

more, the market-price of Buck AVhcat was
from 4s. to l-s. 6d. What an enormous saving
would it have been to the nation, as well as
to individuals, if the cultivation of the latter
had been more common in this country, and
the generality of the inhabitants could have
been reasoned out of their prejudices, and
persuaded to make use of this grain as a sub-
stitute for wheat. I am certain that one
bushel and a half of Buck Wheat, properly
managed, will at least go as far as one bushel
of wheat.

If the distillers in this country would give
this grain a fair trial, they would find a great
advantage in it. I know from the very best
authority, that at Dantzic, a place famous for
its cordials, a very great quantity of Buck
Mlieat is consumed by the still. Last year,
a gentleman in the East-Riding of Yorkshire
disposed of a considerable quantity of Buck
Wheat to the London distillers, at the price
of barley.

2. As food for animals, this grain is pretty
well known in some part of this country, but
no where better than in the county of Nor-
folk. It is a very quick, and the most econo-

F2

"7 6 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

mical way of fattening pigs, turkies, and all
kinds of fowls. It ought to be broke in
a mill,, in order to prevent its pafsing un-
digested. AVhen given whole to pigs, a fe^y
oats ought to be mixed with it, that they may
grind it the better. The first day it is given
to pigs, it has the particular etlect to put them
in a state of intoxication, which they show by
running and tumbling about, squeaking, and
rising up against the walls : it therefore ought
not at first to be given in too large a quantity.
The only objection against this food 1 ever
heard, is tliat the fat is not so solid as that
which is raised by other grain, and wastes too
much away in boiling or roasting : but this it
is very easy to prevent, if care be taken to feed
the pigs the last eight or ten days with ground
peas, and turkies or other fowls with bar-
ley ; by which management it will be found
tliat the bacon or fat will be as solid and
pleasant as pofsible, and the meat much more
succulent than that produced by any other sort
of grain.

No kind of tood is more alluring to
pheasants than Buck Wheat. Tne best pro-
vision that can be made for them for the win-
ter, is to take a waggon or cart load of it un-
thrashed, and to lay it in different heaps in

* CEORGICAL ESSAYS. 77

flic cover or plantation where they resort, by
which means they will not only be kept trom
rambling in search of food, but it will certainly
attract a great many visitors from distant parts.

2. Application when sown for Manure.

Vrhen the farmer can foresee that his dung-
hills will not be sufficient to supply all the
land intended to be sown with wheat, or in
case some of his land should lay so tar trom
home that the carrying of dmig to it would be
attended v/ith a great deal of trouble and lofs
of time, he cannot do better than to sow some
lands with Buck Wheat, and plough it in /or
Manure. This ought to be done in the fol-
lowing manner : AVhen the Buck Wheat is
got into full blofsom, which is the time when
it is in its most succulent state, it ought to be
rolled downj and the plough to follow the
roller. For the purpose of covering it per-
fectly with a sufficient quantity of soil, so that
not a stalk may be seen above ground, I have
found, as in many other instances, the coulter
with a skimmer affixed to it, an invention
of that great Agriculturist, Mr. Ducket, of
Esher, in Surry, to be of the greatest utility.
After ploughing, the soil ought to be rolled

F 3

78 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

down, in order to close the seams between the
furrows, to keep out the drought , and it is
tlie best way to roll down at least every day's
ploughing before night. Tlie land is then
left undisturbed until the time for wheat-
sowing comes on ; for the succulent state
in which the Buck Wheat has been ploughed,
together with the warmth of the soil with
which it has been covered, will not fail to
bring on that degree of fermentation which is
requisite to convert vegetables into rich ma-
nure. When ihe time for sowing this land
with wheat arrives, it will require no further
ploughing, the land having been sufficiently
pulverized by the preceding ploughings, and
kept, by ihe fermentation of the Buck Wheat,
in such a mellow state, that it is perfectly fit
for receiving the seed. A gentle harrowing
will be found sufficient to eradicate the few
weeds that may have sprung up since the
land was stirred the last time. If the seed is
to be put in by means of dibbling, the land
ought ro be made level after the harrow with
a light barley roller; but I should recommend
in preference the use of that most excellent
implement in husbandry, Mr. Ducket's five-
shared drill plough, which makes the drills at
nine inches distance. The seed is sown by

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 79^

liand, and the drills covered either with a very
light teeth-harrow, or with a bush-harrow.

3. Application when sown for Green Fodder.

All animals to which I have offered green
Buck Wheat as food, I have found to be ex-
tremely fond of it, and to thrive remarkably
well : I speak chiefly of cows, weanling calves,
mares with foals, and pigs. When intended
for this purpose, the time to begin mowing is
when it is about half in blofsom : the best
method is to mow the day before the quantity
wanted for the next, and at a time when it is
perfectly dry j as it is the safest way to get it
a little withered, to prevent the blowing of
the cows by their eating it with the greatest
avidity. The most economical management
is to put it into moveable racks, because if
laid in heaps upon the ground, the cattle will
be apt to fight about it, and spoil a great deal
by trampling. What falls from the racks, the
pigs will take care of. In this manner the cows
will fill themselves in the forenoon with the
greatest ease, and ought then to be brought
home to the fold-yard, where they will lay
down and enjoy rest during the heat of the
day; instead of which, if they were in the

F4

so GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

pastures in search of food, (which at that time
of the year is often very scanty) they would be
teazcd by flies and other insects, be running
.about and heating thcmsehes, andinstead of in-
creasing their milk, would shrink from it every
day more and more. Whoever will make the
experiment, will certainly be most agreeably
surprised by the great quantity of excellent
rich milk his cows will produce, at a time,
when all his neighbours, who have not been
so provident, will complain of the considerable
reduction of dieirs.

To convince my readers what a profitable
fallow crop Buck Vilieat is, (for as such it
always ought to be considered) I give from my
own experience the following instance :

In the year 1795, (the last year in which I
was so happy as to be a farmer in Norfolk) I
had six acres and a half, of rather foul oat
stubble, sown with twenty-four bushels of
Buck Wheat. Tlie weather at the time of
sowing was exceedingly dry, and continued so
for more than a month : — thereby a great deal
of the grain was lost ; partly by not coming
up at all, and partly by the depredations of
my neighbours' pigeons j so that it could not

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 81

be reckoned, after it came up, for more than
half a good crop. In the middle of July

1 begun to mow part of it, viz. two acres and
a half,, for green fodder ; and four acres were
left for grain. The two acres and a half mown
green, maintained twenty cows, one bull, two
mares with sucking foals, and about thirty-five
pigs, for five weeks ; and the produce of the
four acres was thirty-five coombs of grain.
The produce and advantage of this but indif-
ferent crop is as follows ;

£. s. d.

20 cows and 1 bull, feeding 5 weeks,

at 2s. per head, - - - - 10 10 0

2 mares and foals, 5 weeks, at 2s. 6d.

per mare and foal, - - - - 1 5 0
35coombsofgrain,at 18s.percoomb,29 10 0

Total ^'41 5 0
Deduction for 6 coombs of seed, - 5 8 0

Remains Clear Profit, ^ 35 17 0
or 5l. 10s. 4d. per acre

The feeding of the pigs has not been stated
to account, as they eat only the offal ; — and
for ploughing, harrowing, and rolling, no de-

82 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

duction can be made, because the land would
have required the same labour, had it been a
thorough summer fallow.

Management of the Land aftei' the Cr&p has been

got of .

When the land has stood for Grain, the
stubble ought to be ploughed immediately;
for as the Buck Wheat ought to lay till it is
perfectly dry, a good deal of grain will be
shelled upon the land : this would, if not de-
stroyed before the land is sown with wheat or
other corn, appear the next season as a weed ;
but by ploughing it in as soon as pofsible, it
will vegetate quickly, and after the manure
has been set on and spread, the ploughing in
will destroy the shelled Buck Wheat, and
bring the land into a perfectly clean condition
for receiving the seed for the next crop.

When the Buck Wheat has been mowed
for Green Fodder, a single ploughing will be
sufficient for making the land in good order
for the reception of the seed intended to be
sown.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 83

ESSAY VI.

Experiments and concise Agricultitral Observations.

JtN the different Agricultural Surveys made
under the direction of the Board of Agricul-
ture, as well as in other works of distinguished
merit, there are recorded a number of experi-
ments and concise observations, which, from
their brevity, cannot be reduced into the form
of Efsays. Induced by that consideration, I
propose to insert in each of these Volumes a
limited number of short pieces, under the ge-
neral head of " Experiments and concise Ob-
servations ;'* and I flatter myself that this mode
will meet with the approbation of the public,
who may not be disposed to receive instruction
from elaborate difsertations.

1. On the Ripening and Filling of the Ears
of Corn^.

The summer of 1782, having been re-
markably cold and unfavourable, the harvest

* Bv John Roebuck, M. D.

%4t GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

was very late, and much of the grain, especially
oats, was green even in October. In the be-
ginning of October, the cold was so great,
tliat, in one night, there was produced on
ponds near Kinneil, in the neighbourhood of
Borrowstownnefs, ice three quarters of an inch
thick. It was apprehended by many farmers,
that such a degree of cold would effectually
prevent the further filling and ripening of their
corn. In order to ascertain this point, I se-
lected several stalks of oats, of nearly equal
fulnefs, and immediately cut those which, on
the most attentive comparison, appeared the
best, and marked the others, but allowed to
remain in the field fourteen days longer ; at
the end of which time, they too were cut,
*nd kept in a dry room for ten days. The
grains of each parcel were then weighed j
when eleven of the grains which were left
standing in the field, were found to be equal
in weight to thirty of the grains which were
cut a fortnight sooner, though even the best of
the grains were far from being ripe. During
that fortnight (viz. from October 7, to Oc-
tober 21) the average heat, according to
Fahrenheit's Thermometer, which was ob-
served every day at eight o'clock in the mom-

6E0RGICAL ESSAYS, 85

ing and six in the evening, was a little above
43. This ripening and filling of corn, in so
low a temperature, should be the lefs surprising
to us, when we reflect, that seed-corn will
vegetate in the same degree of heat ; from
which may be drawn this important inference,
viz. that farmers should be cautious of cutting
down their unripe corn, on the supposition,
that, in a cold Autumn, it will fill no
more.

2. On the Purificaiion of Sea Salt*,

The Earl of Dltndonald observes, that the
common sea-salt pofsefses a considerable mix-
ture of ingredients, which render it in a great
degree, unfit for preserving victuals. These
ingredients appear, by experiment, to be
nauseous, bitter, and cathartic salts, having an
earthy basis, (magnesia saiita, and magnesia
vitriolata, or Epsom salt) which are intimately
mixed with the proper sea-salt.

To purify common sea-salt, by difsolvlng it
In water, decompounding the bitter salts, and

* Communicated bj A. Hunter, M. D.

^ GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

precipitating their earthy basis, by adding a
fixed alkali, whether fofsil or vegetable, is a
tedious procefs, and by tar too expensive to
be employed for economical or mercantile
purposes. It is even imperfect ; as it is almost
impofsible, after that procefs, to separate from
the sea-salt the Glauber salt, or vitriolated
tartar, or salt of Sylvius, which are produced
according as tlie fofsil or vegetable alkali is
used.

The Earl of Dundonald obser\'es. That
hot water, saturated with sea-salt, will still
difsoive a great part of the bitter earthy salts.
His method, therefore, of purifying the com-
mon sea-salt from those bitter salts is, to take
a conical vefsel, having a hole in the small
end of it, which is to be undermost, to
place it, filled with common salt, in a mo-
derate heat ; to take onetwentieth part of the
salt contained in it, and putting it in an iron
pan, to difsoive it in its proper proportion of
water, so that the water shall be completely
saturated with the salt ; and then to pour this
iolution boiling hot on the salt in the conical
vefsel, which is to be purified. The boiling
water being already saturated with sea-salt,'

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 87

will difsolve no more of it, but will difsolve
much of the bitter earthy salts ; and this so-
lution will gradually drop out at the hole in
the bottom of the cone. When it ceases to
drop, ' the same procefs is to be repeated by
means of fresh portions of the same parcel of
salt, already partly purified, till it be brought
to the required degree of purity. Lord Dun-
DONALD reckons, that three such washings
make the common salt of this country purer
than any foreign salt ; that each washing makes
it 4f times purer than before ; so that (disre-
garding fractions) after the second washing it
will be 20 times, after the third 91 times, after
the fourth 410 times, and after the fifth 1845
times purer than at first.

The superiority of salt, thus purified, to com-
mon salt, is discovered by the taste, as well as
by its effect in preserving fish, flesh, and
butter; for it hath been often and carefully
tried. Lord DtrNDONALD conceives, that the
simplicity, facility, and cheapnefs of this me-
thod of purifying salt, should recommend it to
common practice, as it is an object of great
public importance, especially to farmers who
consume much salt in salting butter and bacon.

)88 6E0RGICAL ESSAYS.

As all salt made by boiling has a portion of
uncombined magnesia mixed with it, his
Lordship is of opinion, that a little muriatic
acid should be added to the first brine poured
on the salt, in order to difsolve the magnesia,
and carry it off. The following table will
show wliat the common salt loses before it
can be brought to a state of perfect purity.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

89

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Volume IL

90 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

3. On a Preparation of Carrots for the Use of Sea-
men in long Voyages *.

The great utility of all kinds of vegetables
in curing and preventing that species of the
scurvy to which seamen are particularly
liable, is so clearly ascertained, that it will be
unnecefsary to employ any time in the proof
of it ; I shall therefore proceed to describe a
remedy of the vegetable kingdom that pro-
bably rriay answer the happy purposes of pre-
venting, mitigating, or curing the sea scurvy,
and all such diseases as derive their origin from
the want of vegetable food.

Tlie vegetable I mean to recommend is
Carrots, and as it is impofsible to preserve them
in their natural state for any length of time, we
must be content with an artificial preparation.
The following is the method I have succefi-
fiilly made use of.

Take any quantity of Carrots in the months
of September or October. Let them be top-
ped and tailed, and afterwards washed clean
in warm water. Scrape them, and cut them

By A. Hunter, M. D.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 91

into pieces about two inches in length, throw-
ing away such parts as are decayed. Put the
whole into a large copper, with as much
water as will preserve the bottom from burn-
ing. Cover them up close, and light a mo-
derate fire underneath, so that the Carrots may
be stewed and softened in the steam. When
they have become sufficiently soft, let them be
mashed and pulped through a coarse sieve.
Then take a quantity of loaf sugar equal to the
weight of the pulp, and, according to the rules
of confectionary, reduce the whole over the
fire to a proper consistence, taking care to
evaporate the superfluous moisture by conti-
nual stirring. When cold, put this marmalade
into pots, covering it over with a paper
moistened in brandy; and over that such ano-
ther covering as is generally recommended
for conserves.

This I consider as the neatest preparation of
Carrots, and may be recommended for tarts,
dumplins, &c. for the officers' tables. Another
preparation for the seamen may be made with
coarser sugar; and the Carrots, instead of
being pulped through a sieve, may be mashed
by the circular stone employed in the cyder
mills, and afterwards boiled up to a proper

G 2

02 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

consistence. And as this last preparation will
be consumed in large quantities, it may be put
up into small casks. — The quantity intended
for one day's consumption, should be taken
out and mixed in an earthern or wooden
vefsel, with as much of the strong spirit of
vitriol as will give it a grateful degree of
acidity 5 after which it may be used in a va-
riety of forms. A spoonful of this marmalade,
put to a proper quantity of water, makes a
cool and wholesome drink in fevers, and all
disorders proceeding from putrescency ; and
probably when given in this manner, with a
little brandy, it may become a general preser-
vative against the scurvy. Seamen may also
have it in the form of dumplins, in which shape
a full meal of vegetable food may be afforded
at a small expense. I once sent a cask of this
marmalade into the Mediterranean, and had
the pleasure of hearing that it answered a very
valuable purpose.

In order to be satisfied that this cheap and
palatable antiscorbutic will keep in a warm
climate, I preserved some pots of it, for twelve
months, in a room heated with a constant fire,
and had the pleasure to observe that it kept
extremely well. I ordered some of the pots

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 95

to be acidulated, but the conserve did not keep
so well ; so that it is the better way to use the
acid occasionally, as formerly directed.

A palatable mefs may be made as follow^s :
Take Carrot-marmalade, one large spoonful ;
Salop, in powder, one tea-spoonful. Acidulate
with lemon-juice or spirit of vitriol ; then add
warm water, half a pint ; wine, four spoon-
fuls ; spices, a small portion, if required. This
mixture is highly antiputrescent and nutri-
tive.

The health of the British seamen is so efscn-
tial to the welfare and interest of these king-
'doms, that I flatter myself every attempt that
has this great object in view, will meet with a
favourable reception.

4. Oji Bones used as a Manure^.

During a long course of speculative and
practical Agriculture, in which, with critical
exactnefs, I employed myself in making ex-
periments upon almost every kind of manure,
I was fortunate enough to discover that bones

* By Anthony St. Leger, Esq. 1777.

G3

9'4 GEORGICAL tS^AYS^.

are superior to all the manures made use of
by- the farmer.

Eight years ago, I laid down to grafs a large
piece of very indifferent limestone land with
a crop of corn ; and, in order that the grafs-
seeds might have a strong vegetation, I took
care to see it well drefsed. From this piece
I selected three roods of equal quality with
the rest, and drefsed them with bones broken
very small, at the rate of sixty bushels per acre.
Upon the lands thus managed, the crop of
corn was infinitely superior to the rest. The
next year the grafs was also superior, and has
continued to preserve the same superiority
ever since, insomuch that in spring it is green
three weeks before the rest of the field.

This year I propose to plough up the field,
as the Festuca Syhatica (Frye Grafs) has
overpowered the grafs seeds originally sown.
And here it will be proper to remark, that,
notwithstanding this species of grafs is the
natural produce of the soil, the three roods on
which the bones were laid have hardly any of
it, but on the contrary have all along pro-
duced the finest grafses.

J^st year, I drefsed two acres with bones in

GEDRGICAL ESSAYS. ^§^

two different fields prepared for turnips, sixty
bushels to ihe acre, and had the pleasure to
find the turnips greatly superior to the others
managed in the common way. I have no
doubt but these two acres will preserve their
superiority for many years to come, if I may
be allowed to prognosticate from former ex-
periments most attentively conducted.

I also drefsed an acre of grafs ground with
bones last October (1774) and rolled them in.
The succeeding crop of hay was an exceeding
good one. However, I have found from re-
peated experience that, upon grafs ground,
this kind of manure exerts itself more power-
fully the second year than the fir^t.

It must be obvious to every person, that the
bones should be well broken before they can
be equally spread upon the land. No pieces
should exceed the size of marbles. To per-
form this necefsary operation, I would recom-
mend the bones to be sufhciently bruised by
putting them under a circular stone, which
being moved round upon its edge by means
of a horse, in the manner that tanners grind
their bark, will very expeditiously effect the
purpose. At Shefheld it is now become a

G4

96 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

trade to grind bones for the use of the farmer.
Some people break them small with hammers
upon a piece of iron, but that method is in-
ferior to grinding. To ascertain the com-
parative merit of ground and unground bones,
I last year drefsed two acres of turnips with
Jarge bones, in the same field where the
ground ones were used; the result of this ex-
periment was, that the unground materials
did not perform the least service ; wliile those
parts of the field, on which the ground bones
were laid, were greatly benefitted.

I find that bones of all kinds will answer
the purposes of a rich drefsing, but those of
fat cattle I apprehend are the best. The
London bones, as I am informed, undergo the
action of boiling water, for which reason they
must be much inferior to such as retain their
oily parts ; and this is another of the many
proofs that oil is the food of plants. The
farmers in this neighbourhood are become so
fond of this kind of manure, that the price is
now advanced to one shilling and fourpence
per bushel, and even at that price they send
sixteen miles for it.

I have found it a judicious practice to mix
ashes with the bones ; and this winter (1777)

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 97

I have six acres of meadow land drefscd widi
that compost. A cart load of ashes may be
put to thu-ty or forty bushels of bones, and
when .tliey have heated for twenty-four hours,
(which may be known by the smoking of the
heap) let the whole be turned. After laying
ten days longer, this most excellent drefsing
will be fit for use.

5. On the Action of different Manures^.

I apprehend that oily substances cannot pro-
duce any considerable effect upon land, unlefs
they be previously combined v^'ith mucilages,
or be converted into soap by means of quick-
lime, or fixed alkalies. In this state they me-
liorate the soil in several \vays, viz. by afford-
ing a lasting pabulum for plants ; by fitting it
to receive, and preventing the too speedy eva-
poration of the dews and rain ; and by pre-
senting the food of vegetables in a due pro-
portion to the absorbent vefseis of their roots.

Saline substances, as they are soluble in
water, and capable of admiision into the
vascular tubes of plants, act more immediately
on the earth, A\'heLher they afford any real

* By T. Percival, M. D.

f9 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

nutriment to vegetables, or whether their
operation depends upon a stimulating power,
by which they quicken vegetation, I am at a
lofs to determine 5 for that plants are endued
with irritability is evident from various facts.
The sensitive tribe of vegetables afford us
ocular demonstration of it ; and electricity is
well known to accelerate the growth of plants
by promoting the ascent of their juices.

Common salt is universally esteemed an ex-
cellent manure ; but I think it would be still
more powerful if a proper quantity of Epsom
.salt were added to it. By this combination it
would more exactly resemble sea-water, which
amazingly fertilizes the marshes over which it
flows. The grafs of such marshes is purgative
to horses and to cattle, which affords a pre-
sumptive proof that sea-salt, mixed with the
bittern, may be received into the vefsels of
plants in a much larger proportion than when
purified and refined. The combination here
recommended, will act as a powerful septic,
when mixed with the corrupted vegetables and
other putrefying substances on the surface of
the earth ; and by this fermentation will im-
prove the soil.

Quick-lime is not ckfsed by the modern-

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 93

chemists amongst the salts, though it has some
properties in common with them. It may act
as a manure by combining with and dividing
the particles of clay, and thus forming a species
of marl ; by uniting with the oily substances
contained in the soil, and rendering them
soluble in water ; and by absorbing the dews
and rains, and preventing them from sinking
too speedily into the earth, by which the food
of plants is washed frorn their radical fibres.

Lime and the fixed alkalis are more power-
ful agents than neutral salts in preparing the
food of vegetables, by their operation on the
oils and mucilages which exist in the soil, and
which have been supplied by manures, or
derived from the atmosphere,

6. On Potatoes*.

In the spring, 1782, an old lay was ploughed
up. The first plough skimmed off the turf
about an inch and a half deep; women
followed, and laid the potatoe sets (the globe
white, called also the Champion) in that
furrow ; then came another plough that cut
as deep as pofsible, covering the sets nine

f B/ John Kirby, Esq.

100 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

inches deep. There is no danger of burying
the sets, as they rise freely. In this manner,
without any manure, I planted ever)^ third or
fourth furrow; part one, and part the other.
In the first, the rows were twenty-seven
inches asunder ; in the last, three feet. The
former yielded the greater crop. They were
all kept clean by horse and hand-hoeing : The
crop was taken up wnth three-pronged forks
at the expense of a halfpenny a bushel. The
produce, 400 bushels an acre ; and sold at two
shillings a bushel, or 40l. an acre ; a large
sum gained at a small expense.

7. To make Potatoe Yeast*.

Boil Potatoes, of the mealy sort, till they
are thoroughly enough ; skin and mash them
very smooth, and put to the mafs as much hot
water as will make it of the consistency of
common yeast; after which run it through
a cullendar. Add to every pound of mashed
potatoes, two ounces of brown sugar;
and when just warm, stir in, for every pound
of potatoes, two spoonfuls of common yeast.
Keep the mixture warm till it has done fer-
menting, and in tv/ent\'-four hours it may be

♦By A. Hunter, M. P.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 101

used. A pound of Potatoes will make a quart
of yeast, which will keep a month or six
weeks. Lay your bread eight or ten hours
before you bake it. Bread made with
Potatoe yeast, is not to be distinguished from
tliat made with yeast purchased of the brewer.

8. On the Round Winter Red Potafoe, and the Long
Whiter ditto with many eyes*'.

Those two kinds of Potatoes, though differ-
ing in appearance, seem to pofsefs nearly the
same qualities; they resemble each other in
taste and flavour, and ripen at the same time.
Both of them grow well upon strong clay and
heavy loams, and both seem to be in the
highest perfection in the spring. This last is
no inconsiderable advantage, as they can with
little trouble be kept fresh and palatable till
after midsummer; but the circumstance of
their delighting in a clay soil, renders them
highly valuable in situations where the soil is
mostly of that kind, and where the other sorts,
if planted, would be of a watery inferior
quality, and would also be very unproductive.

* Bv Mr. Somerville.

102 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

9. On Potatoes, as a Food/or Dogs*.

To render Potatoes useful in this way, they
should first be thoroughly boiled, and after-
wards hashed down amongst boiling water,
taking care to incorporate them with the
water till they attain the consistence of thin
starch. At first it will be necefsary to add
a small quantity of coarse fat, or salt butter, to
induce the dogs to eat this new food, but after
awhile it may be removed by degrees. With
this feeding, with the addition of ox livers,
and occasionally of horse flesh, boiled along
with the potatoes, dogs may be kept both in
good flesh and wind, at one-fourth of the
expense which trained dogs generally cost,
especially at a time when oatmeal is dear.

10. On Potatoes, as a Food for Fowls f.

Boiled Potatoes are found to be an ex-
cellent food for fowls of almost every descrip-
tion, with a small mixture of bran or oatmeal.
By adopting the use of them for this purpose,
a considerable quantity of grain may be saved,

* By Mr. Somerville.
t By Mr. Somervilk.

GEOTIGICAL ESSAYS. l03

not only in the maintenance of the present
stock, but double the number may be kept,
and made fit for the market, at lefs expense
than the present small stock can be reared.

Some may be disposed to think the benefit
arising from this substitute for the feeding of
fowls, a matter of little importance ; and in
some situations this may really be the case ;
but when it is taken upon a broad scale, and
the quantity of grain that is consumed over
the whole kingdom, for this purpose alone, is
considered, the aggregate will be found to be
great indeed. But when to this advantage is
added the benefit arising from feeding double,
or even more than double, the number at lefs
expense, it then will appear a matter of serious
consideration.

11. Oji Ground Cisterns * .

In high situations in the eastern part of the
North-Riding of Yorkshire, necefsity has in-
duced the inhabitants to make reservoirs, or
water-cisterns, within the ground : these are fed
by rain water, which falls upon the roofs of

♦ By Mr. John Tukc

104 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

the buildings, and is conducted from thence
by spouts. In these cisterns, a very ample
supply of soft water is always at hand ; and,
by their being under ground, and kept close,
the water is sweet, and suitable to every
domestic purpose.

A cube of the required size being dug rn
the ground, and the sides made even and per-
pendicular, the bottom is covered with so
much clay, as that, when well beaten, will be
four inches thick ; a foundation of stone to
build the wall upon, is then laid round the
sides ; upon the clay a brick floor is laid in
terras, the surface of which should not be
lower than the top of the stone foundation ;
the sides are then built a single brick thick,
and the bricks laid in terras, a foot space being
left betwixt the wall and the earth, which is
gradually filled with clay in a soft state ; and
this is well beaten as it stiffens ; the whole is
arched over, leaving a hatchway for a man to
go in to clean it, and an opening into a drain,
for the surplus water to run off, when the
cistern is full.

Tlie water is raised by a pump.

As keeping all external air out of the cistern.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 105

contributes much to the sweetnefs of the
water, the pipe by which the cistern is fed,
should be continued to within a few inches of
the bottom ; and the surplus water should be
carried off by a pipe rising from near the
bottom to the extreme height the water is
wished ever to be at, and there communicate
with • the drain : by these precautions, there
will not be more of the surface of the water
exposed to the external air, than what is with
in those pipes and that of the pump. As
trifling showers carry soot and dust into the
reservoir, it would be an improvement, if,
by a cock, they were prevented finding their
way into the cistern. For the same reason,
the early part of lasting showers should be
kept out.

12. On Paring and Burning*.

In regard to paring and burning, I am
of opinion, that nothing contributes more
to the improvement of an estate of a maiden
soil, provided the tenant is not permitted
to make too free in cropping it, for his
immediate benefit, beyond its natural course.

* Bj E. Cleaver, Esq.
Volume IT. ^

106 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

I have pared and burnt, upon my., dif-
ferent farms, near 1000 acres; and am per-
suaded that there are not many farms that
surpafs mine in the weight of the corn
crops, after this procefs, which 1. have
practised near thirty, years, though I never
ventured to pare the same land a second tim.e,
as very little ashes would be produced. I find
no inconvenience in paring and burning thin
soils-, because, after one, and sometimes two,
turnip crops, th'e soil swells so, by being en-
riched, that it appears deeper than when first
broken up. I allude to a piece of ground in
my farm, at Nunnington, called Calklefs,
which answers beyond all belief. On this
bad land I have reaped four quarters per acre
of wheat, and in one instance forty-one bushels.
I recommend the sods to be as lightly burnt as
pofsible, and not consumed to red ashes. It
is best to. spread the ashes as scon as buMit,
otherwise the turnips, or corn, will grow in
patches ; besides, if a high wind should come,
it may blow all the ashes away which are in
the heaps,. although it would not affect those
spread upon the ground, lliis happened to
me some years ago, upon a farm I have upon
-the Wolds ; in a few hours, tlie ashes wliich
.•^•ere in hills unspread, were blown off the

G£ORGICAL ESSAYS. 107

premises, wliile those which were spread a few
days before, remained unmolested.

13. On Teasles*.

Teasles will only answer upon a strong soil ;
if the land be fresh, they do not require much
manure. They are frequently sown upon
pared and burnt land, as well as upon land
ploughed out of swarth, and also after a win-
ter and spring fallow.

SEED, AND TIME OF SOWING.

Sow from one to two pecks of seed ' per
acre, a Uttle before May-day.

CULTURE WHILST GROWING.

The surface of the ground, to the depth of
about one inch and a half, is turned over with
spades three times, viz. in June, October, and
about Lady-day, at an expense of about 20s.
per acre, '^ach time. The plants are set out
about a foot distance, in the first operation.

HARVESTING, AND PREPARING FOR MARKET.

Teasles are fit to reap in the latter end of
August, or beginning of September. This is

* Ev Mr. John Tuke.

H2

108 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

done by cutting them off with about nine
inches of stalk, and at the expense of six
shillings per thousand bunches. They are
then tied up for 5s. per thousand, each bunch
containing ten teaslcs.

PRODUCE.

Ten packs per acre is a good crop ; each
pack containing 1350 bunches.

PRICE.

From three to five guines per pack.

14. On Sainfoin*.

Tliis is a species of grafs that may be raised
to great advantage on a chalky soil. The
small expense attending its cultivation, its
natural relation to a chalk soil, the constant
demand for its hay at market, and the small
charges acquired in making it, all combine to
enforce its cultivation on the most barren
chalks; which by any other course of husbandry
could hardly have been brought to pay the
expense of tillage. By attending to this
species of grafs, the farmer will have it in his

* By John Bannister, Esq.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 109

power to bestow a greater attenfion on the
more fertile parts of his land ; he will require
fewer horses and servants ; and will, in general,
ensure to himself plentiful crops of grain from
that part of the farm which is kept in constant
tillage s whilst the most barren part will pro-
duce a yearly increase from the Saintoin, at
a trifling expense in the culture. Thus
stocked with'plenty of hay, the farmer cannot
fail of profefsional succefs.

15. On the Use of Claj/ as a Manure*.

On light sandy soils, clay may be advan-
tageously used as a manure ; but as this under-
taking will be attended with a very heavy ex-
pense, it should never be embarked in where
there is not a great probability of succefs, and
this probability may easily be confirmed by an
experiment upon a small scale. If the clay is
to be fetched from a considerable distance,
and the land to be drefsed with it be very
steril in its nature, these will be sufficient dis-
couragements to the farmer not to hazard an
extensive trial ; but if, from experience, he be
convinced that his crops, though poor, do only
languish from a want of stability in the land,

*B).' John Bannister, Esq.

H3

110 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

which, by a proper drefsing of clay, would be
so far improved, as to approach nearly to the
nature of a loam ; this circumstance may
reasonably incline the renter of such a soil to
a trial of its eiTects. The proper season for
claying land is the summer^ and it is a good
method to mix it with mould, or other
manure, to encourage it to fall kindly. The
quantity of clay should not be lefs than seventy
loads per acre, which, if to be brought at
a considerable distance, will effectually bar all
improvement.

16. On the advantages of raising Potatoes on Fallows
for the use of the Cottager*,

In the parish where I reside, the whole of
which, except five acre?, is my property, there
are thirty cottages, containing 131 poor
people. I have, for five or six years past,
allotted, free from rent, four acres of land, in-
tended to be sown with wheat the following
autumn, for the cottagers to plant with
Potatoes ; by which means, each raises from
ten to fifteen sacks, equal to 240 pounds per
sack, yearly, in proportion to the number of
their children ; each has not only sufficient for

* By Sir John Methuen Poore, Bart.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. Ill

his family, but he is enabled also to fat a pig.
They declare, was I to give among them a
hundred pounds, it would not be of so much
benefit to them ; and it is not one shilling out
of my pocket, for I have as good, if not
a better, crop of wheat from this land, as
I have from the other part of the field.

The method I take is this: the lattenend of
November I plough the land ; the frost during
the winter mellows it : the beginning of March
following, I plough it again, and harrow it ; at
both which times I have little to do with my
horses : I then divide it into lots ; a man with a
large family has a larger lot than a single person,
or one who has only two or three children, allow-
ing about five perches (of 16^ feet square) to
each in a family : they then plant it, and put
over their Potatoes what manure they have
collected the year preceding (for every cottager
has more manure than necefsary for this, from
their fires, and a variety of other things) ; and
during the summer, after their day's labour is
done, they and their wives hoe them ; and as
every man works more cheerfully for himself
than for another, they do not suiter a weed to
-'3" Ht

112 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

grow. In October, they dig them up ; and it
is the most pleasant thing imaginable, to see
the men, their wives and children, gatherings
the produce of their little farms, which is to
serve them the ensuing winter. Was this
plan generally adopted, the labourers v/ould
consume but little corn ; which would supply
the manufacturing towns, and we should have
no occasion to import. As four acres are
sufficient for thirty families, it would take but
a small quantity of land from every farm in
in the kingdom The way practised here, is
to plant the Potatoes in furrows, eighteen
inches apart, and a foot apart in the rows.
The land about me is of different qualities j on
the hills, rather light ; in the vale, near the
parish, inclining to clay ; but all fit for Turnips:
the Potatoes are planted in the low land,
being nearer home. Tlie poor, at present,
will not live entirely without bread, as many
do in Ireland, though Potatoes daily get into
use more and more ; and I am persuaded, was
my plan generally adopted, in two or three years
the labourers in the country would consume
but little or no corn. Tliirty years ago, the
poor in this part of the country would not eat
Potatoes, if they could get other roots or vege-
tables.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. U$

17. TJie Cvurse to be obset^ed after Marling*.

Take one crop of oats the spring subsequent
to the marluig: plough the stubble imme-
diately, in order to expose the marl again
to the influence of the frost: fallow with
manure for turnips ^ a crop, under this manage-
ment, is never known to fail : then barley,
clover, wheat, turnips fed off with sheep, and
barley again, with well-drefsed hay-seeds, and
white clover and trefoil, for a perennial lay, or
at least for some years. Land thus husbanded
produces in a most exuberant degree, and at
the same time is rendered perfectly clean from
all weeds, without being harafsed in the least.
Poor sandy lands are thus rendered capable of
producing a covering of the richest grafses,
and under proper management may be de-
pended on in all seasons.

18. On Fetches f.

The vetch is a most excellent vegetable,
and great advantages may be derived from it
in various ways. If a piece of barley, or
wheat stubble, which comes in course for

* By Mr. John Holt,
t By N. Kent, Esq,

114 SEORGICAL ESSAYS.

turnips, be found tolerably clean and mellow
after harvest, it is a good practice to sow win-
ter vetches upon it, and harrow them in as
soon as the corn is off. They will often pro-
duce a great deal of valuable food for ewes
and lambs in the spring, when such kind of
afsistance is of inestimable value,. and yet ad-
mit of the land being got into very good order
for turnips. ^^etches are likewise of the
greatest profit when cut green, in the course
of the summer, and given to cows and work-
ing horses in the stable. An acre, cut and
used in this way, will go farther, and do the
horses more good, than two acres eaten off in
the field : working horses want rest ; in the
stable they are not teased by . flies ; besideSj,
the quantity of manure which horses make, so
foddered, is prodigious. ,..

19. On the saving of Haij * .

The farmer cannot be too attentive to the
saving of hay. It is not uncommon to see
a fourth or a fifth part of it wasted in the con-
sumption, by being given to cattle in too
great quantities at a time, and in a loose

* 3y N. Kent, Esq,

GEORCICAL ESSAYS. 115

slovenly manner. Racks, with close bars,
should be made for horses, and deep cribs for
oxen. Sheep are still more apt to create
waste; theretbre the cutting of hay, in like
manner as straw is cut into chaff, is a frugal
and excellent practice ; by this means there is
no waste ; and it is certain, that hay given in
this way, will go considerably farther than if
given in the usual way. It may also by this
means, be often, with great propriety, mixed
.for oxen or horses, with a small proportion of
straw.

The usual price for cutting, is 3d. for four
heaped bushels ; and a man, who is expert at
it, will earn 3s. 6d. a day.

20. On Earljj Potatoes*.

In Lancashire, where the cultivation of the
early Potatoe is well understood, they cut the
sets, and put them on a room floor, where
a strong current of air can be introduced at
pleasure. Tlie sets are laid thin, about two
lays in depth, and covered with oat shells,
or saw-dust, about two inches thick: this

* By Mr. J. Blundell.

m GEORGICAL ESSAYS,

skrcens them from the winter frosts, and
keaps them moderately warm, causing them
to vegetate, but at the same time admits air to
strengthen them, and harden their shoots,
which the cultivators improve by opening the
doors and windows on every opportunity
afforded by mild soft weather : They frequently
examine them, and when the shoots are
sprung an inch and a half, or two inches, they
carefully remove one half of their covering,
with a wooden rake, or with their hands,
taking care not to disturb, or break the shoots.
Light is requisite as well as air, to strengthen
and establisli the shoots; on which account
a green-house has the advantage of a room,
but a room answers very well, with a good
window or two in it, and if to the sun still
better : in this manner they suffer the sets to
remain till the planting season, giving all the
air pofsible by the doors and windows, when
it can be done with safety from frost : by this
method the shoots at the top become gfeen,
and leaves are sprung, which are moderately
hardy. They then plant them in rows, in the
usual method, by a setting stick, and carefully
rake up the cavities made by the stick. By
following this method, the sets are made to
bear a little frost without injury. The super-

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 117

fine white kidney is the earliest Potatoe:
from this sort, upon the same ground, have
been raised four crops, having sets from the
repository ready to put in as soon as the others
are taken up ^ a fifth crop is sometimes raised
from the same lands, the same year,, of
transplanted winter lettuce. The first crop
has usually the advantage of a covering in
frosty nights.

21. On the Lofs of Weight in Grain*. j^^.yj

The following facts may afford some useful
hints to the farmer, and serve to instruct him,
that besides the rats, mice, and other vermin,
he has a secret and silent, but never ceasing
enemy, continually making depredations upon
his property, as the following experiments, to
ascertain the lofs that grain, sustains, especially
wheat, will Terify.

Experiment I.

jiug. 31, 1789.

Gathered and rubbed a few ears of wheat
during a glowing sun, which being imme-
diately put into the scales, weighed 2 ounces

* By Mr. John Holt.

118 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

11 drams. October tlie 18th, being put into
the scales agaio, then weighed 2 ounces

7 drams. The lofs of weight per bushel of
70 pounds, (the customary measure of this
•neighbourhood) is 6 pounds,- 8 ounces, and
3 drams, nearly, or almost one-tenth of the
whole in 49 days. But this is the greatest
lofs'- that grain can pofsibly sustain, which,
although perfectly ripe, had neither the ad-
vantage of being dried in the sun after being
reaped, nor had it undergone the procefs of
fermentation after being got together. —
1^1. B. Thirty-two grains weighed oiiQ penny-

^ weight.- jdXzobissdlB.::

** Barley.

i. ....

'Exp. II. Sept. 2. Under the same circum-
stances put into the scales 2 ounces and
2 drams of barley, which, being Iried again
Oct. the 18th, weighed 1 ounce and 12 drams,
or, at 60 pounds to the bushel, had lost

8 pounds, 4 ounces, and 22 drams, or about
one-seventh of the whole In forty-seven days.

^^'N. B. Twenty-four grains of this barley

"weighed one pennyweight two grains, so that

this corn must have been softer, or in a lefs

matured state, than the grains of wheat in the

CEORGICAt liSSAYS. 11^

iirst experiment. Since' 24 grains of plump
wheat are reckoned to weigh one penny-
weight, and hence the standard of that
weight; whereas we see the pennyweight
took 32 grains:

•Trt o-ij •s'loi'^d < ^inniin v.
,,i ^, Wheat/ { niB^c b'.r';:icv.

Exp. III. Oct. 22. Put into the scales six
ounces three drams, which in twenty-four days
lost three drams, or after the rate of two
pounds, one ounce, fifteen cirams per bushel.

Wheat.

Exp. IV. ya?i. 8, 1790. Took two ounces

two drams of wheat, which in thirty-tw^

days lost after the rate io^tw-o pounds fiftee»'

drams per bushel. yfib -jii) rdivr ■ .^..:o',vJ

i isftn ?vi;!) o\vi ^ tnifiTi? vinfjwj
From these experiments it appears that the,

decrease in weight was pretty regular from thp]

time of harvest, and the time taken in ascer->_^

taining the lofs of eachi quantity.: in other;

words, that the sum of the rnatter, evaporated.

becomes gradually lefs according to the length.

of time kept on hand, but proves that, the;,

sooner the crop is brought to market, Cceten':/

paribus, the greater is the .advantage to tJic

farmer.

120 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

N. B. The number of grains to a penny-
weight, in the two last experiments, was
omitted, or forgotten to be registered. After
the lofs sustained in the experiment No. 4.
had been ascertained, the grain was exposed
a few minutes before the fire, and when
weighed again had lost three pennyweights.

If such be the lofs in weight of gram, we
may conclude the potatoe, which evidently
contains a considerable quantity of water,
must also suffer by evaporation, although its
quality may by this lofs be improved.

Aug, 27, 1789. Took a pintreye potatoe,
fresh firom the earth and well cleaned, which
weighed two punces,, nine penH^rweights, and
twenty grains; the day follo'v^-ing 'it had lost
twenty grains ; two days after twenty-six
grains; in four days more thirty-one grains ;
in ten days more, or at the end of seventeen
days, it had lost forty grains. But we observe
it lost as much the first day, as the last six-
teen; in three days, six grains; whereas in
thirteen days more, it only lost fourteen
grains.

If such be the progrefe of nature, we may
naturally conclude this effect is increased by

GEORGICAL E6SAYS. 121

the culinary procefs. A potatoe that weighed
2 ounces, 7 dvvts. and 5 grains, in Its natural
state, after being roasted only weighed 1 ounce,
5 dwts. ; another before being put into water
weighed 2 ounces, 5 dwts. and 6 grains, but
immediately after being boiled, had lost
54 grains.

Voluvie II,

122 GEORGICAL LSSAYS.

ESSAY VII.

Oji Cottagers.

-tjLS much of the farmer's businefs is con-
ducted by day labourers, usually denominated
" Cottagers", it seems to be indispensibly ne-
cefsary that their employers should place them
in situations that will give encouragement to
personal exertion. It is not sufficient that
they be paid for their daily labour ; something
more should be done, and that something, I
conceive, should be what will gradually teach
them and their families how to employ a few
hours for their own advantage, after the labour
of the day. The Earl of Winchilsea, Lord
Carrington, Sir John Methuen Poore, and
John Way, Esq. have set the kingdom at large
some noble examples of what may be done in
this way, of which, the following are im-
prefsive instances of benevolence.

1 . Jn illustrious example of attention to the condition

of the Cottager *.

Upon my estate In the county of Rutland,
^ By the Earl ©f Winchilsca.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 123

there are from seventy to eighty labourers,
who keep from one to four cows each, I have
always heard that they are hard-working in-
dustrious men. They manage their land well,
and pay their rent very regularly. From what
I have seen of them I am more and more con-
firmed in the opinion I have long held, that
nothing is so beneficial both to them and to the
land owners, as their having land to be occu-
pied either for the keeping of cows, or as
gardens, according to circumstances.

By means of these advantages the labourers
and their families live better, and are conse-
quently more fit to endure labour j they are
more contented, and more attached to their
situation, and acquire a sort of independence,
which makes them set a higher value upon
their character. In the neighbourhood in
which I live, men so circumstanced are almost
always considered as the most to be depended
upon and trusted. The pofsefsing of a little
property certainly gives a spur to industry j as
a proof of this, it has almost always happened
to me, that when a labourer has obtained a
cow, and land sufficient to maintaui her, the
first thing he has thought of has been, how he

I2

124 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

eould save monev enough to buv another ; and
I have ahnost alwavs had appHcations for more
land from those people so circumstanced.
There are several labourers in my neighbour-
hood, who have got on in that manner, till
they now keep two, three, and some four cows,
and yet are amongst the hardest working
men m the country, and the best labourers.

"With regard to the profit they make of a
cow, those who manage well might, as the
prices of the market were two or three years
ago, have cleared twenty-pence a week, or
41. 6s. 8d. per ann. by each cow ; supposing
the rent of the land, levies, expenses of hay-
making, &c. to cost them 4l. exclusive of
house-rent. This clear profit, over and above
rent, 8zc. may now be set at two shillings a
week, or 5l. a year at least ; so as to make the
whole 9l. a year, on a supposition that all the
produce is sold. Whether, however, this cal-
culation is too low, or how it is, I cannot can-
not say i but certainly those who have a cow,
appear to be (in comparison with those who
have none) much more than two shillings per
week richer. It may probably be owing to
the superior industry of those families. — I must
observe, that they keep sheep during the win-

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. \2j

ter upon their cow pasture, at the rate of two,
and in some cases three, at '2s. 6d. each, for
each cow-pasture. This is included in the
above estimate of profit. The skim milk is
also valued. Some of them, where the land is
not good, do not pay so much. I put down
41. supposing the land tolerably good ; and it
is certainly more advantageous to them to oc-
cupy good land at a high rent, than poor land
at a low one. They all agree, that two cows
are more than twice as profitable as one : par-
ticularly where the suckling of calves is the
system pursued. The generality of the people
near me suckle calves ; some make butter, and
a few make cheese ; some buy the supernu-
merary lambs of the farmers, and rear them by
hand ; and where they have more than one or
two cow-gates, stock with sheep at the rate, in
summer, of three for a cow-gate. Those who
have families, and only one cow, generally
make butter for the sake of having skim milk
for their children, which is an article rarely to
be obtained by the poor. "When a labourer
has the offer of a cow-gate, and land for winter
provision, and has not money enough to pur-
chase a cow, he generally applies to his em-
ployer, who will, in ail probability, advance
him some money ; and the inhabitants of the

13

126 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

parish, if the man has a good character, fre-
quently subscribe to set him up, from chai itable
motives, and from a persuasion tliat by this
means his family will never want relief from
the parish : and this is so much the case, that
when a labourer dies, and his son takes his
land and stock, he in some cases maintains the
widow. I know of several instances of la-
bourers' widows, now past work, who are
maintained by their sons, but could not other-
wise have lived without parish relief.

When a poor man's cow dies, it is cer-
tainly a great distrefs ; and, sometimes, the
owner is obliged to ask afsistance, to replace
her. Somehow, or other, they always contrive
to get one ; as I scarcely ever knew a cow-gate
given up for want of ability to obtain a cow,
except in the case of old and infirm women,
who are left without children : for they cannot,
without some afsistance, live upon the profits
of a cow, nor can they manage it properly.
Should a case of this sort occur, the parish
officers would act \try unwisely in refusing
afsistance, as a very trifling allowance, together
with the cow, would enable a woman to livej
whereas, by refusing any afsistance, they oblige
the woman to part with her cow, and then

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 127

sLe must have ]]cr whole subsistence from
them.

AVhen a labourer is pofsefsed of cattle, his .
children are taught early in life the necefsity of
taking care of them, and acquire some know-
ledge of their treatment; and, if he has a garden,
they learn to dig and weed, and their time is
employed in useful industry, by v>diich means
they are more likely to acquire honest and in-
dustrious habits, than those, who are bred up
in the poverty and lazinefs, which we too often
see ; for I believe it is a certain fact that ex-
treme poverty begets idlenefs.

In the neighbourhood of large towns, and
in countries where there is hardly any thing
but arable land, the value of grafs-land is too
great, to allow of labourers renting it with ad-
vantage J a garden, however, may be allotted
to them in almost every situation, and will be
found of infinite use to them. In countries,
where it has never been the custom for la-
bourers to keep cows, it may be difficult to
introduce it ; but where no gardens have been
annexed to the cottages, it is sufficient to give
the ground, and the labourer is sure to know
what to do with it, and will reap an imme-

14

128 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

diate benefit from it. Of this I have had ex-
perience in several places, particularly in two
parishes near Newport Pagnell, Bucks, where
there never had been any gardens annexed to
the labourers' houses, and where, upon land
being allotted to them, they all, without a
single exception, have cultivated their gardens
extremely well, and profefs receiving the
greatest benefit from them.

Those very small spots of a few square yards,
which we sometimes see near cottages, I can
hardly call gardens : I think there should be
as much as will produce all the garden-stuff
that the family consumes, and enough for a pig,
wdth the addition of a little meal. I think
they ought to pay the same rent that a farmer
would pay for the land, and no more. I am
persuaded that it frequently happens, that a
labourer lives in a house at twenty or thirty
shillings a year rent, which he is unable to pay,
to which, if a garden of a rood was added, for
w^hich he would have to pay five or ten shillings
a year more, that he would be enabled, by the
profit he would derive from the garden, to pay
the rent of the house, &:c. with great advan-
tage to himself.

Whoever travels through the midland coun-

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 129

ties, and will take the trouble of inquiring,
will generally receive for answer, that formerly
there were a great many cottagers who kept
cows,, but that the land is now thrown to the
farmers ; and if he inquires still further, he will
find, that, in those parishes, the poor-rates
have increased in an amazing degree, more
than according to the average rise throughout
England. It is to be hoped, that as the quan-
tity of land required for gardens is very small,
it will not excite the jealousy of the farmers.

2. An account of a Provision for Cotlagers keeping
Colas'*.

In the parish of Humberston, near Grimsby,
there are thirteen cottagers, every one of whom
has one cow with the means of keeping her,
and some of them have more. The whole of
the parish is the property of Lord Carrington.
The land on which the cottages stand, with
the little paddocks and gardens adjoining, con-
tains in the wliole about sixteen acres. Besides
this, at the distance of a quarter of a mile from
the village, there are about sixty acres of land
appropriated to the use of the cottagers. This
land is divided into two plats ; one of which

* B^ Thomas Thompson, Esq.

150 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

is pasture for the cows in summer, and the
other is kept as meadow land to provide hay
for them in winter. Each cottager knows his
own piece of meadow land, and he lays upon
it all the manure which he can obtain, in order
tliat he may have the more hay. When one
of the two plats of ground has been mown for
two or three years, it is then converted into
the summer pasture, and the other is used as
meadow land ; by which means no part of the
land, occupied by the cottagers, is injured by
constant mowing.

The cottagers are independent of the greater
farmers ; holding their cottages and lands di-
rectly of Lord Carrington, and not as under-
tenants. This gives them a degree of respect-
ability, which they would not otherwise pofsefs.
The rent, which they pay for their land, is
below the farmer's rent ; but it is certain that,
in the greatest part of this kingdom, the cotta-
ger would rejoice at being permitted to pay
the utmost value given by the farmers, for as
much land as would keep a cow, if he could
obtain it at that price.

Lord Carrington is the patron of the living
of Humberston 5 and, upon the last vacancy

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. ISl

he gave it to a respectable and conscientious
clergyman, who has exerted himself very
strenuously in the religious and moral improve-
ment of his parishioners. He" has .laboured
with great and good effect. The cottagers
are sobf~.- and industrious : and it is not known
that any man of the parish lives in a course of
habitual immorality. The clergyman, with
Lord Carrington's afsistance, has also succeeded
in establishing, for the benefit of the youth at
Humberston, a parish-school ; which has been
of very efsential service to the parish.

There is no public-liouse at Humberston ;
nor do the parishioners desire one : and on this
account there are no cocktightings or gamin o-,
within the parish ^ nor any drunken meetings
for the purpose of settling the parish-rates. The
poor-rates in the parish of Humberston, which
include the charges for the families of the mi-
litia, never amount to more than ninepence
or tenpence in the pound on the rental, and
generally are under sixpence.

The reduction of the poor-rates, the increase
of the comforts, and the improvement of the
religious and moral habits of the poor, in the
parish of Humberston, may be fairly ascribed

132 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

to the circumstances above stated. The pub-
lication of the letter of the Earl of Winchilsea,
on the expediency and benefit of letting small
quantities of land to. cottagers, to enable them
to keep cows, will, I trust, be of the greatest
use to the country. Exclusive of the benevo-
lence and charity of thus adding to the com-
forts of the poor, advantages of the utmost im-
portance must be derived from such a system,
by the land-owners and farmers themselves.
It is efsential to every farmer, that there should
be a sufficient number of labourers in his neigh-
bourhood, to enable him to occupy his land to
the greatest advantage ; otherwise he cannot
afford to pay a fair and full rent for his land,
and manage his farm in a manner beneficial to
himself and to his landlord. Those labourers,
who have no local advantage of situation, no
tye of property, nor any appropriate benefit to
attach them to a peculiar spot, are inclined to
wander up and down a country, without any
fixed connexion ; and are always ready to
change their employer for a trifling advance in
their wages : whereas those cottagers, who
have the advantages of property, who pofscfs
a cow, and rent a little ground, arc the persons
on whose afsistance the farmer may depend in
the time of necefsity, and on whose honestv
and ability he may implicitly rely.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 133

I have no hesitation, however, in affirming,
that where cottagers occupy arable land, it is
very rarely of advantage to them, and generally
a prejudice to the estate. The expense of
keeping a team, swallows up all the profit of
a small quantity of arable land j and if the
cottager depends on hiring horses and farming
utensils, in order to work his land, the expense
of them, and the occasional lofs from the un-
certainty of obtaining them when they are most
wanted, will be more than the profits of his
land will bear.

The cottager, who rents arable land, will
seldom labour for other people i but will waste
a great deal of his time to little benefit to him-
self. Much of his labour will be unproductive,
because misapplied. From want of knowledge
as a farmer, or from the prefs of necefsitv, he
will crofs-crop his ground ; or, in other words^
repeat his crops, till it becomes exhausted and
foul, and incapable of any produce at all ; and
then he will complain that the land is bad and
dear, and will find himself in a situation in-
ferior to that of the labourer who has not the
advantage of any land at all.

The late Abel Smith, Esq. from motives of

134 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

kindnefs to several cottagers on one of his
estates in Nottinghamshire, let to each of them
a small piece of arable land. I have rode over
that estate with Lord Carrington several times
since it descended to him ; and I have invari-
ably observed, that the tenants upon it, w^ho
occupy only eight or ten acres of arable land,
are poor, and their land in bad condition.
They would thrive more, and enjoy greater
comfort, with the means of keeping two or
three cows each, than with three times their
present quantity of arable land ; but it would
be a greater mortification to them to be de-
prived of it, than their landlord is disposed to
inflict. If you give a cottager a garden, and
grafs-land on which to keep two cows, and he
has ability and prudence to manage them, he
will have comfort, and a considerable degree
of affluence : but if you add a few acres of
arable land, and make a little farmer of him,
he will always be in poverty and distrefs.

3. An account of a Cottager's FamUy*.

In the year 1779, a tenant of mine, at
Hasketon, in the county of Sufl^olk, died, leaving

By John Way, Esq.

CEORGICAL HSSAYS, 135

a widow, and fourteen children, the elde:>t of
which was a girl, under 14 years of age. He
had held under me 14 acres of pasture land,
in four inclosures, at a moderate rent of 131. a
year ; . and had kept two cows, which, with a
very little furniture and clothing, was all the
property that devolved, upon his death, to his
widow and children.

The parish of Hasketon is within the district
of one of the incorporated houses of industry ;
one of the first that was erected in the kingdom.
The rule of the house is to receive all proper
objects within the walls, but not to allow any
thing for the relief of the out poor, except in
cases which have a peculiar claim. The di-
rectors of the house of industry, upon being
made acquainted with the situation of the
family, immediately agreed to relieve the
widow, by taking her seven youngest children
into the house. This was proposed to her^
but, with great agitation of mind, she refused
to part with any of her children. She said,
she would rather die in working to maintain
them, or go herself with all of them into the
house and there work for them, than either
part with them all, or suffer any partiality to be
shown tQ any of them. She then declared that

136 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

if I, her landlord, would continue her in the
farm, as she called it, she would undertake to
maintain and bring up all her 14 children,
without any parochial afsistance.

She persisted in her resolution ; and being
a strong woman about 45 years old, I told her
she should continue the tenant, and hold it the
first year rent-free. This she accepted with
much thankfulnefs ; and afsured me, that she
would manage for her family without any other
afsistance. At the same time, though without
her knowledge, I directed my receiver not to
call upon her at all for her rent ; conceiving
that it would be a great thing, if she could
support so large a family, even with that in-
dulgence.

The result, however, was, that with the be-
nefit of her two cows, and of the land, she
exerted herself so as to bring up all her chil-
dren ; 1 2 of whom she placed out in service,
continuing to pay her rent regularly of her own
accord to my receiver every year after the first. —
She carried part of the milk of her two cows,
together with the cream and butter, every day
to sell at Woodbridge, a market town two
miles off, and brought back bread and other

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 137

necefsaries ; with which, and with her skim-
milk, butter-milk, &c. she supported her family.
The eldest girls took care of the rest while the
mother was gone to Woodbridge; and by
degrees, as they grew up, the children went
into the service of the neighbouring farmers.

The widow at length came and informed
me, that all her children, except the two
youngest, were able to get their own living ;
and that she had taken up the employment of
a nurse ; which was a lefs laborious situation,
and at the same time w^ould enable her to
provide for the two remaining children, who
indeed could now almost maintain themselves.
She therefore gave up the land, exprefsing
great gratitude for the enjoyment of it, which
had afforded her the means of supporting her
family, under a calamity, which must other-
wise have driven both her and her children
into a workhouse.

This is an extraordinary instance of what
maternal affection, afsisted by a little kindnefs
and encouragement, will do. To separate the
children of the poor from their parents, is
equally impolitic and unkind. It destroys the
energy of the parent, and the affections and

Volume IL K

138 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

principles of the child. Man is a creature of
wants. From them are derived all our
exertions. On the necefsity of the infant is
founded the affection of the mother j and among
the poor, (I except those cases where parental
affection mav be chilled and unfeebled by ex-
treme deprefsion of circumstances) — where
that necefsity exists in the greatest force, na-
tural affection is generally the strongest.

The supplying of cottagers with small gar-
dens, and in some instances with the means of
keeping a cow, will tend to diminish the calls
for parochial relief \ and to render unnecefsary
that barbarous system, of removing the child
from its natural and most affectionate guardians.
The year's rent remitted, and the land confided
to this poor widow, not only enabled her to
support and educate her children at home, but
was the means of saving the parish a very con-
siderable expense ; as the reception and feed-
ing and clothing of the seven youngest children,
at an expense of hardly lefs than seventy pounds
a year, would probably have been followed
by nearly an equal expense with the widow
and the other children. Besides this, the en-
couragement of industry and good management
^mong the poor in their cottages^ and afsisting

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 139

them in their endeavours to thrive, will con-
tribute to the increase of a hardy and industrious
race of people j and will afford a supply to our
markets of eggs, butter, poultry, pigs, garden
stuff, and many other articles of life j tending
to lower the price of provisions, to prevent
monopoly, to enrich the countryj and to make
it powerful both in people and produce, to a
degree beyond all calculation.

4. A meritorious example of Parochial attention to the
condition of the Cottager *.

It was deemed necefsary during the high
price of corn, that some general system should
be adopted for the relief of the poor in the
parish of ^Vlielford, in the county of Glou-
cester ; and it was conceived to be of some
importance, that the relief should be so given,
as not to diminish the spur to industry. It had
been apprehended that the usual mode of
taking the amount of every individual's earn-
ings, and making it up to a certain sum pro-
portioned to the number of his family, but
havijig no reference to his or their industry and
exertion, might have the effect of weakening

* By the Earl of Winchilsea.

K2

HO GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

the spirit of honest labour among the poor,
and habituate them to depend, not on their
own dihgence and care, but on parochial
funds, for the support of themselves and tlieir
families.

Tlie following plan has therefore been
adopted by the vestry of the parish of AVhel-
ford. A certain and a moderate sum has,
from time to time, according to the season of
the year, been fixed as the average earnings of
a labourer with common industry, working at
the ordinary price of labour in the parish.
This weekly sum has of late been fixed at
nine shillings ; being what, it was conceived,
every honest labourer might afsuredly earn,
with the necefsary exceptions of casualty, or
sicknefs.

To this sum the parish has added such
amount of weekly relief, as has, in the whole,
enabled the cottager to purchase weekly, for
each individual in family, ten pounds and
a half of wheaten bread of such quality as is in
general use in the neighbourhood ; and has
also (besides some allowance of coals) allov>ed
sixpence a w^ek each, for other necefsaries.
The most industrious and best disposed of the

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 141

cottagers, have not applied this allowance of
money in the purchase of wheaten bread ; but
have bought barley, and have had it ground,
and mixed with wheaten floury seldom lefs
than half barley, and frequently two-thirds.
In some instances they have made their bread
entirely of the unmixed barley.

In this mode of relief, if labourers reap or
mow by the acre, thrash by the bushel, or
quarter, or do any other task work, it is ob-
vious that they have all their extra earnings,
beyond the common price of labour by the
day, to themselves for their own benefit, in
addition to the same allowance as others re-
ceive. Thus it happens that necefsary relief
is supplied to meet a temporary prefsure, with-
out discouraging, but rather giving effect and
value to their industry, by the extra advan-
tages and enjoyments which they receive
from it.

Besides this, the Overseers, by directicm of
the parish, did at Lady-day, 1800, hire four-
teen acres of land, to be allotted in gardens,
for the labouring poor of the parish. The
quantity appropriated to each cottager, is-
varied in some proportion according to the

K3

142 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

magnitude of their families, and to their pro-
bable exertions in the cultivation of the
ground. The largest garden C(>ntains about
60 perches ; the smallest 20 ; except in some
few cases, where there is only one, or perhaps
two, in family ; and then they have as little
as 14 perches. If in this manner we permit
the unoccupied labourer to dig up a piece of
land, and to enjoy the produce of it, we
benefit him and all the membei s of society,
without injuring any one; for we increase the
common stock. If we instruct and enable
him to use those means of subsistence, which
he doth already pofsefs with great benefit to
himself and his family, the effect is vr^arly the
same : if we diminish the waste of food in our
families, and the saving is applied for the
benefit of the needy, they are relieved without
injury to others : but if, impelled by appear-
ance of distrefs, without consideration of cir-
cumstances or consequences, we go to .the
market, and purchase provisions in abundance
for our poor neighbours, we enable them to
live with lefs industry, and to consume more
food ; and thus we diminish the means of sub-
sistence in the country, and do a real injury
to all the other poor.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. l43

The land at Whelford is a dry, healthy,
warm gravel ; the rent paid for it is 24s. an
acre. It was intended that they should each
pay a proportion of the rent, taxes excepted j
but' the prcfsurc of the times has been so
severe upon the poor this season, that it is pro-
posed to dispense with the rent this year.

This supply of garden ground is very ac-
ceptable to them, particularly to the in-
dustrious labourers, most of whom have
planted part with potatoes ; and although the
season has been unfavourable for that root,
some of these cottagers have had from 15 to
16 sachs produce, a supply that must have
been very beneficial to them this winter, and
of no small advantage to the parish in di-
minishing the call for parochial relief.

It was not a subject of surprise that, of
these cottagers, some who have been long
in the habit of relying on parish relief for the
greater part of their support, should have
neglected the cultivation of their gardens ;
for it has been noticed in the parish of Whel-
ford, as well as in other parishes, " that those
who, for a length of time, have been burthen-
some to the rates, lose all inclination to ex*
6 K4

I4i GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

crtion; and endeavour, as much as pofsible,
to impose on the parish officers." The over-
seers, therefore, do not put these cottagers in
pofsefsion, as tenants from year to year ; but
only permit them to crop the land upon suffer-
ance ; in order that there may be no difficulty
in resuming the gardens from those who shall
not pay a proper attention to them, so as to
piit them into those hands that will cultivate
them to the greatest advantage.

Such are the measures which the judicious
farmers of the parish of AVhelfdrd' have
adopted for the benefit of a parish ; where,
I understand, there is no resident clergyman
or gentleman, to give afsistance, or to concur
in the execution of a plan so wise and liberal,
and so efsential to the permanent interest of
the landed property. With regard to the first
measure, compared with the general system of
relief now adopted in England, I must pre*-
mise generally, that if we make it the in-
terest of the poor to deceive us, and to
live in idlenefs, we must not wonder at the
necefsary consequence, that we are imposed
iipon, and that thei/ are idle ; and when wc
are reasoning upon the wickednefs of such
conduct, we ought to reflect that half the

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 11 J

criminality at least, and the entire cause and
origin of it, will rest with ourselves. As
to the second point, I cannot but wish
the experiment were fairly tried in other
parishes, whether 161. 16s. or even ten times
that sum, doled out in pecuniary pittances of
parish relief, can produce half the beneficial
effects that these 14 acres of ground, hired by
the parish at the rent of sixteen guineas a year,
and apportioned out among the industrious
labourers ; even with the supposition, that the
hardnefs of the times will prevent the rent, at
present, from being returned to the parish.
Its effects are of the most beneficial nature ; —
the affording of satisfactory occupation to the
cottager, for hours otherwise spent in the ale-
house,— the habituating of families to maintain
themselves, — the breeding up of the rising
generation to industry and forethought, and
the addition, in the instance of this one parish,
and in a year of scarcity, besides other articles
of food, near 2000 bushels of potatoes to the
private store, and to the domestic plenty ot
the cottagers of that parish.

The diminution of industry and exertion,
and the prevalence of indolence and thought-
lefsnefs among the poor, whereof we have so

146 GEORCICAL ESSAYS.

frequent and so clamorous observation, are not
to be imputed to the poor laws, but to the
peculiar manner in which they are executed.
It is, indeed, most wearisome and melancholy,
to contemplate so many sad and desponding
examples among the poor; — of childhood
without industry; — without the use, without
the knowledge, and frequently without the
power of employment. — Youth without fore-
sight and without the habit of laying up any
tiling as a provision for the increased demands
of the marriage state ; mature life with means
of subsistence always inadequate to a nume-
rous and increasing family ;— and old age, re-
ceiving a comfortlefs and thanklefs subsistence,
in a parish work-house.

The power of supplying regular and abun-
dant means of support for all the aged, the
helplefs, and tl>e unfortunate in society, seems
to be an exalted and enviable prerogative.
But in this, and in every other similar exercise
of superior authority, constant and unremitted
attention is necefsary. If the idle and vicious
are to receive the same benefit, and are to be
intitled, for their wives and families, to the
same support through life, as the honest and
the industrious, — if there is to be no discrimi-

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 147

nation of merit or claim, — the incitement to
industry and virtue will cease, and the cottager
will be thereby deprived of that spur to ex-
ertion and attention, which is efsential to the
well-being of society, and which constitutes
his own most valuable pofsefsion.

It is therefore our duty, not to afford to the
poor the means of repose and indolence, but
to offer them encouragement to industry ; not
to increase the propensity to vicious indulgence,
but to promote the habits of religion and vir-
tue. To effect this, we ask no additional re-
gulations,—no new experimental poor laws, —
110 accumulation of penalties on ?msconduct.-~-
We seek only this, that the poor-rates of this
kingdom shall be gradually reduced by the
adoption of a new system with regard to the
poor ; — by increasing their resources and means
of life, and thereby placing them above the
want of parish relief; — ^by watching with a
benevolent eye over their conduct and ne-
cefsities ; — by opening in every parish, schools
for poor children, and a poor house, not liable
to the ordinary and popular objections ; — and
by imitating the wisdom and philanthropy of
the farmers at Whelford ; and so administering
parochial relief, as eventually to diminish the

148 Gl:ORGICAL ESSAYS.

call for it ; and to make it subservient to the
great and primary object, — of promoting
virtue and industry.

5. Prelhmnartj.

As I do not consider the Georgical
Essays as confined to the operations going
forw^ard upon the surface of the earth, 1 hope
to be allowed occasionally to take a view of
the internal parts of the globe, that derive no
advantages trom the cheering rays of the sun.
And as it is my intention to conclude these
Efsays with an account of the diseases and
condition of persons employed in husbandry,
I flatter myself that I shall be permitted to
exhibit a view of the mining poor, whose
situation, from the nature of their employ-
ment, is often most truly uncomfortable.

EDITOR,

On the situation of the Mining Poor *.

The respective occupations of the dilTerent
clafses, into which the poor of this country may
be divided, are found to produce important
effects, not only on the habits of life, but also

*By the Rev. Thomas Gisbornc.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 149

on the moral character of each clafs. To state
with brevity tlie principal of these effects, as
they severally appear exemplified in two or
three of the most numerous clafses, together
with some practical remarks, may not be use-
lefs : since, from such a statement, persons, who
are solicitous to befriend and improve the poor
in their vicinity, may derive occasional sug-
gestions as to the particular channels, in which
their exertions are likely to be the most needed,
and most beneficial.

Miners are commonly exempted, by the na-
ture of, their work, from the superintending in-
spection of their employer. The latter, in con-
sequence, finds the mode of paying them a cer-
tain sum per day unadvisable. He sets them
their task by the great, suiting the mode to
prevailing custom and other local circum-
stances. In Derbyshire, the workmen frequently
take a mine, or a bargain for a determinate
period, as three months, on the terms of re-
ceiving a settled price for each measure of ore
f,.)yhich,they shall produce , or occasionally, on
the. condition of being themselves allowed to
purchase all the ore at a stipulated rate. In
Cornwall, the established course of proceeding
is not substantially different. Hence there is

150 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

a fundamental diversity between the gains of
the miner and those of the husbandman. The
husbandman, in general, earns a fixed sum per
week. If he sometimes undertakes task-work,
the amount of his earnings may still be fore-
seen with tolerable accuracy ; and it has a
known limit in the strength of his body, and
in his skill in the particular sort of work. But
the pay of the miner depends upon chance.
The working miner is almost always in some
measure a gambler, and embarks in the ad-
venture of the mine. The ore may be found
deposited in ample or in scanty veins -, may be
with ease, or with great difficulty, detached
from its bed ; it may stretch far and wide in
an unbroken range, or it may be suddenly re-
moved many yards to a higher or a lower level.
Even in breaking up ground which does not
contain veins of ore, the miner is still a
gambler. The work is put up to a kind of
auction ; and the person who will undertake
it on the cheapest terms is preferred. His
bargain proves good or bad, according to cir-
cumstances. He may find himself engaged
upon a mafs of soil, which yields readily to his
spade, and pick-axe ; or retarded in his pro-
grefs by rocky strata, whose stubborn oppo-
sition must be overcome by gunpowder.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 151

The earnings however, of the mhier, though
precarious, are on an average great ; and in
many instances very far exceed all prospects
of gain, which a labourer in husbandry can pro-
pose to himself. Those miners who are industri-
ous, and at the same time frugal, often make
a conspicuous use of the opportunities which
they pofsefs, of improving their situation.
With the surplus of their gains they purchase
httle spots of property (in Cornwall chiefly on
leasehold tenures) and cultivate them in their
hours of leisure. So circumstanced, they are
kept from alehouses, by finding, in their own
little property, amusement and occupation for
their vacant time ; they acquire habits of fore-
thought, because they enjoy the benefit of it;
and become orderly and civilized in some
measure, because they derive an additional
motive to behave aright, and consider their
conduct as more subject to observation, in
consequence of their being pofsefsed of pro-
perty.

But, in common, the miner is not disposed
to adjust the scale of his expenses to the average
of his earnings. Being accustomed to the oc-
casional receipt of considerable sums of money,
money too which has flowed in suddenly upon

152 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

him, rather from good fortune than from pro-
portionate exertions, he often raises his ex-
penditure and mode of living to a pitch, to
which the labourer in agriculture ventures not
to aspire. He feeds on better diet, and wears
clothes of finer materials, than the husbandman.
And, in general, he persists in this manner of
life, in spite of a change of circumstances.
He is buoyed up with the sanguine hopes of
a gamester : and, for what he cannot pay to-
day, draws on the favourable luck of to-morrow.
This natural propensity is cherished and aggra-
vated by the ease with which he obtains credit,
in comparison of those clafses of labourers,
whose gains, though steady, are limited. If
he happens to be unsuccefsful, he is trusted
neverthelefs at shops, and permitted to run up
long scores at public houses; through the
hopes entertained by the shopkeeper and the-
publican that a day will come, when fortune
will smile on the debtor. Thus the habits of
the miner are seldom interrupted by any rubs
and difficulties, which may teach him caution.
He has lefs occasion than most other men to
dread the immediate inconveniences of po-
verty; and does not willingly learn the ne-
cefsity of frugality and forecast.

Miners very frequently work and live in

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 153

large companies. Hence naturally arises the
comniunication and the encouragement of
vice. , In Derbyshire it is observed, and the
case is probably the same elsewhere, that, vv^hen
only two or three miners work together, they
are frequently much more sober and orderly
than the rest of their clafs. Among the vices
of miners, those are naturally prominent, which
are usually afsociated w^ith rudenefs of cha-
racter; as riotous dispositions, impatience
of supposed grievances, and discontent in-
flamed by the contagion of turbulence and cla-
mour, and filling with just alarm the adjacent
countr\'.

Drunkennefs is a vice, to which particular
.' clafses of workmen are allured, in an especial
•^ manner, by the nature of their employments.
Blacksmiths, glafs-makers, and they who la-
bour in other ways at the forge and the fur-
nace, are led, by intense thirst and exhaustion
of- strength, first to the use, and then to the
abuse, of strong liquors. The cold and damp-
nefs of subterranean situations, and in some
measure the powerful exertions of subterra-
nean labour, produce a similar effect on the
miner. Several other causes concur j num.e-
rous and unprincipled society, large gains, and
Volume JL X^

154' GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

in many cases, much vacant time. In Derby-
shire and Cornwall, the miners frequently do
not work above six hours ; and, in the former
county, sometimes even but four hours in a
day. The ease, too, with which a miner has
obtained credit, often proves a temptation to
excefs. He, who has met with a friend in the
time of need, in the keeper of an alehouse or
of a brandy shop, will feel inclined, w^hen he
has money, to spend it freely at the house of
his friend, partly from gratitude, and partly
from the hope of obtaining credit hereafter.
Another inducement to drunkennefs remains
to be mentioned j namely, the custom which
prevails in some few places, of paying the
miners on Saturday evening, by a bill for a
sum, which is to be divided among them.
These men, however disposed to depart home
with their Visages entire in their pockets, are
absolutely forced to go for change to the neigli-
bourins: oublic house : the master of which is
known regularly to provide himself with cash,
to answer the demand. During the division
something must be spent. From this custom
many miners, once sober and well disposed,
have probably had to date the commencement
of habits of ebriety.

The labourer in industry is commonlv at-

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 155

tached to some particular family, cither of a
private gentleman, or of a farmer. In the
I'ormer case, it generally happens that he re-
ceives from his employer many little favours.
In the latter, he is perhaps furnished with corn
at a price lower than that of the neighbouring
market, or enjoys some similar advantage.
Hence the master acquires an influence over
the conduct of his workmen ; and is often
seen to exert it in promoting their comfort,
and guarding them from extravagant and pro-
fligate courses. The connection which sub-
sists between the proprietor of a mine and the
working miner, is comparatively slight. The
latter considers himself as independent , fre-
quently shifts his quarters -, and is little under
tlie controul of authority, or of persuasion.

Another chcumstance in the situation of
miners, which is unfavourable to domestic
frugality and good management, is to be
traced in the sort of women which they often
choose for wives. . At almost every mine, there
are a number of women, daughters in general
of the mining poor, who earn their livelihood
by picking and washing the ore, and perform-
ing other operations of the same nature. In
■ these employments they have been busied from

L2

156 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

t'leir childhood. A young mining labourer'
takes a hasty hking to one of these young
women, and marries her, without thinking
about consequences. Tliis is the history of a
multitude of marriages among miners ; and,
circumstanced as the parties are, it is natural
that the case should be so. The wife, how-
ever, is not likely to have found the mine an
excellent school, either of virtue, or of eco-
nomy. Nor is it, in consequence, xery surpri-
sing that waste, profligacy, and dram-drinking,
should be almost amon? the ordinary habits of
a miner's family. The daughters of the hus-
bandman are commonly brought up much
more .under the eye of their mother. Thev
help her in nursing and spinning, and other
occupations at home : and when they go out
to work in the field, it is frequently in her
company, 'lliey stand therefore a better chance
of being trained in morality and religion, and
the arts of female industry : and become habi-
tuated to that ecoromy, and those various con-
trivances, which actual necefsitv forces on the
wife of a day labourer. They of course will,
in general, make more virtuous and more pru-
dent wives, than young women who have been
accustomed, from an early age, to the company
and example of the mixed crowd of tlieir own

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 157

Eex and of the other, which is usually afsemblcd
at the mine and the stamping mill.

The colliers in the vicinity of the Tyne form
so large a body of men, and shew so strongly
marked a character, that some distinct account
of them seems proper to be subjoined.

Few undertakings open the door so soon to
the employment of the young, and few operate
so powerfully to imprefs durable habits on the
mind of youth, as the coal trade.

Boys enter the subterranean workings at
the age of six or seven, in tlie character of
trap-door-keepers, an jemployment suited to
their years; the labour being little more than
to open and shut doors, fixed for conducting
air round the various works, when the coals
are pafsing through them from the workmen
to the shaft, *

In this situation they rem.ain four or live years,
with little intercourse during the hours of labour
(which are from 12 to 18 out of the 24) either
with their equals in years, or with their su-
periors; and hear little that can influence their
poinds, except the noise of imprecations spread-

L3

158 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

ing through the works, from the pitman con-
tending with his overseer, down to the half-
grown youth, employed in leading the coals
from the workmen, and imposing upon his
younger partner in the labour a dispropor-
tionate share of the work, to procure ease to
himself. When they reach tlie age of ten or
twelve years, a more laborious station is allotted
to them.

They then become what are termed lads or
foals ; supplying the inferior place at a machine
called a tram, where two are employed in
drawing the coals from the workmen to the
shaft. In this situation they are subject to the
most harsh usage from their superior in the
work, who frequently forces upon them, \\\\h.
profane and abusive language, followed by
blows, a greater share of the labour than they
are able to perform. Hence, in order to avoid
punishment, they soon learn habits of deceit
and evasion ; and scruple not to practise them,
whenever they seem expedient, at the expense
of truth and honesty. And when the period
arrives, which places them in the station from
which they have received so much abuse, they
seldom fail to retaliate on those, a^ hom pro-
grefsive advancem.ent from the trap-door tQ
the tram, brings into their power.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 159

In every subsequent step towards manhood,
they consider it as a merit to deceive and over-
reach.— In their next stage of occupation they
are employed, during one half of their time, in
putting and drawing the coals : and, during
the other half, in raising the coal from its bed.
Here a wider field opens itself to the display
of their ingenuity, in the art of CN-asion ; and
new incentives impel them to the exercise of
it. — Let loose from even that small degree of
restraint, under which they considered them-
selves as held by the authority of their parents,
(for at this period they generally become their
own masters, having the full disposal of the
product of their labour,) and inflamed with the
growing pafsions of youth, they indulge them-
selves, with the most vicious emulation, in the
scenes of intemperance and profligacy. If
they are, at any time, without the means ne-
cefsary to procure those indulgences, they study
to avail themselves in their respective depart-
ments of every artifice (however injurious to
the interest of their employer) to complete their
purpose. Thus by slov/ but perceptible de-
grees, the mind becomes poisoned with wicked
principles and guilty habits.

The hours devoted to what they term their

L 4

160 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

amusement, are not lefs prejudical to the moral
character. — At a very early period in life they
attend the haunts of their fathers at public
houses; where their growing fondnefs for
strong liquors is encouraged, rather tlian
checked, by their parents ; and the child soon
becomes a man in the frequency of intoxication.
To gratify this pafsion for intemperance, which
is a leading characteristic of pitmen, they en-
deavour to enhance the price of their labour
by every art in their power ; and in this, as
well as in every other transaction with their
employers, easily sacrifice the principles of
rectitude, to promote their selfish designs.

The early age at which the child is separated
from the parent, and the little communication
which they have with each other afterwards,
visibly impair those affectionate feelings, which
constitute parental happinefs.

TTiey seem to consider their children chiefly
in the light of servants and dependents, from
whose labour they expect to reap advantage ;
and are little solicitous to imprefs on their
minds, habits of sobriety, honesty, and truth -,
and thus to train them in the paths o^ re-
ligion.

OEORGICAL ESSAYS. 161

For the purpose of inculcating Christian
principles, Sunday schools have been esta-
blished. While the institution was novel, they
were numerously attended. — As soon as that
impr;efsion lost its influence, they became far
lefs frequented. And no representaUons of the
good effects of such institutions, have been suf-
licient to prevail upon the parents to enforce
attendance by their authority. Even where
daily schools have been established by some of
the opulent coal-owners, the pitmen frequently
do not give their children the advantage of
that little education, which might there be ob-
tained, antecedently to the period when they
^nter the pit.

When the principles are thus habitually de-
praved, it is not to be expected that much at-
tention will be paid to the duties of rehgion.
By most, even external forms are disregarded ;
and the time, which ought to be spent in at-
tendance on Divine worship, is generally dis-
sipated in frivolous pursuits, vulgar athletic
exercises, or in drinking at public-houses. —
Where attention to religion prevails, the good
effects are manifest. — Colliers of that character
are usually sober, industrious, honest, and fru-
gal, both in themselves and in their families.

162 GEORGICAL ES5AYS.

Another trait, in the character of a collier,
is his predilection to change of situation.
Whatever may be the comfort and conveni-
ences resulting from his connection with any
particular employ, he sacrifices them all to his
love of variety, and the hope of superior ad-
advantage ; so that annual changes are almost
as common with the pitman, as the return of
the seasons J and, not unfrequently, the suc-
ceeding year finds him in the same situation,
which he quitted twelve months before. And
whatever favours he may have received, he is
<iisposed to consider them as all cancelled by
the refusal of a single request.

It is to high wages, that many of the criminal
habits, so often attached to the character of a
collier, may in part be ascribed. He is fur-
nished with the power of obtaining more than
the necefsaries of life ; and being destitute of
the principles, which w^ould teach him to ap-
ply the surplus to proper purposes, he squanders
It in the gratification of grofs sensuality. To
economy he is, in general, an utter stranger.
It is no unusual thing to see a man and his
family, during the first week after they receive
their wages (which are commonly paid to them
once a fortnight) indulging themselves in the

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 163

\isc of animal food three times a day; and in
the succeeding week living on a little rye bread,
with oatmeal and water, until the next receipt
of their wages enables them to return to a
course of luxury. The contrast between the
pitman and the labourer in husbandry, is very
striking. The latter, with 9s. a v^'eek, is seen
keeping himself, his wife, and several children,
from whose labour he reaps little advantage,
with all the appearance of decency and fru-
gality ; and even allowing out of his wages
something for the education of his children ;
Mobile the former with 16s. a week, and often
more, together with the labour of his family
(which, if it consists of three or four boys,
brings him in from 20 to 30s. a week in ad-
dition to his own gains) pafses half of his time
in luxury and riot, and the remainder in filth
and poverty. The manners of the pitmen are
said evidently to have altered, wnthin a few
years, materially for the worse.

As the preceding accomit of the colliers does
not represent them in an attractive light, it is
the more incumbent on me to say, that I speak
from concurrent information, derived from dif-
ferent sources, each of high authority, ^iany
exceptions to the general description undoubt-
edly exists, ^

164 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

The preceding statement contains facts of
such a nature, that the perusal of it will pro--
bably suggest to the reader several practical
remarks. There are, however, some points,
on which it may be useful to add a few words.

The first evil, in the situation of miners,
which ought to be remedied, is the very little
education and religious instructions, which
their children in general receive. How are
these children, when they compose in their
turn the next generation of the mining poor,
to discharge their duty to God and man, if
they are not imprefsed early with the principles,
from which the sense of religious and moral
obligation flows ? The institution of Sunday
schools is one excellent mean for the attain-
ment of the object in question. Every pofsible
encouragement ought to be given to them, and
persuasion and little premiums and all other fit
inducements should be employed, to secure the
regular and cheerful attendance of the scholars.
Another method of improving the parent, as
well as the children, has been recently and
deservedly recommended by an eminent pre-
late * ; namely, the erection of additional cha-?

* See an excellent charge lately addrefsed by th?
Bishop of Durham to his clergy.

GEORGICAL ESSAY5 . 165

pels in populous districts. Let it here be gene-
rally observed, that, in every plan for improv-
ing the character of the mining poor, the pro-
prietor of the mine and the clergyman of the
place ought cordially and actively to co-
operate. Each has it in his power to contri-
bute to that improvement j and, in proportion
to his power, each is responsible.

The predominant vice of drunkennefs calls
for the most vigilant counteraction. — Let the
number of public houses be reduced within as
narrow limits as convenience will permit : and
the conduct of publicans be carefully observed
by the gentlemen and magistrates of the coun-
try. Let the very pernicious custom of pay-
ing miners by a bill to be changed at the pub-
lic house, be immediately abolished. The
temporal distrefses, which result from ebriety,
afford arguments proper to be urged to indi-
viduals, in proportion to their intrinsic force.
But I know no method of recalling guilt to
the path of rectitude, either in public or in
private life, likely to be durably efficacious,
except this : first, to imprefs the mind with a
conviction of the truth and awful import of
Christianity ; and then, to point out the bear-

166 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

ings of Christian commands and prohibitions
on the particular subject, with respect to which
you wish to accomplish a reformation. He
who, under the impulse of brutish appetite,
disrefrards all considerations of injured health,
wasted property, a heartbroken wife, and
standing children, may pause, tremble, and be
reclaimed, when he sees that the " drunkard"
has his place in the dark catalogue of those,
who, *' shall not inherit the kingdom of God /"

The use of profane language may be in a
great degree deprefsed by care, on the part of
the proprietor, to appoint conscientious agents
and superintendants over his works. I could
name more than one instance of captains of
men of war, who, by suitable penalties and
personal exertions, have almost eradicated that
vice from their ships. "Why should it be more
difficult to be subdued in a coal-mine ?

Deceit appears to be among the general
faults of miners. It is stated as one of the
characteristics of the Newcastle colliers : and a
similar reproach is applied to the miners in
Derbyshire, who are said, by practice, to have
attained great adroitnefs in disiiguring the sides

GEORGICAL ESSAYS, 167

ot" a mine, when the time, for which they have
taken it, is expiring, that the owner may be
entrapped into a new bargain advantageous to
the workmen. By a due choice of agents, let
the tyranny of the elder parlner over his col-
league at the tram, one principal source of
deceit, be prevented. And, universally, let
the love of truth be habitually encouraged,
and traced up to Christian motives.

In opposition to the spirit of mutiny and
discontent, it may easily be shown, and it
ought to be inculcated, that no principles are,
on the one hand, more adverse to turbulence
and anarchy, nor, on the other, more favour-
able to genuine freedom, than those of the
religion which we profefs; and that correspond-
ing praise belongs to those of the constitution
under which we live.

The propensity to change of situation, which
prevails among miners, to the detriment of
themselves and their employers, will be best
encountered by solicitude, on the part of the
proprietor, to attach his workmen to himself,
by rendering their condition comfortable. Let
him make their cottages neat, and moderately
commodious J adding to them ample gardens.

168 GE0RG1,CAL ESSAYS.

and affording to each family an opportunity,
as far as may be practicable, of keeping a cow,
or of purchasing milk : let him study to allure
them to habitual cleaniinefs, when above
ground. Let him invite them to forecast, by
encouraging the establishment of friendly
societies ; the advantage of w^hich to miners
is the greater, on account of the frequent ac-
cidents to v.hich they are exposed : and let
him promote similar institutions for the benefit
of widows and orphans. Let him set up
schools, where the girls may be instructed in
sewing, knitting, and spinning, and those little
domestic arts, which will be of the utmost
utilitv, when thev become wives and mothers.
By abundant ventilation, and other suitable
contrivances, let him render the different sub-
terranean occupations salubrious, and as free
from disagreeable circumstances of every kind,
as the nature of the case will admit.

6. Prdiminary.

The powerful examples here given of the
method of bettering the condition of the poor
Cottager and Miner, will be weakened, in a
great degree, u.iiefs the Overseer pays a proper
attention to the nature of his office, which un-
fortunately is limited to a short duration, and

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 169

consequently expires at a time when he is just
beginning to know the nature of the duty that
he has undertaken. I presume that some in-
struction given him on entering upon his office,
wiU qualify him, at an early period, for the due
performance of it, and be the means of his
leaving it with credit to himself, and advantage
to the poor, over whom the laws of his coun-
try have placed him, as guardian and protector.
The following charge is well calculated for this
purpose, and is highly honourable to the
Gentleman who gave it.

Tlie Charge*.

SIR,

Tlie office, to which you are this day ap-
pointed, is of no small importance , inasmuch
as the welfare of a considerable part of our
fellow-subjects depends upon the due execution
of it. It is 1/oia' duty, Sir_, to be the guar-
dian AND PROTECTOR OF THE POOR; and,

as such, to provide employment for those who
can work, and relief and support for those who
cannot ; to place the yonng in a way of obtain-
ing an honest livelihood by their industry, and

* By Thomas Bernard, Esq.
Volume II. M

170 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

to enable the aged to close their labours and
their life in peace and comfort

In the execution of this office, it is your duty
to consider how you may best improve the situa-
tion of the poor in your parish, so as to lefsen
the calls for parochial relief, and thereby to
diminish your parish rate. — In this respect,
much may be done by occasional aid and
encouragement to parishioners with large fa-
milies; much, by means of regular employ-
ment for children, either at home or in schools
of industiy, so as to fit them to be placed out
in service at an early age ; — and much, by a
judicious management of your poorhouse, if you
have one, and by making a proper distinction
and separation betw^een the honest and indus-
trious who are driven thither by age, infirmity,
or misfortune, and the idle and profligate,
whose loose and vicious habits of life have
made them a burthen and a disgrace to their
parish.

^^o'

You are. Sir, within the space of 1 4 days, to
receive th6 books of afsefsments and of accounts
from your predecefsors, together with such
money and materials, as shall be in their hands ;
and, if any balance is due to them, you are to

CEORGICAL ESSAYS. 17 I

pay it out of the first monies that come to your
hands.

In conjunction with the churchwardens of
your parish, you are, by a parish rate, to raise
money, to purchase a sufficient stock of mate-
rials for setting the poor to work, and to sup-
ply competent sums for the relief of the lame,
impotent, old, blind, and such among you as
are poor and unable to work, and for putting
out poor children apprentices.

In making the poor's-rate, it is necefsary
that a majority of the churchwardens and over-
seers should concur J and it is your duty to
make an equal and impartial rate, without
favour or affection, upon " every occupier of
** lands, houses, tithes, mines, and saleable un-
" derwoods in your parish," When such rate
is made, it is to be approved and signed by
two Justices, dwelling in or near your parish ;
and, on the Sunday after, to be published in
your parish church.

In case the rates, so made, shall not be regu*
larly paid, you may obtain a summons for the
person making default to appear before two

M2

172 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

neighbouring Justices ; who may, by warrant,
authorise such rates to be raised by disircfs in
your parish ; or, if sufficient goods of such per-
son making default be not found in your parish,
then, upon apphcation to one justice, to be
levied in any other county, or district, where
the defaulter may have property.

With regard to die poors-role, we know
that there are instances, in some parts of Eng-
land, where it has been levied upon xhepoor :
we mean, by the poor, those wlio have not the
advantage of any profefsion, trade, property,
or income, nor any other means of support,
except their daily labour ; and who have only
a cottage, a Httle garden, and a few articles of
furniture, merely such as are necefsary for them
and their families ; and we think it our duty
to observe, that, to charge such poor persons to
the rate at all, appears to us to be directly con-
trary to the authority, under which the rate is
made ; viz. the statute of Elizabeth, which was
pafsed soon after the difsolution of the mona-
steries, and entitled " an Act for the Relief of
the Poor :'' An Act, in which, ii cottages had
been intended to have been included, they
would have been exprefsly named, as well as

georgical essays. 173

houses i from which they were then considered
as totally different, and distinguishable in point
of law.

It is impofsible to read that statute without
perceiving that it v/as never intended to com-
pel the poo7^, who are frugal and industrious, to
support those who are not so ; but that there
is, throughout, a distinction made between the
clafs of men, not having income or property,
who are to be entitled to relief under it,
and those who, from the income of their pro-
perty, profefsion, trade, or occupation, are to
contribute to that relief: — that by the poor are
intended the labouring cottagers ; who, if out
of employment, are, under that x\ct, to have
work found them ; — if lame, impotent, old, or
blind, and unable to work, are to receive
pecuniary or other relief; — who, if habitations
are wanting, are to have them erected at the
charge of the parish ; — and whose children, if
unemployed, are to be set to work, and, at a
fit age, to be placed out apprentices in service,
or to a trade.

But, whatever may be the opinion as to the
law, there can be no doubt in point o{ prudence^
that while the day-labourer, who has children,

M3

174 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

is exerting himself to maintain his family with-
out parochial aid, it is a dangerous experiment
to attempt to make him contribute to the sup-
port of your other poor, with the probable, or
even a pofsible, consequence of driving a large
family on the parish.

There is, however, one clafs of labouring
men, who have still a superior claim to ex-
emption from parish-rates ; — the Members of
Friendly Societies, who are acquiring for them-
selves, out of the savings of their own industr}^
an eligible and honourable provision, inde-
pendent of the poor laws. As these societies,
particularly ivhere they enjoy the advantage of
having their rides framed a?id cofijirmed accord-
ing to law, have the effect of greatly reducing
the poor's-rate, it is required of you, as an a6t,
not merely of justice, but of prudence, not to
endeavour, in any case, to compel such labour-
ing men, being Members of Friendly Societies
established according to law, to contribute to
the support of the other poor of their owa
parish.

In applying the rate for the relief of the
poor, we request that you will attend to the
permanent improvement of their condition, ra-

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 175

ther than to the little expedient or economy of
the moment. — If a poor man's family is visited
by sicknefs or calamity, it is better for your
parish that he should receive a timely supply of
medical and oiher necefsary afsistance at home,
and be re-established in the power of maintain-
ing himself and his family by his labour, than
that they should be neglected, until it becomes
necefsary to remove them into the poorhouse,
where they may probably remain, a burthen to
the parish, for many years :— If the poor of your
parish want employment, there is more eco-
nomy in supplying them with instruction, en-
couragement, spinning-wheels, wool, and other
means of earning a livelihood, than in leaving
them to be opprefsed by poverty, and by that
languid and desponding indolence, which is
often rather the misfortune than the vice of
the poor ; with the consequence of being obli-
ged to maintain the family afterwards, at ten
times the expense, that would have been in-
curred at first, by a timely supply of relief to
themselves. Upon this head, we have one
earnest request to make ; that whatever is made
by their labour, they may have the whole pro-
duce of it, without any deduction, on any pre-
tence whatever. — The earnings of the poor
should be sacred and inviolate, in order to en-

M4

176 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

courage them to work, and to exempt the cha-
racter of their employers from the imputation
of interested motives.

Upon the authority of the case of the Kijig
and North Shields (20 Geo. III.) wc have,
where parents have appUed for support for
their infant children under seven years of age,
ordered them relief at home, without removing
the parents or children into the parish work-
house ; adopting die humane and judicious
sentiments, which Mr. Justice Buller delivered
on that occasion :— that it would be injurious
to parishes, if, " when 07ie of a numerous fami-
" iy wants relief, the whole must go to the pa-
" rish workhouse ;" and that it would be very
unjust " that the parish should be entitled to
" the labour of a zchole family, because one of
" them might want relief." — Any difficulties,
however, that did exist en this subject, have
been rem.oved by the act (36 Geo. III. cap. 23.)
which enables magistrates to make special
orders for the relief of industrious poor persons
at home.

It is your duty. Sir, to see that there are
proper habitations for the poor of your parish 3
and if, by tlie decay of cottages, or by the in-
crease of population, more habitations arc

GEORGTCAL ESSAYS. 177

wanted for them, you are, with the leave of
the lord 6f the manor, to erect cottages for
them at the parish expense, on the waste or
common, within your parish.

After every thing has been done for tlie en-
couragement . and protection of the deserving
poor, there remains another clafs, which it will
be necefsary to reform by punishment ; I mean
those drones of society, idle and disorderly/
persons, whom the law has described as va-
grants, rogues, and vagabonds. It is due to
the honest exertions of the industrious cottager,
that, while he receives aid and encouragement,
they should not escape correction ; that every
distinction should be made between him and
those, who wander about, endeavourin^:' to
subsist, without labour, on the industry of
others ; of whom many have deserted their
families, and almost all have quitted the p'ace,
or situation, where their services mij^ht have
been useful, and where they ought to have
been employed. In bringing these to punish-
ment, with a view to amendment, it will be
prudent for you to apply for directions to this
bench, where you have found regular attend-
ance and afsistance . from the magistrates for
tl^e space of nine years i and it will be meici-

178 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

ful SO to select the objects, as that the punish-
ment of few may have its effect in the reform
of many.

As in your conduct towards the poor out of
the workhouse, so, in respect of those within
its walls, there should be a marked distinction
between the industrious and the idle, and be-
tween the orderly and the profligate. There
is nothing in the internal regulation of this
country, more subversive of its credit, or more
inimical to its prosperity, than the uniform
and unvaried treatment, which the best and
the worst of our fellow-subjects receive in a
parish workhouse. In that place, it is of the
utmost importance, not merely to the poor
persons who are driven thither by the tempest
of fortune, but to the very well being of the
country itself, that there should be a decisive
boundary — a line of separation — drawn be-
tween the industrious and honest poor, who
are suffering under a calamity from which
neither you nor we can presume to be exempt,
and those vicious and abandojied characters,
which are the pests of society, and the objects
of punishment.

In administering relief, we inquire into the

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 179

industry and character of the person who ap-
plies. "We have found no small benefit in ad-
hering strictly to this rule ; and we confidently
recommend to you, as an encouragement to
the energy and good habits of the poor, not to
give to the idle and the vicious the same en-
couragement, as is due to the honest and in-
dustrious labourer, suffering under sicknefs or
misfortune. If it appears that the person, who
applies, has exerted himself honourably and di-
ligently in his situation, it is your duty. Sir, and
it is the interest of your parish, that he be re-
lieved kindly and liberally,

Tliere is an Act of Parliament, which enables
you, if you are so disposed, to farm your work-
house.— It is pofsible, that 2i f armed -workhousQf
confided to a deserving person, like absolute
power in the best and most virtuous hands, may
be the instrument of good j but there is no
instance whatever, in which the duty and in-
terest of the person intrusted are so completely
in opposition to each other, as in that of the
farmer of a parish workhouse. For, while his
duty should direct him to improve the state of
the workhouse, it is his interest to keep it in
such a condition, as to deter any competitor
from offering for it, at the end oi the yeaf.

180 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

The necefsary consequence of this is the in-
crease of parochial expenses : and we find,
from the different returns throughout the king-
dom, that, where workhouses have been farmed,
though there was some saving at first, yet in a
fevv' years the expenses have thereby been
greatly increased, and the poors-rate accumu-
lated to an alarming amount. Where, indeed,
a principal land-owner, or land-occupier, of a
parish can be induced to contract for the parish
v/orkhouse, he has an interest in the pervianent
impj^oi)etnent of its condition, and in the di-
minution of the distrefses of the poor ; but
where a vagrant speculating contractor visits
your parish, with a view of making his inci-
dental profit by farming your workhouse, we
tmst you will consider the Christian principle

6f DOIXG AS YOU WOULD BE DONE BY : and

that you will not confide the poor, whose
GUARDIAN AND PROTECTOR it is your duty
to be, to one, into whose hands you would
not trust an acre of your land, or any portion
of your own property.

With regard to your workhouse, we have
another observation to make, and that respects
your parish children. — As you regard your own
interest and their welfare, we entreat you to

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 18]

educate them out of the workhouse. You can
do it with as little, and even lefs, expense to
the parish ; with much lefs annoyance to the
old people in the workhouse, who are too
often J;he sport of those little, unthinking, and
uneducated creatures ; — and with much more
benefit to the children, who get earlier and
more advantageous situations in service, and
succeed better in life, proceeding from a pa-
rocaial school or cottage, than from a work-
house.

With regard to the removal of labourers be-
longinging to other parishes, consider tho-
roughly what you may lose, and what the in-
dividual may suffer, by the removal, before
you apply to us on the subject. Where you
have had, for a long time, the benefit of their
labour, and where all they want is a little tem-
porarif relief, reflect whether, after so many
years spent in your service, this is the moment
and the cause, for removing them from the
scene of their daily labour to a distant parish.
There are cases, in which removals from one
parish to another are proper and juftifiable;
but, in every instance, before you apply for an
order of removal, consider whether it is pni-
dent i and, if prudent, whether it is just.

182 •EGRGICAL ESSAYS.

Within four days after the appointment of
your succefsors, you are to produce your ac-
counts before two of the neighbouring Justices
for examination; and, within fourteen days
after such appointment, you are to deliver your
books, materials for work, and balance of cash,
to the persons appointed to succeed you. — If
you shall have executed your office duly and
conscientiously, you will then quit it, with the
blefsings of the poor, the esteem and respect
of the other clafses of society, and with the ap-
probation of your own conscience.

7. On the situation of Cottages, with a Plan for enabling
Cottagers to build them *.

There are few parishes without several rough,
encumbered, and uncultivated tracts of land,
which might be converted into large gardens,
and on which cottages might be erected, either
by some of the poor themselves, to be held on
lives, or at the expense of the parish, or of the
proprietors of estates. Where there is no land
uncultivated, other grounds, which can be most
conveniently spared, should be allotted to them.
Many young men, having saved a little money,
would be very desirous of taking such spots of
. .11 . . > 1. 1. I ■

* By William lilorton Pitt, Esq.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 183

ground on leases for three lives, and of building
cottages thereon. I have frequently remarked
that the labourers who pofsefs this kind of pro-
perty, are the most industrious, sober, and frugal j
that they seldom apply to their parishes for re-
lief, and that their houses have an appearance
of neatnefs and cornfort, not often met with
elsewhere. If these were more attainable by
the poor, frugality would revive amongst them,
and young people would strive to lay up a sum
of money for this purpose. Every labourer
pofsefsing such property of his own, would
consider himself as having a permanent interest
and stake in the country. The hope of im-
proving their lot is the main spring of industry
in all other stations in life. Would it not then
be policy as well as humanity, to afford to the
agricultural poor the same opportunity ? The
wealth and greatnefs of this country has been
attributed, not only to the spirit of enterprife
of our merchants and manufacturers, but to the
effect which the pofsefsion and the security of
property, enjoyed under our free and excellent
constitution, have on the minds of men. If
this effect has been so salutary among other
clafses, why may not similar encouragement
create the same energy among the cultivators
of the land i and why should those alone remain
in a dispirited, and distrefsed state ?

J84 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

To attach this numerous, hardy, and lefs cor-
rupted body of men more and more to their
country, nothing would so much contribute,
as allowing them the means of improving by
industry their own situation in life, or that of
their children. A man who owns a house, with
a large garden annexed to it, on a lease for
jives, for which he only pays a moderate quit-
renta is richer by far than he who receives much
higher wages, but who has to pay a consider-
able rent for a cottage, with little or no garden
ground, and who is obliged to purchase all he
consumes. The produce of a garden diminishes
the consumption of bread, which is the most
considerable article of a poor man's expendi-
ture : it is an advantage wholly created by the
cultivator's industry, at times when not other-
wise engaged, and by that of his wife and
children ; and is therefore so much labour, or
in other words riches, gained to the community :
and the employment gives health and vigour
to his children, inures them to fatigue, and
trains them to industry. The value to him who
receives the ground is immense, yet it is no
lofs to him who grants it. It procures the poor
man comfort and plenty j and, by so doing,
keeps within moderate bounds the wages of
labour. Every man, who is averse to raising^

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 185

die wages of labour in husbandry, should at
least encourage the culture of gardens.

As the land, on which such cottages would
be built, will usually be of an inferior value, it
will be enougli to estimate it, at an average, at
10s. an acre ; where the land is better, a higher
rent may be added without injustice; for, the
better the land, the greater will be the advan-
tage to the lefsee from its produce as a garden.
The quantity of land to be attached to such a
cottage should be half an acre ; if it be more
than sufficient to produce the vegetables wanted
for a family, a part of it may be sown with a
little wheat for bread, pease to fatten the pigs,
and barley for malt, to enable them to brew a
little small beer ^ the want of which induces
many to frequent the alehouse, and proves the
source of vicious courses.

The corn in these gardens should be raised
by dibbling, which is already very much prac-
tised in many parts of the kingdom. The cul-
tivation of the garden will be chiefly conducted
by the wife and younger children of the family,
(who will thus very soon contribute largely to
their own support, if not wholly maintain them-
selves, 30 that a numerous offspring wijl cease

Volume JL N

186 CEORGICAL ESSAYS.

to be a great burden,) to which must be added
a certain proportion of afsistance from the
father, at his extra hours. Where 10s. an acre
is the value of the land, 5s. per annum must,
of course, be added, for the half acre of ground,
to the quit-rent for the house. Let that be 5s.
and the whole annual payment will be 10s. j
and, when it is considered that the proprietor
of the estate has been at no expense whatsoever
in building or repairing the cottage, and that
he receives annually the quit-rent for the house,
in addition to the full rent of the land on which
it is built, I think the fine, to be required in
putting in a life, should not exceed one year's
purchase, computed on the real value. The
cottager then, who builds a house upon this
principle, acquires the following advantages ;
permanency of property, that all improvements
are for the benefit of himself and his family,
respectability of situation, a diminution of an-
nual expenditure, and that he cannot be re-
moved under any circumstances.

This arrangement will answer in all cases,
where a labourer has a sufficiency of money to
enable him to build a cottage ; but that cannot
be the lot of all. Yet a plan may be devised,
by means of which, a man, having but a small

GEORGlCAL ESSAYS. 187

proportion of tlie sum requisite for such an
undertaking, may be enabled to adopt it. The
owner of the land may, without risk, advance
to a,ny labourer in want of such afsistance, lOl.
or even 151. towards carr}'ing on his work, not
to be paid to him in money, but laid out for
his use as wanted, in the purchase of materials,
or in wages to the workmen whom he is
obliged to call in to afsist him in the construc-
tion of his house. The cottage itself would be
a sufficient security for the loan ; since the
money will only be ifsued, in proportion as the
work advances. The cottager should pay
interest, at 5 per cent., and part of the prin-
cipal, at least 10 per cent, every year. If he
fail in making these payments, his effects should
be liable ; or, if the demand be not otherwise
satisfied in a reasonable time, the house itself.
The sooner he discharges his debt, the better
it will be for him , and he will look forward
with impatience to the time of its liquidation
that he may enjoy the efiects of his industr
and so comfortable a situation. In 10 years
however, at all events, he will be clear from
incumbrances, and in the meanwhile he wil
have to pay each year not more, and, in many-
parts of England, not so much as he \^■ould
have given as annual rent for an ordinary cot ■

N 2

188 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

tage. ITie landlord would also be benefited,
by being relieved from the expense of repairs,
and by the reduction of poor's-rate ; he would
receive his quit-rent annually, and a fine from
time to time, in addition to the full rent of his
land, as well as 5 per cent, interest on the
money lent, the whole debt being discharged
in 10 years at farthest.

8. On the larger sort c>f Cottages, and the mode of
erecting them*.

The larger sort of cottage, which may some-
times be preferred, will cost, when built of
brick and tiles, 70l. Tliese might be appro-
priated to the use of labourers of the most in-
dustrious disposition. And, as it would have
an excellent effect to make some gradation
among cottages, as well as farms, it would be
highly proper, and useful, to lay (besides half
an acre of garden-ground) a small portion of
pasture-land, about 3 acres, to each of these
larger cottages, to enable the occupiers of them
to support a cow; which would be a real
comfort to their families, as milk is the natural
food of children. If we value these three
acres and an half of land at a guinea an acre

* By Nathaniel Kent, Esq.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 189

upon an average, and add it to the rent of the
house, it will bring the rent to 6l. 9s. 6d.
The value of the cow, if her produce were even
sent to market, would at least amount to 4l. ;
but being used in the family, would, with the
afsistance of the garden, enable them to keep
a sow, or two store pigs, which would at least
double the market price. As one acre or more
of this ground might be mowed every year for
hay, the cow might be kept in good order with
this quantity ; and it would be better worth a
cottager's while to G:ive this rent for this lot of
land, than to trust to the precarious advantage
of a common, which always starves his cow in
the winter. If it should be alleged, that there
is not one cottager in twenty who can afford
to buy a cow ; this difficulty may be easily
obviated, by the landlord's letting him a cow,
as well as the land, in the manner that dairies
are generally let.

This would be dealing with the poor as we
would wish to be dealt with ourselves, in a
similar situation ; but, instead of this, cottagers
are chiefly left by gentlemen to the farmer's
disposal ; and, when they are accommodated
with a small quantity of land, are obliged to

N3

190 GEORGICAL F.SSAYS.

pay, at least, a double proportion of rent for it,
to what the farmers pay themselves.

Warm cottages of this sort would require
much lefs fuel than those in the present stile,
which is a very considerable article to a cot-
tager.

The next consideration is, to choose a con-
venient situation for cottages. Great farmers
are very unwilling to admit them close to their
farms ; and nothing is more common, than for
a poor labourer to be obliged to come a mile,
and sometimes more, to his labour, and return
home again at night, in all kinds of weather,
after he has done a hard day's work. Cottages
should therefore be erected, if pofsible, on
some sheltered spot, near the farm w^here the
labour licsj and true policy points out, that
every farm ought to have a sufficient number
pf such useful appendages, in proportion to its
size. Such cottages, under some such regu-
lations as these, w^ould be of great use and
ornament to a country, and a real credit to
every gentleman's residence ; as, on tlie con-
trary, nothing can reflect greater disgrace upon
him, than shattered miserable hovel, at his
sateunfit for human creatures to inhabit.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 191

Upon encouragement like this, good tenants
would never be wanting. Industry would
meet with a reward, the poor-rates would
ne.cefsarily be lightened, and population in-
creased. A farm thus provided with such a
sufficient number of labourers as might, at all
times and seasons, be depended upon, would
be of more value on that account. The tenant
of such farm would not be subject to pay ex-
orbitant wages, as he otherwise must, on par-
ticular occasions. He would not be obliged
to court the vagrant, to lend him a precarious
afsistance, or to have recourse to towns, to pick
up disorderly people. In summer, besides the
usual businefs of haymaking, he might employ
even the women and children, in weeding,
and other usual businefs.

Almost every parish is, in a great measure,
subject to some particular gentleman, who has
sufficient power and influence over it, to cor-
rect the present grievance, and to set a better
example. Such gentlemen should consider
themselves as guardians of the poor, and at-
tend to their accommodation and happinefs :
it is their particular businefs, because they
and their families have a lasting interest in
the prosperity of the parish ; the farmers only

N4

192 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

a temporary one. If a gentleman's fortune
be so large, that he cannot attend to objects of
this sort, he should, at least, recommend the
cottagers to the attention of his agent ; and
give him strict instructions to act as their
friend and protector j for unlefs some such
check be put upon great farmers, they are very-
apt to contribute to the demolition, instead of
the protection of cottages ; and when the nest
is destroyed, the bird must emigrate into some
other parish. A cottager, in this case, has no
other choice, unlefs it be to make application
to the neighbouring justice of the peace, for
his order to the parish-ofucers to find him some
other place to lay his head in. If it were not
for this excellent law, w^hich obliges parish-
officers to find habitations for their poor, I am
sorry to remark, that in many parishes, they
would be literally driven into the open fields.

Tliere is another plan relative to cottages,
which generally answers extremely well, and
that is, to lease them off to industrious la-
bourers, for the term of three lives, at their
nomination j taking a very moderate fine, not
exceeding lOl. or I2l. upon a cottage worth
about 40s. a year ; reserving a small quit-rent,
not exceeding half a crcwn a year, and making

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 193

it a point to renew any life wliich drops off,
upon one year's value only. This scheme is
beneficial for landlord and tenant ; for though
the, farmer docs not let his cottages for so much
as he might at rack-rent, yet what he does get
is all clear money ; and by this means he pre-
serves the value of all other parts of his estate,
by keeping up a proper number of inhabitants.
The latter finds his account in it, because he
makes a settlement for his family ; and can
repair and improve his cottage at leisure hours
with his own hands ; and if he be an indus-
trious man, he can generally find a friend to
lend him his first fine on such an occasion, if
he cannot raise it himself.

I should recommend that cottages should be
built double ; because it will be a considerable
saving in the expense of their erection. — « Where
pollards are plenty, and bricks scarce, it will
sometimes be proper to prefer the wooden-lath
and rough-cast cottages, because half the quan-
tity of timber may be pollards ; but, where
they are built with brick, the following par-
ticulars should be attended to.

The walls should be fourteen inches thick
to the bottom or the chamber-floor, except in
the window-spaces ; and the upper part of the

194 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

walls nine inches. In these brick buildinffs

o

no framed timber should be used : but the
lintel of the windows should be laid the whole
length of the building, nine inches scantling
by two and a half; and then the same piece
will serve to lay joists upon, which should be
pinned with oaken pegs, which will prove a
great tie to the walls. The joists should be
cut eight inches by two and an half, and laid
edgeways. The length of the spar to be ten
ket, being a proper pitch for tiling ; and to
be cut two inches and a half thick, five at
bottom, and three and a half at the top. The
lower rooms to be seven feet high, in the clear,
under the joists. In the largest sized brick
cottages, the roof to be hipped in at the ends,
which will save the two peaks of brick-work,
and will not require more tiling than would
be made use of without it. One great ad-
vantage derived from hipping, is, in the build-
ing's being better braced together, and more
secure from the effect of tempests ; for, where
the gable-ends are carried up in peaks, to
any considerable height, without chimnies to
strengthen them, they are not so well fitted to
resist an end-wind.

Tlie ceiling should be between the joists,

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 195

nailing first a few laths at about a foot apart,
crofs-ways, and the other laths length-ways
over them ; otherwise the mortar has nothing
to get hold of. This makes lefs expense than
ceiling over the joists ; and is besides better
calculated to retain the mortar, and will afford
more space j for the joists being left naked,
will be very useful to hang many things to.
Tlie ceiling joists upon the top of the chamber
need be only five inches by one and a quarter,
and may be nailed to the spars-feet, and not
pinned. The other scantlings are as follow.
The partition studs three inches by two. The
lower cills six inches by five. The window-
frames three inches by three. Lower door-
cases five inches by four. Crofs mantle-pieces
for the chimnies eight inches by eight.

In the wooden cottages, the frame-studs are
to be six inches by five. The intermediate, or
smaller studs, five inches by three. The girt-
pieces six inches by five, and the upper cill

five inches square.

196 GEORGICAL ESSAYS

ESSAY VIII.

On Meteorology, as applicable to Hiisbandrij.

IT is obvious from the effects of the weight
and temperature of the air, upon the barometer
and thermometer, that the same causes must
operate at the same time upon the animal and
vegetable kingdoms. If, therefore, the science
of meteorology can be rendered subservient to
the purposes of the husbandman, so as to
enable him to prognosticate the changes of the
weather, and the nature of these changes, it
appears to me, that the philosopher should
direct the farmer's attention to such phsenomena
in the animal and vegetable kingdoms, as may
be found to predict such changes. For it is
evident, that whatever the most unexception-
able theory, or even demonstration might
effe6t — in the abstruse, scientific manner of
Mr. Kirwan, in his late ingenious efsay on the
temperature of different latitudes, or the truly
sagacious and indefatigable Mr. de Luc, in
in his repeated inquiries into the modifications
of the atmosphere — it could not be accom-
modated to the comprehension of a common

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 1^7

farmer, except in the way of popular co-
rollaries or inferences. Undoubtedly, most of
the physical phasnomena of meteorology, pro-
perly so called, depend upon the incefsant
decomposition and recomposition of the. ex-
pansible fluids contained in the atmosphere ;
yet if the philosopher, capable of accounting
for these phenomena, cannot reduce his de-
ductions from them into such language, as is
intelligible to a common farmer, their utility
must consequently be limited to those, who,
perhaps, have least occasion to apply them to
the exigencies of common life. If such be the
case, it must be the ardent wish of every friend
to the real interests of agriculture — an art uni-
versally acknowledged of the last importance
to man — that philosophers, capable of ex-
ecuting the task with propriety, would con-
descend to direct the farmer's attention to such
obvious pha^nomena as might enable him to
prognosticate the changes of the weather,
which more immediately influence his most
important operations. That such phenomena
as would answer this desirable purpose, are
exhibited in the animal and vegetable king-
doms, I flatter myself might be easily discovered
by a judicious and attentive observer. And
though the information derived from these

198 GEORGIGAL ESSAYS.

sources, might not be so extensive, or afford so
much time for appHcation, as thai deduced
from the other, (supposing abilities for such
deduction) the easinefs of its application would
more than compensate for this deficiency. For
these reasons, I am fully persuaded, that the
result of accurate observations, made upon the
animal and vegetable kingdoms, and occasion-
ally published, till a mafs of well-authenticated
information were collected, sufficient to con-
stitute a popular director}', to ascertain the
changes of the weather, would be an important
acquisition not only to agriculture, properly so
called, but to all the most interesting operations
of the farmer. From this investigation, I
would by no means exclude the use of the
barometer, thermometer, hygrometer, or any
other instruments calculated to show the
changes in the state of the atmosphere : as
I have sanguine hopes, that the appearances
indicated by them, may be reduced to much
greater accuracy and precision, by com-
paring them with the phaenomena of nature,
in the manner I am now recommending to
- the attentive observer, than can be collected
from them at present. As to myself, I can
trulv declare, that with the strictest atten-
tion, and some little meteorological know*.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 199

ledge,. I have, for many years, examined and
reofistered the indications of these instruments,
without being able to make the least useful
deduction from any of them, as a farmer, or
derive any scientific information from them,
excepting the thermometer, as a philosopher.
The common farmer, therefore, absolutely
wants some easy certain rules to ascertain the
changes of the weather, and the nature of these
changes ; for information in the latter case, it
is in vain to consult any mechanical instru-
ments. If then the animal, vegetable, and
mineral kingdoms, particularly the two first,
exhibit such appearances as indicate a change
of weather, and by accurate and repeated ob-
servations we be enabled to prognosticate the
nature of that change, we shall have a sure
criterion of the weather from the vernal to the
autumnal equinox, a season of prime im-
portance to the farmer. We knov^^ from ex-
perience, particularly such of us as are of a
delicate, irritable constitution, that changes of
the weather affect us very sensibly ; and analogy
leaves us not the least reason to doubt, but that
every beast, bird, and insect, are affected by
the same causes, and, if attentively observed,
would afford useful information with respect to
these changes. Many vegetables too exliibit

200 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

very curious and significant indications of at-
mospherical influences, and repeated observ^a-
tions made upon these, corrected and afsisted
by collateral observations made upon the other
sources ot meteorological information, would,
in time, afford such certain and infallible mles
for prognosticating the weather, as would not
be far short of absolute demonstration. I hope
no person will object to the unwan'antable ex-
tension I have given to the meaning of the
word meteorology ; I am conscious that what
I am recommendins" to the attention of the
philosophical observers of nature, is not pro-
perly the science of meteors, but of their ef-
fects ; but i^ it be a more compendious, more
popular, and consequently a more useful way
of discovering the changes of the weather, the
misapplication of a word wnll not, I hope, be
considered as of much importance. When I
add, that the shepherd of Banbury's ndes for
judging of the lueather, should be examined,
corrected, and extended, as an additional and
important supplement to this plan, it may,
with propriety, be intitlcd meteorological.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 201

ESSAY IX.

On the Size of Farms.

Jl HE proper size of a farm, is a question
upon which theorists have often disputed. In
my present inquiry, I shall be regulated by
practical principles ; and although I am fully
convinced, that a farm of a proper extent,
suited to the capital and abilities of the pof-
sefsor, operates as a spur to activity and dili-
gence, yet I am not an advocate for a system
that would monopolize the lands of any
country, by throwing them into the hands of
a few.

An improved system of husbandry, requires
that the farm upon which it is to be carried
on, should be of some extent, else room is
not afforded for the different crops necefsary
to complete a perfect rotation of management.
The farmer, who practises husbandry upon
judicious principles, should not only have his
fields under all sorts of grain, but likewise
a sufficient quantity of grafs and winter crops,
for carrying on his stock of cattle and sheep

Volume II, O

202" GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

through all the different seasons of the year.
By laying out land in this style, the economy
of a farm is so regulated, that while improve-
ments progrefsively go forward, too much work
does not occur at one time, nor occasion for
idlenefs at another. This, when the expenses
of farm-culture are so extravagant as at present,
deserves particular attention ; but cannot, in
the nature of things, be justly and accurately
arranged, where the farm is of small size.

It may be imagined, that the arrangement
of farm -labour, and the cultivation of the
ground, whatever the size of the farm may be,
is but a rule-of-three question • and that the
smallnefs of the pcfsefsion only reduces the
scale upon which improvements are to be
carried on. This may in part be true ; but
will the result of the question be favourable to
improvements ? Upon 50 acres, labour may
not be afforded for half a team ; the enclosures
would perhaps be a few acres, and the farmer
would go to market and buy a single beast,
thereby affording opportunity for spending half
the vear in idlenefs, wasting the ground by a
number of fences, and occasioning more ex-
pense than the whole profit would repay. These
things are the necefsary consequences of ar-

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 203

ranging farm management like an arithmetical
question, and are great drawbacks upon the
profits of farming.

Besides, an improved system of husbandry
requires, the farmer should be pofsefsed of an
adequate stock, a thing in which small farmers
are generally deficieot. It is an old proverb,
the truth of which I have too often seen ex-
emplified, " that the poor farmer is always a
bad one." Allowing he has knowledge, he
cannot reduce it to practice, for want of the
necefsary means. Tlie smallnefs of farms, and
the precarious situation of the farmer's con-
dition, arising from want of leases, as well as
the trammels under which he is generally obliged
to work, have, in a great measure, thrown capi-
tals into another line. Unlefs these circum-
stances are altered, persons of abilities, and
pofsefsed of stock, will be induced to despise
the profefsion, and agriculture will not be
carried on in its most improved state.

With regard to the question, whether large
or small farms are generally best managed ? I
apprehend ver}^ few words will suffice. Who
keeps good horses, and feeds them well ? Who
makes the completest fallow, takes the deepest

02

1204 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

furrow, and ploughs best? Who has the greatest
number of hands, and sufficient strength for
catching the proper season, by which the crop
upon the best of grounds is often regulated ?
AVho purchases the most manure, and raises
the weightiest crops ? I believe, in the ge-
neral, these questions must be answered in
favour of the large farmer. If so, it follows
that the prevalence of small farms retards im-
provement.

It is a popular doctrine, that large farms are
unfriendly to population, and that they ought
to be discouraged. I suspect this doctrine
is founded in prejudice, and will not stand the
test, if accurately examined. No doubt, if
farms are increased in size, the number of
farmers is lefsened ; this is granted : but with
regard to the great scale of population, I am
"clearly of opinion it is not affected. If a more
superior practice is carried on upon a large
farm than a small one, this must be accom-
plished by employing a greater number of
hands. What, therefore, is lost in one clafs,
is gained in another. Besides, I have often
noticed, that upon large farms most married
servants are kept, which affords encourage-
n»ent to the increase of population. Upon a

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 205

small farm, from 50 to 100 acres, what is the
farmer to do ? he has not sufficient businefs for
employing his attention, and the smallnefs of
his pofsefsion will not allow him to be idle.
He therefore must work with his hands, which
brings the question precisely to the same ifsue,
as if all work was performed by hired servants;
independent of the arguments adduced, that
more work is executed, and more hands em-
ployed, upon a large farm, than upon the same
extent of land divided into small ones.

It has given me surprise to observe many
persons taking it for granted, that by in-
creasing the size of a farm you necefsarily de-
crease tlie number of the people j without con-
sidering that if the management is equal in
every respect, the population must be exactly
the same, with the exception of one or two
farmer's families. Tliey tell you that cottages
are pulled down, whereas the large farmer has
occasion for more cottages than the small far-
mer, as he cannot keep so many house-servants,
and is often under the necefsity ot building
new houses, in order that the number of ser*
vants he keeps may be accommodated. An
attentive observer will smile at the doleful
picture exhibited by such alarmists, which,

OS

506 GEORGICAt ESSAYS.

to do them justice, are not original ones, beirtg
borrowed frpm former times. In a word,
\vherever work is carried on, it must be done
by employing hands, and wherever work
is executed in the most perfect manner, the
greatest number of hands must be employed.
If the system carried on upon the premises is
improved, the population must of course be
increased j the one is the cause, the other is
the effect ; and practice and daily experience
justifies the conclusions I have drawn.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 207

ESSAY X.

0?i Fallozting.

Whether summer fallow is necefsary or
unnecefsary ? is a question lately agitated ; and
in a respectable work*, an attempt has been
made to explode this practice, which has long
been considered a most beneficial improvement.
The agriculture of Britain is materially in-
terested in the ifsue of this question.

To keep his land clean will always be a
principal object with every good farmer -, for,
if this be neglected, in place of carrying rich
crops of corn or grafs, the ground will be ex-
hausted by crops of weeds. Where land is
foul, every operation of husbandry must be
proportionally non-effective, and even the ma-
nures applied, will, in a great measure, be
lost.

If the season of the year, and the state of
"the weather, when the ground is ploughed.

^ The Survey of Norfolk by Mr. Kent.

208 GEORGICAL ESSAYS,

preparatory to receiving the seed, be duly con-
sidered, it Vill be found, that at that time, it
can neither be properly divided by the action
of the plough ; nor can root-weeds, or annual
weeds, be then extirpated. Hence arises the
necefsity of working it in summer, when the
weather is favourable for the purpose of
ploughing, and when root-weeds may be drag-
ged to the surface. It is only at that time the
full advantages of ploughing are attainable ;
for summer fallow may, with propriety, be
styled ploughing in perfection.

The necefsity of summer fallow, depends
greatly upon the nature and quality of the soilj
as upon some soils a repetition of this practice
is seldomer required than upon others. —
Wherever the soil is incumbent upon clay, or
till, it is more disposed to get foul, than when
incumbent upon a dry gravelly bottom ; besides,
wet soils, from being ploughed in winter, con-
tract a stiffnefs which lefsens the pasture of
artificial plants, and prevents them from re-
ceiving sufficient nourishment. When land of
a dry gravelly quality gets foul, it may easily
'be cleaned without a plain summer fallow ; as
crops, such as turnips, &c. may be substituted
in its place, which, when drilled at proper in-

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 209

tervals, admit of being ploughed as often as
necefsary ; whereas wet soils, which are natu-
rally unfit for carrying such crops, must be
cleaned and brought into good order by fre-
quent ploughings and harrowings during the
fummer months.

The county of Norfolk generally consists of
dry sand, or of rich sandy loam ; and, agreeably
to the above prmciples, summer fallow may,
in that district, be considered as unnecefsary.
If Mr. Kent had confined his strictures to the
husbandly of Norfolk, no objection could rea-
sonably have been urged against them ; but
when he condemns summer fallow altogether,
he strikes at the agriculture of Britain in a most
material point.

The substance of Mr. Kent's arguments
against fallow, may be comprised under four
heads :

\st. Nature does not require any pause or
rest, and the earth was evidently designed tp
yield a regular uninterrupted produce.

2af(y, As the productive quality of the earth
never ceases, if com is not sown, weeds will be

5lO GEORGIACL ESSAYS.

produced; therefore it is our businefs to expel
the unproductive plant, and to introduce others
that are beneficial.

3f//j/, That the idea of leaving land to rest
is ridiculous ; for by keeping it clean, and by a
judicious intermixture of crops, it may be ma-
naged like a garden, and sown froin one gene-
ration to another.

4rthli/j That the fallows in England exhibit
nothing but a conflict betwixt the farmer and
hb weeds, in which the latter generally prevail,
for they are only half stiffled, and never effec-
tually killed.

The most of these arguments may be granted,
and yet the utility, nay, the neceility of sum-
mer fallow be consistently maintained.

It is already acknowledged, that it is only
upon wet soils, or in other words, upon land
unfit for the turnip husbandry, a plain summer
fallow is necefsary ; and this, we suppose, in-
cludes one half of the island. The utility
of summer fallow upon such soils is not con-
tended for, because nature requires a pause or
rest, to invigorate her to carry fresh crops; but

CEt>RGICAL ESSAYS. 2ll

rsolely because it is impofsible to keep them
clean without this auxiliary afsistance. To
speak of following nature in farming Is mere
sound; for if we were to imitate nature, we
would not cultivate land at all. Nature is
often improved by art, and fallowing is the
means employed for removing a host of ene-
mies, which prevent her from being fertile and
productive.

As a field filled with root-weeds, must be in
a state of greater exhaustion, than if it carried
a heavy crop of corn, so the productive quality
of the earth must necefsarily decrease in pro-
portion to the quantity of weeds it brings forth.
But because corn is not sown, it does not fol-
low that weeds of any kind should bg suffered
to grow. The object of allowing the ground
to remain a year under fallow, is to afford time
and opportunity for expelling the unproductive
plant, and to prepare it for the reception of
others, which are beneficial.

The most judicious intermixture of crops
upon clay soils, will not preclude the necefsity
of summer fallow, although it will go a great
way to prevent a frequent repetition of it. An
eight-course shift, such as fallow, wheat, beans

212 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

drilled and horse-hoed, barley, grafs seeds, oats,
beans, and wheat, is as much as can be recom-
piended ; and it is only upon rich clay, or deep
Joam, where such an extensive rotation is ad-
mifsible. A shift of this kind, when dung is
applied twice in the course of it, will pay the
farmer more handsomely than the most judi-
cious intermixture of crops, whereYallowing is
neglected.

Again, no rules drawn from garden-practice,
will apply to operations carried on in the field;
the soils are generally very different, and any
comparison that can be made, must be with
those rich sandy soils, upon which we have al-
lowed fallowing to be unnecefsary. The crops
in gardens are reaped at so many different
times, and often so early in the season, that
opportunity is alway gained for working the
ground in the completest manner; while the
immense difference betwixt working with the
plough and the spade, renders every compa*
rison ridiculous.

A fallow field which exhibits a conflict be-
twixt the farmer and his weeds, does not de-
serve that appellation ; for the intention of the
fallow is to extirpate these weeds. 1 am in-

GEORGICAL £SSAYS« 21S

dined to think, that the shocking situation of
many English fallows, may be attributed to the
feeding, and folding them with sheep. The
farnier, from being obliged by the conditions
of his lease, or the rules of common-field ma-
nagement, to fallow every third or fourth year,
is tempted to draw something from them when
in this unproductive state ; and, to gratify his
avarice in the first instance, sacrifices the good
husbandry which it is his ultimate interest to
practice. A well-managed fallow should be
wrought as early in the season as pofsible, and
continually turned over when the least particle
of quick-grafs appears. It is no argument
against the utility of fallows, that they are often
managed in a different way ; this goes only
against the impropriety of the management,
but does not militate against the practice
itself.

The , necefsity of summer fallow turns'
upon this single point : Can wet lands be
advantageously employed in raising turnips
or cabbages ? a question which the prac-
tical farmer^ who is sufficiently acquainted
with the nature of such soils, and the immense
labour required to bring them into proper filth,
will have no difficulty to answer in the negative.

214 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

It is not disputed but that turnips and cabbages
will grow upon these soils ; but the question is,
whether the extraordinary labour they require,
and the damage sustained by the ground,
during the consumption or carrying off the
crop, will not exceed tlie value of the pro-
duce ?

Nothing that is said in defence of fallow,
is meant in vindication of the absurd system of
taking only two crops to one fallow, as prac-
tised upon many English common fields. It
is only meant to show that clay soils, and every
soil incumbent upon a wet bottom, cannot be
kept clean, without the afsistance of this radical
and antient practice. How often it should be
used, must in a great measure be left to the
discretion of the farmer, who will repeat it
when necefsary, if he knows his own interest.

As many different opinions prevail relative
to the manner in which a fallow should be
conducted, I beg leave to give my sentiments
upon that head.

Upon all clay soils (and upon such only, we
understand a complete summer fallow to be
necefsary) the first ploughing ou^ht to be given

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 215

during the winter months, or as early in the
spring as pofsible, which promotes the rotting
of the sward and stubble. This should be done
by gathering up the ridge, which both lays the
grouild dry, and rips up the furrows. As soon
as seed-time is over, the ridge should be cloven
down, preparatory to crofs ploughing j and,
after laying a proper time, should be harrowed
and rolled repeatedly, and every particle of
quick-grafs that the harrows have brought above
should be carefully picked off with the hand.
It is then proper to ridge or gather it up im-
mediately., which both lays the land in proper
condition for meeting bad weather, and opens
up any fast land that may have been mifsed in
the furrows when the crofs ploughing was
given. After this, harrow, roll, and gather the
root-weeds again ; and continue so doing till
the field is perfectly clean.

Frequent turning over the ground, although
absolutely necefsary while the procefs of fal-
lowing is going on, can never eradicate
couch-grafs, or other root-weeds. In all
clay soils, the ground turns up in lumps, which
the severest drought will not penetrate, or at
least not so far as to kill the plant contained in
the heart of tliera. When the land is ploughed

216 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

ao;ain, these lumps or clods are simply turned
over, and no more ; and the action of the
plough serves in no shape to reduce them, or
at least in a very imperceptible manner. If
ever there was a season for making good fallow
by ploughing, it was that of 1793 ; there was
hardly a drop of rain the whole summer ; the
drought was excefsive, and attended with an
almost continued sun-shine. Notwithstanding
all these advantages, the fallows which were
not properly reduced in the beginning of the
season, took on a growth as soon as moisture
came, about the beginning of harvest. Even
when they were completely harrowed and
rolled, it was found difficult to extirpate couch,
as the drynefs of the ground did not allow it
to part so well from the clod as in seasons
more moist.

If this was the case in such a dry season as
1793, what would the consequences be if the
fallows were at all times to be wrought with
the plough, without attempting to drag the
roots to the surface by the operation of har-
rowing ? In wet weather, the land might ap-
pear black above for a few cliysi but the
enemy, being still in the house, woi.ld soon
make his appearance. By carefully gatliering

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 217

the root-weeds, when the land is reduced,
which on many soils is only practicable after the
roller is used, an enemy is converted into a
friend ; for if the stuff so gathered is accumu-
lated into a heap, frequently turned over, till
it rots, and mixed with lime, a most excellent
compost is produced. ,

There is very little danger that clay land will
ever be too much reduced by the different har-
rowings and rollings proposed to be given, as
the last furrow, if taken deep, will raife a mould
sufficiently rough for covering the seed, and for
protecting the wheat during the winter.
Nothing but frost will reduce and mellow
such soils perfectly j and I have seen the ne-
cefsity of leaving fields of this description to be
finished in the spring, from the absolute im-
pofsibility of eradicating or killing the couch,
till reinforced by this powerful auxiliary. ^

I shall just mention another argument in
favour of gathering root-wxedsj — that in no
other way can the purpose for which fallow is
intended, be so cheaply attained. Every fur-
row that is given, w^ill at least stand the farmer
in 7s. per acre ; and if hand gathering will save
one single ploughing, its expense is amply

Volume IL P

218 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

repaid ; while at the same time I contend, that
more root- weeds are taken off by one gather-
ing, than can be destroyed by a couple
of ploughings, allowing the season to be ever
so favourable.

Upon the whole I am decidedly of opinion,
that to give up summer fallows, or what is
commonly called naked summer fallows, an
argillaceous soil would prove ruinous to the
husbandry of Great Britain, and that in the
right management of this radical operation,
every farmer ought to feel himself deeply in-
terested. Those who pofsefs such soils, know
by experience the difficulty of keeping them
clean, even with the afsistance of summer
fallow. They are so often ploughed wet,
from necefsity, that a sournefs and adhe-
sion are contracted, which cannot be corrected
without exposing the land to the hot summer
sun, and reducing it by frequent ploughings and
harrowings. I repeat again, that no crop can
there be substituted in place of fallow ; for
turnips are destruction itself. Drilled beans,
will do v;ell as an afsistant ; but however much
this crop may tend to keep land clean, that
is already in good order, I apprehend, from
the necefsity of sowing them early, they will

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 219

never answer as a substitute for one of the
most radical of all improvements, — a clean
summier tallow.

In many corn districts, fallows perhaps pre-
vail to a much greater extent than necefsary ;
and occasion a great drawback upon the
farmer's profits. If good land be fallowed
properly, can it ever be supposed necefsary
to repeat it after carrying only w^heat and
beans, as is customary in several English
Counties ? When this practice is too often
repeated, it loses much of its effects, the
superior advantages arising from a first fallow
being well known to all farmers j and
while I condemn the system that would throw
out this beneficial practice altogether, I am
equally averse to an unnecefsary repetition
©fit.

P2

220 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

ESSAY XL

On Grafses

JL HAT much of our meadow and pasture

land may be rendered infinitely more valuable

than it is at present, by the introduction of

fome of our best grafses, is an opinion which

has long prevailed among many of the more

enlightened agriculturists of the present age.

And while some of these have endeavoured to

excite the husbandman to collect and cultivate

seeds of this sort, by writings fraught with the

soundest reasoning; others have attempted to

attract him by the offers of well-directed

premiums. But, hitherto, neither the writings

of the one, however convincing, nor the

premiums of the other, however alluring,

have been productive of the desired effect ;

ray-grafs still continues to be the only grafs

whose seeds can be purchased for the purpose

of laying down meadow and pasture land j

and how inadequate that grafs is for such

a purpose, is known to every intelligent

farmer. Why indeed the Loliiim perenne

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 221

(ray-grafs) should originally have been made
use. of, in preference to all the other grafses,
cannot, perhaps, be satisfactorily accounted
for ; most probably it owes its introduction to
accident, or to its being a common grafs whose
seeds were easily collected, rather than to its
being preferred from an investigation of its
merits compared with the others; however
this may be, there appears to be no reason for
excluding the others ; for it would appear ex-
ceedingly improbable that of upwards of a
hundred grafses growing wild in this country,
the Author of Nature should have created one
only as suitable to be cultivated for pasturage
or fodder.

Taking it for granted then, that there arc
other grafses, superior, in many respects, to
the ray-grafs, this question naturally arises : —
How comes it that they have not found their
way into general use ? To this it may be
answered ; improvements in any science, but
more especially in agriculture, are slow in
their advances ; and, perhaps, no clafs of men
adheres more pertinaciously to old practices
than the farmer.

The difficulty of distinguishing the grafses

P3

222 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

one from another, has, no doubt, proved one
grand obstacle ; many of these plants are so
much ahke, that the most discerning botanist
is often at a lofs to know some of them apart ;
if so, how easily may the husbandman be de-
terred from the arduous task ?

There is another cause which may have
operated against their introduction : gralses,
as well as other plants, have been frequently
recommended, from a partial and limited ob-
fervation of them, by perfons who neither
knew them well as botanists or agriculturists,
or who have recommended them, merely to
gain by the credulity of the public.

But, perhaps, the chief reason has been,
that persons who might be expected to make
the improvements, have not had the means
fairly put into their hands of making the ex-
periment. Whether the method we have
adopted on this occasion, may be more succefs-
ful than those of our predecefsors, must be
determined by the event. From the numer-
ous applications made to me, by a variety of
gentlemen, for grafs-seeds, it has appeared
incumbent on me to do something which

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. '223

might gratify them, and render the public an
efsential service ; I wish, at least, to put it
into their power to decide on a matter which
has been long agitated, and from which I am
far from being the only one that entertains the
most sanguine hopes of its proving a great
national advantage.

The grafses recommended will, I am cer-
tain, do all that our natural grafses can do :
they are six of those which constitute the bulk
of our best pastures -, most of them are early,
all of them are productive, and they are
adapted to such soils and situations as are
proper for meadows and pastures.

But let no one expect them to perform
wonders ; for, after all, they are but grafses,
and, as such, are liable to produce great or
small crops, according to particular seasons,
or to the fertility or barrennefs of the soil on
which they are sown.

I. Anthoxanthum Odoratum. Sweet-
Scented Vernal-Grafs.

Next to the Cynosunis Cceruleus, or Blue
Dog's-Tail Grafs, this, of all our English

P4

224- GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

grafses, comes first into blofsom ; it is there-
fore valuable as an early grafs ; it is valuable
also for for its readlnefs to grow in all kinds
of soil and situation, being found in bogs,
in woods, (especially such as are of low
growth, or have had the underwood cut
down) in rich meadows, and in dry pastures;
in point of crop, it is not so productive as
some, yet more so than others ; cattle appear
to be fond of it, and it is well known to be
the only English grafs which is odoriferous ;
the agreeable scent of new-made hay arises
entirely from this grafs ; hence its name of
odoratum, or sweet-scented: the green leaves,
■when bruised, readily impart this perfume to
the fingers, by which means the foliage may
at all times be known; and persons not
deeply skilled in botany, may distinguish it
when in blofsom, by its having only two
threads or stamina to each flower.

Of the several grafses here recommended,
it is the least productive in point of seed.

11. Alopecurus Pratensis. Meadow

Fox-Tail Grafs.
This produces its spike almost, and in some
situations to the fuU, as early as the An-

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 225

thoxanthum : hence it is equally valuable as
an early grafs ; and as it is much larger, and
quicker in its growth, it is consequently much
more productive ; it shoots very rapidly after
mowing, producing a very plentiful aftermath j
and where land is rich, and two crops are not
thought too much for it to bear, of all our
English grafses this appears to be the best
adapted to such a purpose, and ought to form
a principal part of the crop : its foliage may,
perhaps, appear coarse to some, but it fliould be
remembered, that no English grafs can be pro-
ductive that is not in fome degree coarse; but
if mown early, just as it comes into bloom,
though the leaves are large, the hay will not be
coarse; in general, the great advantage arising
from the earlinefs of this and the preceding
grafs, is entirely loft at a distance from London,
where hay-making commences late, and where
the husbandman seems to wait for a crop of
general indiscriminate herbage, rather than of
grafs.

The Meadow Fox-Tail is more confined as
to its place of growth ; growing naturally in a
moist soil only : hence it is best adapted to
improve veiy wet ground that may be drained

226 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

of its superfluous moisture, or to form or me-
liorate meadows that have a moist bottom, and
are not apt to be burnt up in dry summers.

Its seeds are easily collected, but a great
number of them, we believe, at least one
third, are yearly destroyed by a very minute
orange-coloured larva or maggot, which feeds
on the embryo of the seed, and produces a
very small musca or fly, probably the Miisca
Frit of Linnaeus.

This grafs is distinguished, in some degree,
by the largenefs of its foliage, and by its pro-
ducing a soft spike, on a long stalk, early in
May. The Meadow Cat's- Tail Grafs produces
a spike somewhat similar, but rougher to the
touch, and much later in the summer.

HI. PoA pRATENsis. Smootli-Stalked
Meadow-Grafs,

The foliage of this grafs begins to shoot,
and to afsume a beautiful verdure very early
in the spring, but its flowering stems are not
produced so soon, by at least a week, as those
of the Alopecurus : this trifling difference,
however, in point of earlinefs of flowering,

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 227

does not prevent it from ranking very properly
with the two preceding ; and, where early
grafsy pasturage is a desideratum, we are of
opinion it cannot better be obtained than by a
combination of these three ; if crop be at the
same lime an object, the Meadow Fox-Tail
Grafs should predominate.

This grafs rather affects a dry than a moist
situation, and hence it keeps its verdure in
long-continued dry weather better than most
others, but it will thrive in either; will grow
on the top of a dry wall, but grow much more
luxuriantly in a rich meadow : it is to be ob-
served, however, that it has a root which creeps
like the Couch-Grafs^ and is almost as difficult
to extirpate ; it ought, therefore, to be cau-
tiously introduced where the pasturage is not
intended to be permanent.

Of the trifling improvements which w^e flat-
ter ourselves to have occasionally made in some
of the specific characters of the English plants,
none have given us more satisfaction than
those which relate to this species and the Poa
Trivialis, two grafses so very similar, as scarce-
ly to be distinguished, even by the most dis-

228 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

cerning eye, at a little distance, and very ob-
scurely characterised by Linnseus, but which,
by attending to two characters only in each
grafs, may now, in a moment, be distinguished
with the utmost facility and certainty.

The Poa Prafensis has a smooth stalk, the
Trivialis a rough one, perceptible when drawn
betwixt lije thumb and finger, and which
arises from little sharp points, visible when the
sheath of the leaf which covers the stalk is
magnified : the Trivialis has a long pointed
membrane at the base of the leaf: the Pratensis
a short blunt one. These grafses differ fpe-
cifically in a variety of other particulars, not
necefsary here to dwell on ; and which such
as wish to be more particularly informed of,
may consult the Flora Londincnsis,

IV. Poa Trivialis. Rough-Sialked Meadow-
Grafs.

Similar as this grafs and the preceding are
in their appearance, particularly in the mode
of flowering, they difl^er very efsentially in their
qualities. While the Smoofh-Stalked Meadow
Grafs is found chiefly in dry pastures, the
Bough-Stalked principally occurs in moist mea-

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. . 229

dows, or on the edges of wet ditches ; it loves
moisture, and a situation that is rather shady i
hence, though there are few grafses more pro-
ductive, or better adapted for hay or pasturage,
it is a tender grafs, and liable to be injured by
severe cold, or excefsive drought. In very wet
ground near the Thames, we have observed it
grow very tall ; while in poor land we have,
on the contrary, seen it altogether as diminu-
tive. It is, perhaps, no small recommendation
to it, that it is a principal grafs in that uncom-
monly productive meadow near Salisbury,
mentioned by Stillingfleet, and more parti-
cularly described in the Memoirs of the Bath
Agricultural Society, voL I. p. 94.

The account given of the extraordinary fer-
tility of this meadow, excited our curiosity,
and induced us to request a gentleman resi-
ding near the spot, to favour us with six small
turfs, cut up in different parts of the said mea-
dow, and which being planted in our garden,
Lambeth-Marsh, produced as follows :

Turf 1. Poa Trivialis,

Ranunculus acris,
Triticum repens,
Agrostis alba.

230 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

Turf 2. Poa Trivialis,

Alopecurus pratensis,
Triticum repens.

Turf 3. Poa Trivialis,
Agrostis alba.

Turf 4. Poa Trivialis,

Triticum repens,
Peucedanum Silaus.

Turf 5. Poa Trivialis,

Alopecurus pratensis,
Agrostis alba,
Avena elatior,
Triticum repens.

This experiment proves, in a great degree
at least, what we long before suspected, that
the extraordinary fertility of this meadow arose
not from any new grafs peculiar to it, but from
several unusual circumstances concurring, and
favouring, in an uncommon degree, the growth
of certain well-known grafses, especially the
Poa Trivialis and Agrostis alba.

We may remark that the seeds of the Poa
Trivialis and Poa Pratensis, but more efpe-

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 231

cially those of the former, are apt to be en-
tangled and adhere to each other, as if cob-
webs had been intermixed with them.

V. Festuca Prat ens is. Meadow Fescue^
Grafs.

Of the several grafses here recommended,
this comes the nearest, in its appearance, to
the Ray-Grafs, to which, however, it seems to
us, in many respects, to be greatly superior,
at least, for the purpose of forming or im-
proving meadows ; it is larger, and more pro-
ductive of foliage ; it is strictly perennial ; it is
very hardy, and will thrive not only in very-
wet, but also in dry ground : we have found
it growing in all situations, from the sand-pits
at Charlton, to the osier-grounds at Battersea;
and it abounds in the very best meadows about
London ; in short, we know of no grafs more
likely to supply the deficiencies complained of
in Ray-Grafs j and yet it has not, that we
know of, been particularly recommended. —
One quality it has, which bids fair to introduce
it quickly into more general use ; it produces
more seeds than any of the others, which are
easily gathered, and readily grow. In one
respect, it is inferior to the three first grafses ;

232 . GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

it does not produce its flowering stems earlier
than about the middle of June, a fortnight or
three weeks later than the Meadow Fox-Tail
Grafs ; yet it cannot be considered as a late
grafs, as most of the Agrostis tribe, and the
Meadow Cafs-Tail Grafs, flower at least three
weeks later. It must be carefully distin-
guished from the Festuca Elatior, or Tall
Fescue-Grafs y which is a very similar but much
coarser grafs.

VI. Cynosurus Cristatus. Crested Dog's-
Tail Grafs.

It is chiefly from the great character which
this grafs bears as a favourite and wholesome
food for sheep, and from its being found in
our soundest and best pastures, that it is here
recommended. It grows naturally in dry situ-
ations, and will not thrive in meadows that
are very wet : it flowers about the same time
as the Meadow Fescue-Grafs, and is not very
productive of foliage. As its flowering stems
are always left untouched by cattle ; its seeds
may easily be collected, where the pasturage is
fed, not mown.

Of the above six grafses, it will appear that

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. ^ 233

the Meadow Fox Tail, and Rough-Stalked
Meadow-Grafs, are fittest for moist land.
Meadow Fescue, and Sweet-Scented Vernal,
are fittest for land either moist or moderately
dry. Smooth-Stalked Meadow-Grafs, and
Crested Dog's-Tail, are fittest for dry pasture.

The Order of their Flozvering.

1. Sweet-Scented Vernal.

2. Meadow Fox-Tail.

3. Smooth-Stalked Meadow.

4. Rough-Stalked Meadow.

5. Meadow Fescue.

6. Crested Dog's-Tail.

We could easily add many more grafses to
this list, and those too which, perhaps, may be
highly deserving of it; but we have our
doubts, whether, by recommending more, we
might not increase the difficulty of introducing
grafs seeds without any adequate advantage.

We shall, however, just take the liberty to
mention such other English grafses, as appear
to us, from long and repeated observation, de-
serving of further notice, and these are

Jveria Elatior, Tall Oat Grafs : common iri
Volume II. Q

234 GEORGICAL ESSAYS*

wet meadows, and by the sides of hedges,
early, and very productive, but coarse.

Avena Flavescens, Yelloiv Oat-Grafs : affects
a dry soil, is early, and productive j bids fair
to make a good sheep-pasture.

Avejia Pubescens, Rough Oat-Grafs : soil and
situation nearly similar to that of the Meadow
Fescue, hardy, early, and productive.

Bromus ErectuSy Upright Brome-Grofs : pe-
culiar to chalky soils, early and productive ^
promises to be a good grafs for chalky lands,
and thrives indeed very well on others.

Cynosurus CccrideiiSy Blue Dog's-Tail Grafs :
earliest of all the grafses ; grows naturally on
the tops of the highest lime-stone rocks in the
northern parts of Great Britain ; not very pro-
ductive, yet may, perhaps, answer in certain
situations, especially as a grafs for sheep ; bears
the drought of summer remarkably well ; at
all events, seems more likely to answer than
the Sheep's Fescue Grafs, on which such en-
comiums have, most unjustly, been lavished.

DacfyUs Glomeratus, Rough Cock's-Fooi

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 235

Grafs: a rough coarse grafs, but extremely
hardy and productive ; soil and situation the
same as the Meadow Fescue.

Festuca Elatior, Tall Fescue Grafs: tall
and coarse, but very productive ; affects wQt
situations.

Festuca Duriuscula, Hard Fescue Grafs:
affects such situations as the Smooth-Stalked
Meadow Grafs j is early, and tolerably pro-
ductive i its foliage is fine, and of' a beautiful
green ; hence, we have sometimes thought it
was, of all others, the fittest for a grafs-plat
or bowling-greeny but we have found, that
though it thrives very much when first sown
or planted, it is apt to become thin, and die
away, after awhile.

Phleum Pratense, Meadow CaCs-Tail Grafs :
affects wet situations, is very productive, but
coarse and late.

Directions for Solving Grafs Seeds in small
quantities.
If a piece of ground can be had, that is
neither very moist nor very dry, it will answer

Q2

^36 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

for several sorts of seeds ; they may then be
6'ovvn on one spot : but if such a piece cannot
be obtained, they must be sown on separate
spots, according to their respective qualities,
no matter whether in a garden, a nursery, or a
field, provided it be well secured and clean.
Dig up the ground, level, and rake it, then
sow each kind of seed thinly in a separate
row,, each row about a foot apart, and cover
them over lightly with the earth ^ the latter
end of August, or beginning of September will
be the most proper time for this businefs. If
the weather be not uncommonly dry, the seeds
will quickly vegetate, and the only attention
they will require will be to be carefully
weeded : in about a fortnight from their
coming up, such of the plants as grow thickly-
together may be thinned, and those which are
taken up transplanted, so as to make more
rows of the same grafs.

If the winter should be very severe, though
natives, as seedlings, they may receive injury,
therefore it will not be amifs to protect them
with mats, fern, or by some other contrivance.

Advantage should be taken of the first dry

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 237

"Weather in the spring, to roll or tread them
down, in order to fasten tlicir roots in the
earth, which the frost generally loosens : care
mu?t still be taken to keep them perfectly
clear from weeds. As the spring advances,
many of them will throw up tlieir flowering
stems, and some of tliem will continue to do
so all the summer. As the seed in each spike
or pannicle ripens, it must be very carefully
gathered, and sown in the autumn, at which
time the roots of the original plants, which
will now bear separating, should be divided
and transplanted, so as to form more rows ;
the roots of the Smooih-Stalkcd Meaduzv Grafs,
in particular, creeping like Couch Grafs, may
readily be increased in this way; and thus,
by degrees, a large plantation of these grafses
may be formed, and much seed collected.

"While the seeds are thus increasing, the
piece or pieces of ground which are intended
to be laid down, should be got in order. If
very foul, perhaps, the best practice (if pasture
land) will be to pare off the sward and burn •
it on the ground ; or, if this should not bs
thought advisable, it will be proper to plough
up the ground and harrow it repeatedly, burn-
ing the roots of Couch Grafs, and other

Q3

238 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

noxious plants, till the ground is become
tolerably clean j to render it perfectly so, some
cleansing crop, as potatoes or turnips, should
be planted or sown.

By this means, the ground we propose laying
down will be got into excellent order without
much lofs ; and being now ready to form into
a meadow or pasture, should be sown broad-
cast, with the following composition :

Meadow Fox-Tail, one -pint.

Meadow Fescue , ditto.

Smooth-Stalked Meadow, half a pint.

Bough-Stalked Meadow, ditto.

Crested Dog^ s-Tail^ a quarter of a pint.

Sweet-Scented Vernal, ditto.

Dutch Clover (TrifvUum Repens) half a pint.

Wild Red Clover (Trifolium Pratense,) or,

in its stead. Broad Clover of the Shops,

ditto.
For wet land, the Crested Dog's-Tail and

Smooth-Stalked Meadoiv, may be omitted,

especially the form&r.

f

Such a composition as this, sown in the pro-
portion of about three bushels to an acre, on a
suitable soil, in a favourable situation, will, I

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 239

am bold to afsert, form, in two years, a most
excellent meadow ; and as all the plants sown
are strong hardy perennials, they will not easily
suffer their places to be usurped by any
noxious plants, which, by manure or other
means, in spite of all our endeavours, will be
apt to insinuate themselves ^ if they should,
they must be carefully extirpated, for such a
meadow is deserving of the greatest attention ;
but if that attention cannot be bestowed on it,
and in procefs of time weeds should predomi-
nate over the crop originally sown, the whole
should be ploughed up, and fresh sown with
the same seeds, or with a better composition, if
such should be discovered j for I have no doubt
but, at some future time, it will be as common
to sow a meadow with a composition some-
what like this, as it now is to sow a field of
wheat or barley.

Q4

240 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

ESSAY XII.

On Manures.

Jl HE term manure, is applied indiscrimi-
nately to all substances, which are known from
experience, either to enrich the different soils,
or contribute by any other means to render
them more favourable to vegetation.

Though little doubt can be entertained of
the utility and necefsity of such substances, yet
the progrefs hitherto made, in ascertaining the
mode in which they ought to be applied, the
quantity that should be made use of, or the
soils for which they are respectively best adapt-
ed, has not yet reached that perfection or
certainty that could be wished for.

The most superficial observation w^ill serve
to convince every intelligent person, that in
an agricultural point of view, the subject of
manures is of the first magnitude. To correct
what is hurtful to vegetation in the different
soils, and to restore what is lost by exhausting
crops, are operations in agriculture, which may

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 241

be coiiipared to the curing of diseases in tlie
animal bodv, or supplying the waste occasion-
ed by labour, or the ordinary evacuations of
natui'e.

The utility of manuring has, however, been
questioned in some instances, paricularly by
Tull and his disciples, who assert that tillage
alone, frequently and judiciously applied, will
produce every effect that can be expected from
that practice.

That tillage is essential to the succefs of
Agricultural operations, is a point in which
all good husbandmen are agreed ; but that by
tillage alone, the earth should be made to
produce a succefsion of valuable crpps of grain
or vegetables, is a doctrine, which, fortunately
for the advancement of agriculture, has met
with very few converts. By such manage-
ment, poor lands would never become pro-
ductive, and the richest soils would soon be
exhausted.

Another opinion has been held forth to the
public, that when land has once been put into
good heart, it may be preserved in a state of
constant fertility, merely by a proper rotation
of crops, without any foreign manure.

242 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

In some particular spots, where the soil is
uncommonly rich, and has been long undis-
turbed by the plough, and when great quanti-
ties of animal and vegetable matter have been
accumulating for ages, this may, for a consider-
able space of time, be the case.

But if the advocates for such a system assert
that any land, when once put into good order,
will continue to pour forth an endlefs succession
of valuable crops, by means of judicious rota-
tions alone, without any manure being made
use of, we pronounce the idea, with but very
few exceptions, impossible.

Indeed it might as well be supposed, that
any animal, after having made a full meal,
would continue to live, and perform every
kind of labour, without any farther supply of
food. The contrary certainly is the case, both
with regard to animals and vegetables ; for
if the nourishment supplied is lefs than the
waste, the animal will die, and the soil be-
come barren.

But it is unnecefsary to extend our observa-
tions upon this subject farther; for a good
farmer who wishes to avail himself of every

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 243

advantage which experience points out, will, to
a certain degree, adopt 1. the tillage recom-
mended of TulU for the purpose of pulverizing
the soil and extirpating the weeds with which
it nlay be infested. 2. A regular rotation
of crops, in order that the various sorts of
earth, may, in their turn, according as they
are calculated for different plants, become
productive : and 3. A sufficient quantity of
Manure, not only to prevent the soil from
being exhausted, but, if pofsible, annually to
make some addition to its former sources of
fertility.

For the purpose of bringing a subject of
such acknowledged importance as agricul-
ture, to a higher degree of perfection than it
at present pofsefses, a thorough investigation
of every branch of it is necefsary. It is,
however, to be regretted, that the foundation
of the whole, namely, the principles upon
which fertility and vegetation depend^ are still
but imperfectly understood. Even the little
knowledge of these matters which we are at
present in pofsefsion of, has hitherto been
confined to the closets of the learned, and
seldom been deemed a necefsary part of edu-
cation for those whose prospects and succefs

244 GEOR€ICAL ESSAYS.

in life depend so materially upon a judicious
and scientific system of husbandry.

In the article of manures especially, this
knowledge would be peculiarly useful ; for by
it the intelligent farmer would be enabled to
examine and ascertain the distinguishing pro-
perties of the articles he makes use of; to col-
lect, prepare, and employ them to the greatest
advantage ; and to accommodate them to the
soil for which they are respectively the best
adapted ; and thus by having it in his power
to combine the cause and the effect, he would
have the means of calculating, with much more
certainty than it is pofsible for him otherwise
to do, upon the succefs of all his operations.

Having premised these general observations^
we shall now proceed to state the various sorts
of manures made use of in these kingdoms y
and after briefly considering the advantage of
combining two or more of them together into
one compost, shall then add some general re-
marks upon the mode of applying them. Au-
thors have attempted to divide manures into
various clafses, as into simple and compound,
natural and artificial, nutritious and stimu-
lating, or as they are derived from the animal.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 245

vegetable, or mineral kingdom; but unlefs
philosophers were more agreed, with respect
to the principles upon which they respectively
act, every attempt at clafsification must be
liable to considerable objections, and therefore
cannot be attempted with advantage on the
present occasion.

Every farmer of experience knows, that cer-
tain compounds, formed between the different
kinds of manures and soils, have a much greater
effect in promoting vegetation, than any of
these taken separately. But though this cir-
cumstance is familiar to most of them, they have
hitherto made little progrefs in ascertaining
the manner in which composts operate, or the
principles upon which their operation depends.

In analyzing the different soils and manures,
we learn, that some of them contain more ani-
mal or vegetable matter, than they do salts or
earth ; and vice versa. From this disproportion
of principles, such soils and manures are \q^%
productive than they would otherwise be,
if their useful qualities were more equally
balanced By compounding or mixing the two
together, that end is attained.

Some farmers object to composts on account

246 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

of the expense, and affirm that ever\' addition
of soil, or other substances, made to a dunghill,
serves only to increase its bulk, and the ex-
pense, without adding any thing to its real
value ; and that the dung itself is a much better
manure, upon all soils, than it can pofsibly be
made by any addition.

That the dung of animals is a most valuable
article, is beyond all doubt, but it certainly is
not equally useful in all soils and situations.
It is much better calculated for what are called
active, than for inactive soils. On limestone,
chalk. Sic. &c. it meets with abundance of
active materials, which compensate for the
want of them in itself. But upon clays, deep
loams, Szc. &c. it operates best in conjunction
withlime, or some otherstimulating substance *,

* When dung is intended for a compost, no attempt
should be made to add any large quantity of lime or earth,
till it is properly fermented; as every addition of that
kind will be found to check fermentation, and diminish
the value of the compound. The lime and earth should
be added, after the fermentation is finished, and the
•Whole carefully mixed and laid up together. A few days
after this is done, a second fermentation will come on,
and, if the mixture has been properly turned over and
thoroughly incorporated, in a mpnth or six weeks after-
wards it will be fit for use.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 247

When earth is added to such a compost, care
should be taken to regulate the quantity in such
a manner, as to prevent it from prefsing the
dunghill too hard j for, in every instance where
this happens, the air will be excluded, so much
as to prevent a second fermentation from
coming on ; and the compost, in that case,
will neither incorporate so well, nor be so va-
luable.

Next to the application of the various sorts
of manures, the fertility of the earth depends
upon the predominant qualities of the soil;
every different kind of which being made up
of the same principles, but differently propor-
tioned. In cases where there is a deficiency of
any of these, the fault may be rectified by the ap-
plication of another soil, containing the ingredi-
ents that are wanted. Thus, where clay predo-
minates, the addition of sand, is often sufficient
to insure fertility, and, where sand prevails, the
addition of clay or chalk answers the same
purpose. Gravelly soil enriches mofs, and mofs
improves gravel. Indeed, until the soil ac-
quire a due proportion of the various in-
gredients that are necefsary to insure fertility,
the husbandman is particularly called upon to
search every where, in the neighbourhood of

248 . GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

his fields, for such substances as are likely to
accomplish this desirable purpose.

We wish this circumstance to be particularly
attended to, as there is abundant reason to be-
lieve, that every field has in its neighbourhood
some substance, which if properly applied,
would give it fresh powers of production. To
discover this, not onl^ the surface, but the
different sub-soils should be carefully ex-
amined, and it is more than probable that
some useful article will be found,' which if
mixed either with the dung of the farm, or
applied by itself, will render the soil more
fertile.

This mixture of soils answers many very
important purposes in agriculture. Stiff soils,
which water can hardly penetrate, are by a
proper^mixture of light earth, sand, or other
incoherent substances, opened and subdivided,
so as to admit freely a quantity of moisture
and other nutritive matters, sufficient for the
nourishment of plants*.

* ,The following is a striking instance of the benefit
resulting from a mixture of soils. Mr. Elkinglon had on
his farm of Princethoip, some fields of strong clay, which

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 249

Light soils again, by being incorporated
with clay, are thereby rendered more retentive
of moisture : by this mixture also the roots of
vegetables are at full liberty to spread them-
selves in all directions, not only in search of
their natural food, but also to acquire an
establishment in the soil, sufficient to support
the trunk and branches of the plant. For it
is found, that no vegetable can arrive at per-
fection, if the roots are prevented from spread-
ing themselves out at pleasure, and, at the
same time, taking a sufficient hold of the earth ;
neither of vi^hich can be the case in very stiff
or very loose soils.

he could not plough in a wet season, nor could wheat be
always sown in it at (he proper time. He was sometimes
obliged to employ 6 horses to plough It, and 7 men to level
it, by cu tting the heaps with three-pronged forks, as spades
could not be made use of on account of their sticking.
But by carrying a great quantity of sandy soil, (120 loads
per acre.) and adding afterwards one coat of marl, th«
quality of the land became so changed, that 3 horses can
plough it, that no men are necefsary for levelling it, and
that, in the wettest season, wheat can be ^own. The ex-
pense of digging and carriage, may be calculated at 1 8s.
per 50 load, which is equal to about 2l. per 120 load.
Suppose that the marl cost ll. per acre, the whole cannot
be called a great expense, for sordurable and permanent
an improvement, which adds to the staple value of th©
soil, instead of being a mere temporary advantage.
Volume II. J{

250 GEORGICAL ESSAYS,

Manure is usually applied in three different
Ways. The first, and most common, is that of
ploughing^ it in and mixing it with the whole
soil. The second, is that of laying it carefully
into drills, and sowing the crop upon it. And
the third, is that of spreading or scattering it
upon young crops, and either harrowing it in,
or allowing it to remain upon the surface.

1 . Mixing with the Soil.
As yet, this is by far the most general mode
of application , and where manure can be had
in great quantities, it is naturally adopted, the
other modes being infinitely more troublesome.
It is also the best system where it is necefsary
to enrich a field for a succefsiorx of exhausting
crops. But it is questionable whether it is the
best means to make the most of the manure
collected ; as some of the most valuable parts of
the manure may be ploughed deeper than the
roots of many vegetables go, and in some cases,
may be entirely washed into the earth and
lost.

2. Manuring in Drills.
This tnode is but partially used, and only for
particular crops, as potatoes, turnips, and the

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 251

like ; when the advantage derived from the
practice are so much extolled, though not
decisively ascertained, it is a matter of sur-
prise that it has not been extended to other
deijcriptions of drill crops. The plant sown
lipon the manure in this manner, has the chance
of receiving the whole benefit of that manure
in all the stages of its growth ; and if the land
is afterwards ploughed crofs-ways, and well
harrowed, what remains of its strength and
substance is incorporated with the soil. The
crops of turnips and potatoes produced by fol-
lowing this plan, on very indifferent soils, and
with a small quantity of manure, it is afserted
by the friends of this system, will sometimes
equal what a rich soil, with a great quantity
of manure w^ill yield;

S. Top-drefsing.
Top-drefsings are principally confined to
particular substances, such as soot, rape-cake,
pigeons' diing, peat-ashes, Sec. ; the beneficial
effects of which, when applied in tliis way, are
well known, and having been found to ansv,'er
so v/ell, particularly with crops which tiller, as
wheat and barley, it is a matter entitled to the
most serious investigation^ whether their siic-
Cefs has not risen as mucli from the manner ia

252 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

which they are applied, as from their own es-
sential qualities ; and as this is a part of the
subject which has hitherto been lefs considered
than it deserves, it requires to be more fully
illustrated.

Any one may ascertain by an easy experi*
ment, that nearly the whole of the useful prin-
ciples contained in well-fermented dung, may
be extracted by repeated washings. When a
considerable quantity of any manure, therefore,
is laid upon land, and ploughed in, or mixed
with the whole soilj a great proportion of its
richest parts will be carried down by the rains,
and by that means will not only be lost to the
present crop, but, if the sub-soil is of a loose
and porous nature, will very soon escape be-
neath the reach of the plough.

Were a contrary system adopted, were stable-
dung and all enriching manures mixed with
lime or other active substances into the form of
a compost, and in that shape employed cither
as a top-drefsing, or very near the surface, a
much lefs quantity than is usually applied
might probably be found sufficient.

By laying manures upon or near the surface.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 2fi3

vhey would sink, by slow degrees ; their bene-
ficial effects would be exerted upon the plants
in their pafsage downwards, and very little, if
any, of them would penetrate deeper than they
could be useful.

It is highly probable, therefore, though not
yet fully ascertained by experiments, that a
much lefs quantity than wbat is usually
ploughed in, if applied as a top-drefsing, would
produce effects equal to those arising from the
present way of manuring.

But supposing that one half should be re-
quired to produce the same effect, the benefit
resulting, even from this difference, will be
strikingly obvious. It will, no doubt, be said,
that additional labour will be requisite to pre-
pare and spread top-drefsings ; aud that, after
all, their effects will not be so permanent as in
the common way of ploughing in the manure.
These objections, however, will, we trust, have
little weight. The first is, indeed, easily ob-
viated: for if a given quantity of manure is
made upon the farm yearly, and the whole of
it b/e laid upon the soil, it is a matter of little
consequence whether it is spread upon one,
tvve, or three fields j the expense of carriage

R3

254 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

will be nearly the same in almost every in-
stance, and the only difference will consist in a
small additional expense for spreading, whicii
will require to be done with more attention
when top-drefsings are employed, than when
the manure is ploughed in : of course lefs will
be spread in a given time, and more hands be
required to spread it.

The objection to top-drefsings not having
permanent effects is, to appearance, better
founded ; and certainly, at first sight, most
people would be inclined to smije at the idea
of one cart-load of manure producing as much
benefit as two. But as we have formerly taken
notice of the proportion of dung that is buried,
and lost, we need no farther argument to prove
that a half, properly prepared, and carefully
applied, will be equally useful as double the
quantity, differently treated. But allowing the
objection to be solid, which is by no means
the case, when we reflect upon the difference
between manuring 50 acres, or 100 annually,
and take into account the increased produce
in grain, and the increased bulk of straw and
fodder which is to form an additional quantity
of manure for the ensuing season, we will be
convinced that the advantage arising fror^

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 255

using top-drefsings, if judiciously followed,
will be very considerable.

,The only instance, in which the effects of
top-drefsings can pofsibly be lefsened, will be
in dry seasons, when a violent and long con-
tinued drought sets in immediately after they
are spread. This certainly is sometimes the
case; but in general the first gentle shower
that falls insures their operation.

The succefsful practice of many of the most
intelligent farmers in the island, particularly
those of Hertfordshire, Berkshire, Bedfordshire,
the lime-stone lands of the West Riding of
Yorkshire, &c. might here be dwelt on*.

* These top-drefsings not only s»pply the vv^nt of
previous manure, but also when crops are sickly and
backward in the spring, occasioned either by bad seed-
limes, frosts, or other causes, are attended with wonder-
ful succefs, and enable the crops to vegetate quickly,
and to cover and protect the soil on which they grow
from the ensuing droughts of summer. T^o their almost
magical powers, the Hertfordshire farmers are principally
indebted for their never failing crops. Without entering
into any chymica! analysis to discover the cause, they are
satisfied with the effects, and therefore continue to
enlarge upon the practice, though attended wuh coi>-

R4

256 gEorgical essays.

With them, top-drefsings are in high repute>
and experience has fully convinced them, that
there is no mode of applying manure equally
profitable. The following are the top-drefsings
succefsfully used.

1 . Soot from coals.**— Tliis is bought in Lon*-
don at 9d. to lid. per bushel, struck. It is
brought from London to the lands, and there
deposited in a heap, v/hich is the practice also
with the other light drefsings ; from these
heaps a common seed-scuttle is filled, and a
man walking the length of the lands, sows the
soot in the same manner as corn is sown ; the
expense of sowing is a halfpenny per busheL
The quantity used per statute acre, is from

siderable expense. The provident farmer lays in a
stock of drefsings to answer contingencies, ard provided
with this treasure, he can remedy the evils of bad seed-
times and seasons. These top or spring-drefiings are
peculiarly applicable to poor, light, sandy, and gravelly
lands, and of course to the production of the specifically
heaviest corn, and put such lands more on an equality
in point of annual value, with stronger and richer soils.
Happy would it be to more distant farmers, and agricuU
lure in general, could an adequate substitute to the
Hertfordshire drefsings be procured at any expense, and
were the application of that substitute perfectly under-
stood.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 2^7

'20 to 40 Winchester bushels; m general 30
bushels are used for a complete drefsing, i. e.
when dung, or some other manure, has not
been previously applied to the same crop,
which is very frequently the practice ; the
quantity of top-drefsing is then diminished to
about one half of a complete drefsing. Of soot
a complete drefsing as above costs 30s. to 36s.
per acre. — Soot is found to answer best on
wh©at in April ; it likewise succeeds on pease
or clover in the same month, and has a good
effect sown with barley in the beginning of
April, and harrowed in. — A slight drefsing of
soot is used at any time in the spring, when
grubs or worms appear to injure the young
com ; the worms frequently make great havock
by drawing the blades of young corn after them
into their holeis ; this soot best prevents. — Soot,
thmly distributed on newly-sown turnips, just
before they come up, prevents the fly or grub
from injuring them, provided no rain falls to
wash it into the soil ; if sown after the plants
come up, it injures them, particularly if the
season comes dry. Soot answers best on light
dry chalk soils, and in moderately wet seasons ;
it does little good on strong or wet land, or
in very dry seasons, unlefs sown earlier than
usual.— The London soot from coals is gene-

358 GfeORGICAL ESSAYS.

Tally mixed with cork-dust, coal ashes, or
sweeping of the streets j even in that adul-
terated state, it is found to answer much bet-
ter than real country soot from wood.

2. Coal-ashes. — These cost in London from
6s. to 14s. per Waggon load, (narrow wheels
and four horses,) the price depending on the
businefs doing in the brick-fields near town,
in v/hich considerable quantities of ashes are
used; carriage included, they cost on the land
about 5id. per bushel. Coal-ashes are bought
in small quantities in the neighbourhood at
4d. per bushel ; they are distributed on the
land with a shovel from a cart or wheel-barrow
moved along the land ; another, and perhaps
the preferable mode, is sowing them by hand :
the former way costs 12d. per waggon load,
the latter I8d. Coal-ashes are used from fifty
to sixty bushels per statute acre for a complete
drefsing; which amounts from 28s. to 26s. per
acre: they succeed well sown on clover in
March or April, on dry chalk lands; and also do
much good to sward, applied during any part
of the winter or spring : — they are never used
on wheat. In very dry seasons, coal-aflies do
littJe good, except on cold sward, which they

OEORGICAL ESSAYS. 25^

Jtlvyays improve : They, as well as most other
of these drefsings on light land, require rain
ifter being sown, to set them to work.

3. Peat-ashes. — ^These are bought at the
same price as the former j forty bufliels is a com-
plete drefling for an acre, and cofts about 16s.
Peat-ashes succeed well when used at the same
time, and on the same crops as the last article,
except that they apply on wheat in April with
good effeft 5 — they greatly improve dry chalk
soils, but will do little good on wet land or
cold sward, or hot sand lands. This, like moft
other top-drefsings, is little affected by the
season, provided wet falls soon after it is laid
pn the land.

4. Peat-dust — ^This costs the same as the
allies, and is sown in the same manner and
quantity; it answers equally well, and in every-
way the same as the ashes. Peat-dust is
esteemed the best pofsible drefsing for an
onion-bed in a garden, and is not found to
promote weeds more than other drefsings ; it
has great effect on thistles, causing them to
wither, as if scorched ; but they generally re^
povcr unlefs the dust be repeated.

560 6E0RGICAL ESSAYS.

5. Folding — is used as a top-drefsing on light
lands ; and on these it answers a good purpose :
it succeeds best on dry land. Its effect on
these light soils is not entirely attributed to the
ibeep's dung, but in a great degree to the ftiff-
nefs the land acquires by the treading, which
is here found so very beneficial, that they fre-
quently lead the plough horses abreast up and
down the lands several times after sowing
wheat, or other grain, to tread it.

6. Furriers' Clippings, -^Th^st are bought

in London at 12s. to 13s. per quarter (being

a ten bushel sack crammed full) weighing

about 2i cwt. — they are sown by hand from

the seed-scuttle, at about 3d. per quarter, on

land intended to be sown with wheat or barley,

and immediately ploughed in, after which the

seed is sown and harrowed in ; such pieces of

the clippings as are left above ground by the har-

rov/, should be pricked into the ground by the

end of a stick, to prevent their being devoured

by dogs or crows, who seize them greedily :

from two to three quarters are usually sown

per statute acre. Clippings answer well on

light, dry, chalk, orgravelly soils, where they

are supposed to hold moisture, and help the

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 261

crop greatly in dry seasons ; they have but
little effect on wet soils.

7. Iloni-shavings. — ^These are of two sorts,
small or turner's shavings, and large, which
consists of refuse pieces of horn ; the small
are bought in London in the same way, and
generally at the same prices as the laft article j
the large shavings coll about '2s. lefs per quar-
ter, Horn-shavings are used in the same way
and quantities as the last article, except that
they want no pricking, and the large are gene-
rally ploughed into the land three months before
sowing wheat or barley. Horn-shavings an^
swer in most soils and seasons, except very dry
ones, when they will not work; tlie sjngdl
shavings are much the most useful.

8. Woollen Rags. — These cost in London
from Ss. 6d. to 4s. 6d. per cwt. — In the coun-
try they are bought at 4s. 6d. to 5s. and are
collected at about 2 id. per cwt. The rags
being generally in large pieces are housed and
chopt at the expense of 5d. or 6d. per cwt.
They are sown by hand and ploughed in three
months, before sowing wheat or barley; the
quantity used is 6 to 10 cwt. per statute acre.
Woollen rags, like furrier's clippings, hold

262 GEORGICAL ESSAYSc"

moisture, and are adapted for dr)% gravelly, and
chalky soils, and succeed in dry seasons better"
than most manures : they do but little good on
wet soils.

9. Sheep-Trotters, and Felbnongers' Cut-*
tings. — These are bought of the neighbouring
fellmongers at about 6d. per bushel, heapt
loose. They are used in the same way as fur-
rier*s clippings, from 20 to 40 bushels per acre,
and need pricking in, as dogs and crows are
very fond of them. They do not answer on
wet land, or in very dry seasons; indeed
nothing does succeed in excefsive dry seasons
on these soils. The trotters contain a con-
siderable quantity of lime, and are often adul^
terated with sand, and sometimes considerable
quantities of oak saw-dust are mixed with
them.

10. Malt dust. — This costs, at the neighbour-
ing malt-houses, Is. per bushel heapt ; it is sown
by hand from 24 to 32 bushels per acre, at the
same time with barley, and harrowed in w^ith
the seed : it suits most soils and seasons. Malt-
dust quickly spends itself, and is therefore
never sown with wheat : as* a top-drefsing to
wheat in March, about thirty bushels per acre.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 263

it probably would succeed on these ' soils.
Black malt-dust, or such as falls through the
kiln-plate in drying, is greatly preferred to the
white, on account of the seeds of charlock
{sinapi arvensis) with which it abounds, being
destroyed by the heat. Chalk lands, under
their present management, produce such abun-
dance of charlock, that they are generally obli-
ged to mow off the heads and flowers, about
the middle of June, to prevent its entirely
smothering the corn. Charlock-seed so abounds
with oil, that it will lay for any length of time
in the earth without vegetating, which, how-
ever, it never fails to do, when brought near
enough to the surface by the plough. Pigeons
are supposed to pick up considerable quantities
of charlock-seed after land has been ploughed.
These lands are very subject to be overrun
with black grafs, (alopecurus agrestisj which is
said to impoverish it much.

1 1. Pigeons* dung. -^Thh costs Is. per bushel,
heapt ; it is used as malt-dust, and does good
in any soil or season.

12. Rape dust — is much used upon lime-
stone lands that lie remote from large
towns. "Wheat requires two quarters and a haJf

264 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

per acre, and barley about three quarters. The
farmers in the neighbourhood of Ferrybridge
and Abberford, Yorkshire, pay for it about
twenty shillings per quarter. It is harrowed
in with the seed. For wheat it is a ceiftain
tillage ; but if rain should not fall soon after
barley sowing, the crop is sure to suffer.

13. Soapboilers' Ashes, or wood ashes from
v/hich lye has been made, is to be had (in small
quantities only) at 6d. per bushel, heapt ; the
effect of these on cold sward is very great.

14. Hog^s Hair, — This is sometimes to be
had in London at about 9s. per quarter j when
applied in the same manner as furriers' clip-
pings, it is found to answer very well.

Notwithstanding the striking advantages ari-
sing from an attention to these points, the sub-
ject of manures is still considered by too many
farmers as a secondary object j and much less care
has hitherto been paid to collecting, preparing,
and employing them in a proper manner, than
they deserve. A considerable quantity is daily
lost about every farm, that rnight otherwise be
saved, and a very great proportion of what is
collected is of little value. Owing to the care-

■ CEORGICAL ESSAYS. 265

lefs slovenly manner in which it is treated.
Fermentation, it is well known, is efsentially
necefsary to convert air animal and vegetable
substances into good manures; but in too
many instances this is never once thought of,
nor is it a matter of inquiry, with such far-
mers, whether the small quantity which they
have collected, in perhaps a very slovenly
manner, is fermented or not. At a certain
season of .the year, and that often an impro-
per one, it is laid upon the field; and the poor
returns that are made, afford the most striking'
proofs of this execrable management.

It might naturally be supposed, that such
farmers, by comparing their own miserable
crops with those of their more intelligent and
industrious neighbours, w^ould be led to in-
quire into the cause of the difference. But
so powerful is prejudice, and so obstinate and
perverse is the human mind, when tinctured
with particular notions, that few inquiries of
this kind take place, and still fewer attempts
are made to correct mistakes, however glaring,
if sanctioned by long usuage. Every im-
provement, either in the form of an instru-
ment of husbandry, or in the manner of crop-
ping and manuring, is considered as an inno-
Volume II. S

265 GEORGICAI- ESSAYS.

vatlon, and reprobated accordingly. Thus
men srow old in error! their children imbibe
their prejudices, and follow the same path;
and the ignorance and want of system of the
former generation, are quoted as reasons for
the folly and obstinacy of the present. This
accounts, in a great measure, for the slow
progress of improvement; and forms an ob-
stacle much more powerful than either a barren
soil or a rigorous climate. To say more upon
this subject seems unnecessar}' ; we shall, there-
fore, rest satisfied with prefsing the foregoing
considerations upon the mind ot every intel-
ligent farmer 3 for to such only are they ad-
dressed.

A mistaken opinion has long prevailed with
many farmers, that if dung has only the ap-
pearance of being rotten, its effects will b^
equal to that which has been properly fer-
mented. Tliis idea has been productive of
much mischief. Some, indeed, cany it so far
as to affirm, that dry straw, left in the field,
will be converted into good manure; and
trusting to this, they leave the stubble very
rank, expecting to reap tl^e benefit of it in
the next crop. It is true that straw when left
in this way, will decay, but surely if it had

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 267

been mowed and brought into the straw-yard,
it would have become doubly valuable.

Instead of a practice which has at least the
appearance of negligence, every farmer ought
to collect his straw with the utmost care, and
endeavour, by every means in his power, to
subject it to the process of fermentation, for
in that way alone can it be rendered useful,
and if proper attention is paid to cutting low
in harvest, and Jeaving as little stubble as pos-
sible, one-third more straw at least may be
got, in many parts of the kingdom ; by which
a very important addition would be made to
the manure annually collected.

The dung of animals is the most common,
the most useful, though not perhaps the best
managed of any manure that is at present
known. Previously to entering upon the way
of using it, we trust a few observations upon
the present defective mode of treating it, to-
gether with some account of its properties,
the means of collecting, preserving, and sub-
jecting it to the process of fermentation, and
of increasing its quantity, will be thought of
service.

S2

268 6E0RGICAL ESSAYS.

When any considerable quantity, either of
stable dung, or mixture of animal and vege^
table substances, are collected togetViCr under
certain circumstances of heat, air, and mcis-
tiire, they begin to ferment, and exhibit all
the different phaenomena of fermentation, in a
greater or less degree, till the process is finish-
ed. If we then examine the mass, wc find
that the vegetables of which it was originally
composed, are decompounded and reduced
to their first principles, and are again in a
situation to afford food for new plants ; by
this means a perpetual succefsion is kept up,
and the decay or death of any of these,
which at first view we might be led to con-
sider as a misfortune, serves for their reproduc-
tion.

This point settled, it will readily be admit-
ted, that the more completely such substances
are subjected to the process of fermentation,
the greater and more beneficial their effects
will be upon the soil. It is, therefore, an ob-
ject of the first importance with every person
concerned in the cultivation of the earth, to
manage their manures in such a way that they
may be completely fermented, and to have
their dunghills so situated and constructed, as

OEORGICAL ESSAYS. (>69

to promote fermentation, and preserve the
useful articles contained in the dung, both
while the process is going on, and after it is
finished. A careful attention to these points
will not only improve the quality, but, as we
shall afterwards see, increase the quantity of
manure in an astonishing degree.

When fermentation has taken place for
some time in a heap of manure, consisting
either of animal or vegetable substances, or a,
mixture of both, the first alteration that is ob-
served, is a change of colour and a sensible
diminution of its bulk; as the process ad-
vances, the bulk continues to diminish till the
fermentation entirely ceases. This dirainU'
tion is owing to the solid parts of the mafs
being brought more closely together. The
fixed air and volatile alkali escape in the form
of vapour, and the moisture falls to the bot^
tom, where it either remains, if the dunghill
is situated in a hollow, and has a bottom ca-
pable of retaining moisture, or runs off if it is
situated upon a declivity. When this mois-
ture is collected and carefully analyzed, it is
found impregnated with the salts contained
in the dung, and if spread upon the soil ia
that state, it will contribute to fertilize the land,

S3

270 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

In collecting and preparing this manure,
little attention has hitherto been paid, either to
the scite of the dunghill, the encouragement
of fermentation, or the preservation of the
salts after the fermentation is finished. —
Throughout the greatest part of Britain, it is
painful to observe the neglect of this im-
portant article, particularly in those parts of
the country, which, from their situation, arc
in a great measure deprived of every other
means of improvement. Throughout the
whole of North Wales, Cornwall, Cumber-
land, Westmoreland, and in short all the hillj
and mountainous parts of England, this de-
fect is common ; nor is it lefs so in the High-
lands, and most of the upland districts of
Scotland^ In those parts, the dung is gene-
rally ti:irown into the farmer's close, without
considering either the nature of the bottom, its
capacity for retaining moisture, or the chance
there is of that mclstuie being drained off, if
the dunghill is situated upon a declivity.

Accordingly we observe the greatest part of
dunghills, either situated in hollows, and sur-
rounded with water, which by chilling the
mafs very effectually prevents fermentation;
or upon declivities, where they are totally

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 271

exhausted of every drop of moisture. In
these cases the dung is thrown out carelefsly.
Horses, cattle, hogs, and poultry are allowed
to trample upon and spread it, and even carts
and waggons are drove over it.

By this treatment it is prefsed into a mafs,
too heavy and compact for the air to penetrate
through a great part of it ; the outside of the
dunghill is scattered about, loses its moisture,
and is either blown away by the winds, or re-
turns to a state little better than dry straw,
and when the season arrives for laying it upon
the land, the whole is generally taken out,
without considering whether it is fermented
or not.

To a person who has paid any attention to
the subject, the defects of this management
must appear in a very ftriking point of view.
The middle of such a dunghill, from being
hard prefsed, will be long in fermenting, and
even in the end be very imperfectly fermented ;
and the sides, from being scattered about and
dried, will not be fermented at all ; we need
hardly observe, that the consequences of this
management will be a scanty crop, and dis-
appointment to the farmer; this is the ordinary

S4

272^ GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

effect where dung is laid, even upon a plain
surface.

"SVhen the dunghill is situated in a hollow,
and has a bottom capable of retaining moisture,
the consequences are equally bad, if not worse.
The whole of the rain that falls immediately
from the clouds, together with the water from
the roofs of the surrounding houses, and the
natural moisture of the dunghill itself, lodge
there and chill it so as to prevent fermentation.
It is certain that stable dung, in such situations,
will have the appearance of being fermented,
but upon examination it will be found only
decayed; and from its being steeped so long in
water, the greatest part of the salts will be
extracted, and what remains, if carefully ana-
lyzed, will be found to contain scarce any other
principle but vegetable earth.

Where a dunghill is situated upon a decli-
vity, or has a gravelly bottom, the lofs i&
equally great, as in the two former cases ; as
the whole of the natural moisture that is prefsed
out during fermentation, and which is strongly
impregnated with the salts of the dung, either
runs off or sinks into the earth; nor is this the
only lofs that is sustained, every shower that

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 273

falls, by pafsing through the mafs, carries off
an additional quantity of the salts, till by re-
peated washings, the dunghill is left in nearly
the same situation as tea leaves after a strong
infusion has been drawn from them.

Finally, by throwing it out in the carelefs
manner already described, taking no pains to
lay it up regularly, and allowing cattle, &c. to
tread upon, and carts to pafs over it, fermen-
tation is long in taking place ; even then it is
partial and incomplete, and in place of pro-
ducing good manure, abounding with rich
well prepared substances, it will, for the most
part, be found to consist of articles only half
fermented, which, from their parts not being
properly separated, arc very ill calculated to
promote vegetation. Dung is the most like-
ly to be best, where the dunghill is upon
level ground, and at some distance from the
offices.

Having mentioned the present mode of
•collecting and preparing stable dung, and
stated the slotl\fid and defective manner in
which it is generally done ; we shall no^ pro-
ceed to offer some directions, as to the-
methods of promoting fermentation, and pre-
serving the salts after the process is finished j.

274 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

and lastly, of increasing the quantity of that
valuable article.

To promote fermentation in stable dung,
two things are essentially necessary, namely,
air and moisture ; without these no fermen-
tation will take place, and unless they are in
due proportion the process will be incomplete.

It is a circumstance well known to persons
who are accustomed to prepare dung for hot-
beds, that by laying it lightly together in
heaps, and watering it gently, fermentation
is immediately brought on. It is also known,
that in the after stages of this business, hot-
bed dung is as completely fermented in the
space of fourteen or sixteen days, as that in a
farm-yard generally is in six or eight months.

Every farmer ought, therefore, to imitate
this practice as nearly as the nature of his situ-
ation will admit, and in place of having his
dunghill in the stable-yard, and allowing carts,
cattle, hogs, poultry, &c. to trample upon
and disturb it, he should place it in some
distinct situation, convenient for his offices,
the urine from which should run into recep-
tacles, from which it might be thrown, with-
out the trouble of carriage, into the dung,

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 275

where it would be of the utmost use in pro-
moting fermentation.

When it is driven to the dunghill, the cart
or waggon in which it is carried, should not
be drove over the dung, as is commonly prac-
tised ; because, as we formerly observed, the
feet of the horses and the weight of the car-
riage will press it so hard, that the air will be
in a great measure excluded, and by that
means fermentation prevented. It is disgrace-
ful to see the common way in which this is
done ; the dunghill is for the most part in the
form of an inclined plane; up this. ascent,
which is sometimes very steep when the
quantity of dung is great, the cart is driven,
and while the wheels are sunk nearly to the
axles, and the horses are sunk above the
knees, the merciless driver exercises his whip,
and occasions the most cruel and painful ex-
ertions to the poor animals, straining their
bodies, and destroying the harness more in the
course of a few yards, than driving the same
load would occasion in five or six miles.

If we inquire either of the farmer or hh
servant, what is gained by this exertion ? he
will only be able to say, that the load is laid
upon the top of the heap ; a labour which a

276 GEORGICAL ESSAY8.

man would readily perform, to much better
purpose, in a few minuites.

The whole cart load ought to be laid down
by the side of the dunghill, and afterwards
thrown lightly upon it with a fork, the trou-
ble of doing which would be trifling, and
the advantage immense.

If dung laid up in this way contains a suffi-
cient proportion of moisture, it will immedi-
ately begin to ferment, and the procefs will be
soon and completely finished : particular atten-
tion ought therefore to be paid to this, circum-
stance ; and if it any time the dung is laid up
dry, it should be immediatelywatered. In
summer this will (""requently be found neces-
sary, especially during dry weather ; and as
most farms pof^efs a sufficient command of
water, it can very easily be done.

Where this method is had recourse to, the
dung will be completely fermented in the
fpace of six or seven weeks *, at the utmost.

* A very intelligent Agriculturist recommends that no
more than what can be collected in a month, should be
formed into one dunghill. Alter the end of the month it
»hould all be turned uver, and t'loroughly mixed, and left
to heat again for another month, and turned over againj
when it will be fit for use.

4

GEORCICAL ESSAYS. 277

artd in general will be found of one half more
value than that which is made in the carelefs,
slovenly manner we have described.

The importance of good manure to all agri-
cultural operations is such, that we should na-
turally have expected to find every thing re»
lating to it made a primary object with farmers.
On the contrary, no part of the rural economy
has been lefs the subject of inquiry ; the situa-
tion and construction of dunghills in particular,
though highly deserving of notice, have for the
most part been considered as a matter of in-
difference.

As w^as formerly mentioned, a hollow is im-
proper for the scite of a dunghill, from the cir-
cumstances of its lodging water, and prevent-
ing fermentation ; a declivity is equally bad,
as it serves to drain and carry off the moisture
saturated with the richest salts of the dung.
A gravelly bottom is worse than either of
those, as the moisture sinks down into the
earth, and is irrecoverably lost.

The situation best calculated for the scite of a
dunghill, is that which is nearest to a level,
with a bottom capable of retaining moisture.

278 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

and, if pofsible, covered with a shed. The
whole should be enclosed with a wall of, at
least, four or five feet in height, with an open
space at one end for carting away the dung.
If the bottom is not clay, it should be laid with
it, and paved above either with broad flags, or
the common paving stones used for streets. At
the end opposite to w^here the opening is left, a
reservoir should be dug, which might either be
lined with clay, and built round with stones,
or fitted with a wooden cistern made water-
tight, into which a pump should be put for
drawing off the moisture daily.

This reservoir should be situated at the most
depending part of the dunghill, with an open-
ing in the wall immediately opposite to it.
The pavement should have a number of chan-
nels of, at least, five or six inches deep, and of
the same width, all feathering off to a main, or
central channel, leading to the reservoir. These
channels should be filled with brushwood before
the dung is laid down, by which means they will
be kept open, and the moisture find a ready
pafsage to the main channel.

Every dunghill ought to be so situated as to
have its longest sides run from east to west;
surrounded by a w^all, and covered with a

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 279

roof. The wall on the soutli side of a dung-
hill should be of such a height as to prevent
entirely the sun's rays from touching the
dung J on the other three sides, however,
there- is no necefbity for its being so high, six
feet from the ground will be sufficient, and
the roof may be supported by pillars. The
expense of the roof, which need only be
thatched, will soon be repaid by the superior
quality of the dung. The perpendicular
wall on the south side will very effectually
prevent the sun from depriving the dung of
its natural moisture.

TTie advantages attending this sort of dung-
hill will appear at first sight : the wall, by con-
fining the dung, will keep it from being scat-
tered about and lost, and will also preserve
the sides of the dunghill from being dried,
and rendered uselefs by the action of the air.
The shed will keep it from being chilled or
deprived of its salts by the rain pafsing
through it, the wall will also prevent the
moisture from escaping at the sides, and con-
duct it to the bottom. The pavement will
prevent it from sinking into the earth, and the
channels will conduct it to the reservoir, from
whence it can be drawn by a pump into a

180 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

barrel placed upon a cart, and either spread
immediately upon the field, or mixed with
Other substances into a compost, or thrown
upon the dunghill itself, it being the best of
all ferments.

The quantity of manure may be increased
in various ways, one of which has already
been noticed, viz. securing the moisture that
drains from the dunghill, and either spreading
it immediately upon the soil, or mixing it into
composts ; another method, by which an al-
most equal quantity may be obtained, is, by
collecting the urine of the horses and cattle
in the stables ; this may be done with great
ease, by having a barrel or cistern sunk at
each extremity of the stable, with a well-
paved channel leading to it.

Another means of increasing the quantity
of manure is, by gathering the dung of both
cattle and horses that are feeding upon rich
old pastures. Lands of this description need
no dung, and the quantity that is annually
dropt upon them, if carefully gathered, might
be profitably employed upon the lands that
are in tillage ; upon poor pastures, however,
this should not be practised, as a considerable

CEORGICAL ESSAYS. 281

part of the benefit such lands derive from
being in grass^ is from the dung of the graz-
ing stock i but even upon these poor pastures
the dung should be gathered off some places,
and spread upon others, as there are particu-
Jar spots in all fields to which the cattle resort,
either for shelter, or because the herbage is
sweeter ; upon these parts much more dung
is dropped than the land requires : it ought,
therefore, to be carefully gathered and spread
upon the poorest and least frequented parts of
the field. Where labour is low, and it is diffi-
cult to find constant employment for the poor,
this plan might certainly be adopted*

The substances that have been found, from
experience, best calculated to increase the
quantity of manure, are earth, mofs, turf, the
shovellings of highways, and the cleanings of
ditches or drains; one or all of which may be
found, in considerable quantity, upon every
farm if carefully sought after. There are two
ways of rendering these substances useful ;
the first is by laying them in the bottom of the
dunghill, and suffering the moisture of the
dung to soak down and saturate them ; the
second is to lay them in heaps by themselves,
and collect the moisture of the dunghill and

Volume IL T

282 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

the urine of the cattle, and pour it upon them ;
in either of these ways, if proper care is taken,
any. of the substances we have mentioned will
produce effects equal to the best manure j and
if the whole of the urine and other excre-
mental matters about every farm be collected
and used in this way, the quantity of that
sort of manure may be more than dgubled in
almost every instance.

Stable-yard dung is applied indiscriminately
upon all soils, at all seasons of the year, and
for every different crop 3 we have already
noticed the loss attending the present mode
of collecting and preparing it, and if we fol-
low the farmer through the subsequent steps
of his operations, we will discover that the
system is equally erroneous and absurd. Of
all the manures at present in use, none can be
considered as so immediate a food for plants
as stable-dung, and when it is applied to
vegetables in a growing state, this .i^ strik-
ingly exemplified, as they immediately begin
to thrive, and continue to do so throughout
the season. If this is admitted as true, ind
perhaps few will controvert it, how absurd
must it appear to see farmers laying great
quantities of rich well-prepared dung upon

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 283

tlieir fallows in the end of autumn, there to
remain till the ensuing spring before the plants
require the use of itj for if the fallow is sown
with wheat, or any other crop that is to stand
the winter, during a considerable part of that
time the growth of the plants will be sta-
tionary, consequently they will need no nou-
rishment; indeed if they only vegetate and
establish themselves in the ground before
winter, that is the utmost that*can be expect-
ed. In the mean time, it is worth while to
inquire what becomes of the dung. If it has
been well fermented, the useful salts con-
tained in it will dissolve very readily in water,
and as it is doomed to remain in the earth
during the whole of the winter months, a pe-
riod during which the greatest quantity of rain
falls, every shower will deprive it of something
and when the spring arrives, and the plants
begin to vegetate, a great part of what was
originally destined for their nourishment will
be discovered to have been washed away and
lost by the winter's rain.

This is the first lofs that attends laying dung
upon fallows in the autumn, and when duly
considered, it will be found a very serious

T 3

?S4 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

«

one y the other disadvantages attend^ing the
practice are equally great : where fallows
have been well wrougjit^ the soil is in general
completely reduced, mixing it with dung in
that state prevents it from acquiring a suffi-
cient degree of compactness to shelter the
roots of the plants. The operation of the
winter's frost renders it still looser^ so that in
the spring it isjbund nearly in the state of a
mole-hill ; the baneful effects of this to a wheat
crop are well known to every man of obser-
vation. Were a different method pursued,
and at least a portion of the dung withheld
till the spring, two very material advantages
would accrue from the practice; the land
would attain a greater degree of compactness,
and w^ould in general be found firmer in the
spring, by which means the plants would be
less liable to be thrown out of the ground by
the frost, and if the dung were then applied
as a top-drefsing, vegetation would immedi-
ately commence, and the progrefsive growth
of the crop would completely take up the
useful parts of the dung every time it was
moistened. In this shape, no part of it could
pofsibly be lost, and from the small quantity
that would be required for a drefsing, three

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 285

times the extent of land might be drefsed an-
nually, and it would not require so much
time or labour as might at first be imagined.
In treating afterwards of lime, it will be laid
down as a rule, that a complete dose should
be given at once ; with regard to dung, the
reverse ought to be the case ; lime being in-
tended to operate upon the parts of the soil,
unlefs a sufficient quantity is hid on, the
whole soil will not be acted upon, consequent-
ly its effects will be small : but dung being a
sort of ready-prepared nourishment for the
crop, if it is either applied at a time when
the p!ants are in a dormant state, as is the
case with wheat in winter, or if more is used
than is sufficient for the wants of the crop, in
cither case it is washed away by the rain,
and lost j whereas were it applied in a quan-
tity sufficient only for the nourishment of the
crop, the plants would be fed in the same
manner as the animal body, every small dose
operating like a meal. In this way it is ut-,
terly impofsible that any part of the manure
can be lost. For in the first place it it laid on
when the plants have a demand for it; and in
the second, by laying it upon the top, every
drop of the moisture is interrupted in its pas-
sage downwards by the roots of the crop.

T 3

286 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

The practice of laying dung upon clover
leys in the autumn, is equally absurd; for
whether it is intended to continue the field in
clover for another year, or to plough it down
for wheat or oats, the mischief is great.

Where it is intended to let the field remain
another year in grafs, a very material injury is
sustained ; a part of the dung is, in the first in-
stance, washed away by the winter rains, and
the remainder, in place of serving, destroys
the plants ; it being now well ascertained,
that the action of dung upon broad clover,
when the plants are not in a growing state, is
fatal to them ; in this case the farmer has the
mortification of seeing not only his dung
thrown away, but his crop lost.

But while we reprobate the laying dung
upon clover before winter, we entertain a
very different opinion of it, when used early
in spring. At this season alight top-drefsing
of dung is highly useful to broad-clover, and
and what is singular, the same plants that
would have been killed by its operation, if
laid on about the end of autumn, will be ren-
dered strong and vigorous by using it in the
spring.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 287

Dung is frequently laid upon clover ley for
wheat, and the seed put in upon one furrow.
This is an injudicious practice; for if the grafs
crop has been good, or even tolerable, the
furrow will be turned over entire and the
dung laid fiat under it, and as tlie roots of
the wheat must penetrate through the sod be-
fore it can reach the dung, little benefit can
be expected from it, even allowing the quali-
ties of the dung to remain unimpaired ; but
as was formerly observed, when speaking of
the lofs attending its use upon fallovvs, the
greatest part of it will be washed away by the
winter rains : Indeed in this case the lofs will
be greater than when it is laid upon fallow; for
there it is incorporated with the soil, and a part
of its salts will at least be entangled amongst
the earth; but upon ley it is either laid in the
bottom of the furrow, or if the sod is set up
on eda-e, it remains crammed into the inter-
spaces, through which the whole of the rain
pafscs that falls upon the field : for when a
shower falls upon a field of ley that has been
recently ploughed, in place of every drop
sinking down where it falls, as is common up-
on other lands, the plexus formed by the roots
of the grafs, together with the polish given
by the plough, renders the body of the furrow

T 4

2S8- GE.ORGICAL ESSAYS.

SO compact, as to make it in some measure
impervious to water ;•. in that case, the rain
which falls upon the body of the furrow-, in
place of penetrating it, wiJI run off and sink
down into the interspace, where it must ncr
cefsarily pafs through the dung, and in its
pafsage will difsolve and carry down a part of
the salts during the whole winter ; this will
happen after every shower : and in the spring,
if some of the dung that has lain in this situ-
ation, is taken up and examined, it will be
found nearly destitute of every fertilizing
quality. Upon this abuse we think it unneces-
sary to say more.

The objections that have been made to laying
dung upon ley for wheat, apply equally to oat
crops, with this additional one, that if the land
has been well laid down and the grafs good,
there is an absolute certainty of a good crop
of oats without dung. It may not be impro-
per to observe, in this place, that the oat is a
grain which requires lime or dung much lefs
than almost any other; as we daily see tolerable
good crops of oats raised, without the as-
sistance of either, and that too in situations
"where no other sort of grain will grow j the
use of dung upon ley for oats is therefore un-

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 289

fiecefsary; but if the land is poor, and dung is
required, it is jmpofsible to employ it in any
way that will be so usefuj, as in the form of
a top-drefs>ing, at the time the seed is sown.
When used in this way, there is an absolute
certainty of the crop reaping every possible
benefit from it, and even of the soil being en-
riched. When ploughed in, none of these
are answered to equal advantage.

Perhaps there is no way in which dung is
used where its effects are so certain and visible
as upon potatoes and turnips; the principal rea-
son of this is the season at which the dung is
used. For potatoes it is laid on when the spring
is pretty far advanced, after which there are few
heavy rains; of course the strength of the dung
is not impaired by washing, and the crop is
left in quiet pofsefsion of the whole of its fer-
tilizing powers. For turnips the case is nearly
the same ; indeed the advantage is still greater,
as dung is never laid upon turnip land sooner
than June, after which there is seldom much
%vet weather till autumn, and by that time the
crop is in full vigour. Tliese two instances of
the certain effects of dung, are mentioned
inerely with a view to show the propriety of
using it at a season of the year when the crop

290 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

for which it is meant is in a growing state, and
can absorb the useful parts of it. There is
scarce a single instance of its failing {unlefs
from bad seasons) when applied in this way; on
the contrary, when used in the autumn it is
often lost.

Farmers differ as to the proper time of lay-
ing on dung upon meadows. Some prefer the
spring, producing, they afscrt, an early vege-
tation, and a plentiful crop. But others are:
of opinion, that though drefsings of soot and
fine ashes, at that season of the year are of
much use, yet that dung ought to be laid on
at the end of autumn, to warm and invigorate
the young shoots during winter.

The above comprehends nearly the whole
of the different modes of using stable dung ; in
considering which, we have freely pointed out
the abuses that prevail in the present system,
and attempted to lay down rules for better
management in future. We shall now conclude
with some directions about separating the dif-
ferent sorts of manure made about farms, toge-
ther with a few observations by way of a re-
sult from the whole.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 291

Perhaps there is nothing that calls more loudly
fot reform than the custom most farmers have
of collecting manure of every description,
and laying it up in one dunghill. By this
mode of management, substances" very oppo-
site in their nature, and which maybe wanted
ut diiferent times, are laid together, and in
place of forming useful combinations, they
are prevented from fermenting, and being ren-
dered usefLil. We wouldj therefore, propose
to every farmer, to have at least, two or three
dunghillsj in which, according to the time at
which the contents of each may be w'anted,
anci the articles of which they are respectively
composed, they may be prepared for use,

If earth, mofs, or the shovellings of high-
ways, can pofsibly be procured, the bottom
of any dunghill in which either rank stable
dung, or short excremental dung may be laid,
should be covered to the depth of three or
fou¥ feet with these substances before any of
^the dung is, laid on. This method, if properly
followed, will increase the quanty of manure
considerably; for while the fermentation is
going on. '.he moisture that is prefsed out
during the procefs will sink down into the
earth or mofs, and impregnate it completely

292 GE0R6ICAL ESSAYS.

with the virtues of the dung; and if the
whole is afterwards turned and incorporated,
the earth or mofs that was laid in the bottom,
will be found of nearly equal value with the
dung itself.

Some distinctions are to be made regarding
the various sorts of animal dung.

1 . Horses. The dung of horses is more dis-
tinguished for the readinefs with which it fer-
ments, than for its intrinsic richnefs. In its
raw state, it is well calculated for potatoes,
leaving room in which the roots of that plant
may expand ; but, unlefs when fermented, it
is apt to produce many sort of weeds, the
seed of which may have got into the food of
the animal, as it contains much undigested
vegetable matter, and should never be used
but when fermented.

2. Black cattle. The dung of black cattle i$
the most useful, particularly for lean, dry, or
sandy soils. It is held, that the dung of a ru-
minant animal, as an ox, is preferable to that
of horses at grafs, owing to the quantity of
animal juices mixed with their food in chew-
ing; not containing much undigested matter.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 293

it will hardly heat. It would be of use, if
means could be found to make it ferment like
horse-dung. The best way of managing it is,
to lay it together, and keep it moist till it is
sufficiently putriiied.

3 . Sheep. The dung of sheep by itself, is an
excellent manure. In Holland it is collected
on the fields, carefully cut into small pieces^
and sold in baskets at a high price. Its bene-
fit is principally obtained in this country by
folding.

4. Hogs. Swine's dung, in the opinion of
Dr. Hunter, is the richest of the animal ma-
nures. He afserts, that the fatter the animal,
ceteris paribus, the richer the dung. Hence
arises the superiority of this article. It is of
an oily and saponaceous quality, and when
made into a compost, and applied with judg-
ment, it is excellent for arable lands.

5. Pigeons' dung is certainly a rich manure,
but the effect is sudden, and as it does not last
long, it must be the oftener renewed. It is
most applicable to cold and deep stiff land.
Sometimes it is sown upon wheat crops in the
spring. It should always be broke very small

254 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

and sown during moist weather, and if cir-
cumstances will admit of its being harrowed
in, so much the better. Poultry manure is of
the same nature, and where it can be had in
any quantity, is an excellent drefsing, parti-
cularly for cold land. Columella ranks it
next, in point of value, to the dung of
pigeons.

6. Ni^/it soil is found to be an excellent
manure, and if care were taken great quantities
might be collected.

As it is perhaps the richest of all manures,
there can be no doubt of the farmers being:
so desirous of obtaining it -, but on account of
its richnefs, it ought to be used, when unmix-
ed, in smaller quantities, at least a small quan-
tity of lime thrown occasionally into the ne-
c efsarv^-house would be of jrreat service. Saw-
dust, peat-mofs, or any of the common soils
will likewise be highly useful by obsorbing the
urine and moisture, which would otherwise
run off into the common sewer. AVhere a
certain proportion of lime is used, the excre-
mental part will soon be deprived of its smell,
and rendered so short and dry that it may with
ease be employed as a top-drefsing, or even

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 295

used by the hand if properly broke : indeed it
should never be employed in any other way,
as it is by far too concentrated a nourishment
to use by itself.

Two cart loads of ordure mixed with ten
loads of earth, and one of lime, will be a
sufficient top-drefsing for an acre ; its best
effects, when used in this shape, will be upon
light lands for wheat or barley; for wheat
it should be used early in the spring, and for
barley should cither be scattered upon the
young crop, or harrowed in with the seed.
It is also particularly convenient for all drill,
crops.

Urine of every sort is found of great use
when laid upon grafs, or young crops early in
the spring. Applied in this way, it never
fails to produce a plentiful and early vegeta-
tion. The most convenient way of using it,
however, seems to be in the form of a com-
post, with earth or peat moss, with a small
proportion of lime. In this shape it will be
found a good manure for most soils, particu-
larly light, sandy, or gravelly lands.

Great quantities of this article might be

2^6 GEORGICAL ESSAtS.

saved, and if judiciously used, will insure, S?
least, one or two good crops ; about all farms
and sjreat towns it may be collected into re*
servoirs, along- with other excremental matters,
with very little trouble. In other countries
this is an object of police, particularly in the
towns where reservoirs are established in con-
venient places for collecting it. It is scarcely
conceivable the advantage which the public
receives from this arrangement. The neigh-
bouring farmers carry it away in barrels, and
cither spread it immediately upon their fields,
or mix it into composts wdth earth and other
substances, and find it of the utmost service
to vegetation : what might not be expected
if the same attention wa^ paid to collecting it
over the whole of this kingdom !

Bones are used with succefs as a manure in
many parts of England, both by themselves,
and in conjunction wdth other substances.
The ordinary w^ay of treating them is to break
them with a mill, into pieces about the size of a
m^arble; they are afterwards laid upon the field
in small heaps, at regular distances, and
covered with earth; after remaining in this
state for some time, they are spread on fallows,
on grafs, and on turnip land.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 297

The constituent parts of bones are oil,
alkaline salts, and animal earth united by
fixed air. The oil is in much greater propor-
tion than the alkali, which renders bones
rather a heavy manure.

It does not appear, that much pains is
taken in adapting them to the soil for which
they seem best calculated, being laid indis-
criminately upon land of every description,
and for the most part unmixed with any other
substance. To a person acquainted with the
nature of bones, this management will readily
appear defective, for as they are kept toge-
ther by fixed air, unlefs they are either laid
upon soils pofsefsing principles that are capable
of depriving them of this air, or have some-
thing of that kind previously mixed with them,
the texture of their parts will remain unbroken,
and they will be of very little ufe. In Hert-
fordshire, however, they are found an excel-
lent manure for clay soils.

To render bones useful, the first step ought
to be, to grind them as small as pofsible, and
the more thoroughly this operation is perform-
ed, the more valuable will be their effects.
This point once gained, we must look for a

Volume II. U

29S GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

substance that is capable of dislodging the
fixed air, and disuniting the principles con-
tained in the bone. For this purpose nothing
will be found so useful as quick lime*. In
treating of that article, we will take notice of
its quality of difsolving oils and fat substances,
and that this quality is increased by its union
with alkaline salt$. Tliis effect is produced
by the lime depriving the alkali of its fixed
air, and rendering it more caustic.

"WTien bones are used in their simple state,
without the addition of earth or lime, they
ought never to be laid upon any but the
sharpest and most active soils, such as lime-
stone, chalk, or gravel, upon all of these they
will meet with more or lefs calcareous earth,
which will^ in some degree, disengage their
fixed air, and difsolve the oil contained in
them, but upon deep clays, tills or loam, they
should never be applied in that state, as these
soils contain little calcareous earth j of course
they will have little eflicct upon any oily
substance.

* Mr, Paget recommends mixing them in a heap with
lime, which soon reduces them to powder. Leicester
Rejwrt, p. 1 9.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 299

But when made into a compost, they may
be applied with advantage upon soils of every
description, taking care to observe the same
rules as were laid down for using stable dung,
that, is, never to plough them in, but always
to lay them upon, or very near the surface, and
never to use them but when the crop is in a
growing state; for the effects of bones pre-
pared in this way will be found not only more
sudden, but their valuable qualities will be
more in danger of being washed away by rain
than in cases where they are used by them-
selves. They will, therefore, require to be
laid on very thin, allowing, as near as can be
ascertained, a quantity sufficient only for the
nourishment of the present, or at most, the
succeeding crop, and never to use them for
broad-cast crops in any other form than as a
top-drefsing, and at a time when vegetation is
either about to commence, or is actually going
on. Upon wheat they should be used early
in the spring, without harrowing; upon barley
or oats they may be harrowed in along w^ith
the grain.

For drill crops, such as turnips, beans, &c,
they are particularly convenient, as they ad-
mit of being sowq into the drill at the same

U 2

300 GEORGICAL ESSAYlS-

time with the seed, more readily than most of
the other manures, and as we have already said,
when speaking of stable-dung, the lefs manure
that is laid between the drills, so much the
better, as what is laid there is either lost or
serves to nourish weeds, which the farmer is.
aitempting to destroy.

On Putrid Animal Substances.
All animal substances, without exception,
are good manures, if properly managed ^ when
used by themselves they ought always to be
laid upon the sharpest and most active soils,
such as chalk, limestone, &g. but upon strong
clays, or deep loams, they should never be used
but in the form of a compost.

The most proper way of preparing these for
use, is by mixing them with chalk or quick-
lime ; the mixture should be laid in heaps of
three or four cart loads each, and covered with
earth ; after remaining in this state for eight or
ten days, the heap should be turned over, and
about ten cart loads of earth added to every
cartful of the former mixture. It should then
be allowed to remain for a month in this heap,
at the end of which time it will be ready f©r
me.

eEORGICAL ESSAYS. SOI

This compost ought never to be ploughed in,
but always used either as a top-drefsing, or
harrowed in along with the seed. Upon
wheat in the spring it will be found a good
manure ; indeed upon every sort of grain it
may be used with safety and advantage. It
may likewise be used for drill crops in the same
manner as was mentioned for bones.

Much of this manure might be collected
about all great towns, where the refuse of
slaughter-houses is frequently thrown away^
which, if gathered together and covered with
earth and lime, would not only rid the inha-
bitants of a nuisance, which offends their senses
and endangers their health, but would produce
profit to the community.

We shall now conclude with the following
observations: 1. That as animal dunjr, in
general, contains more oil than alkaline salts,
that it is best calculated, when used by itself, for
chalky, limestone, or gravelly soils. 2. AVhen
used as a compost, that it should be mixed
with earth and lime. 3. That it should be
completely fermented, before it is made into a
compost. 4. That when mixed with earth and
lime, it is exceedingly proper for all deep soils.

US

S02 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

5. That whether it is used as a compost, or by
itself, it may be applied with much advantage
as a top-drefsing. 6. That as a top-drefsing,
it ought never to be used but in the spring
season. 7. That it may be applied with the
greatest benefit when the crop is in a growing
state, and can absorb and take up the nourish-
ment it contains.

In the preceding observations, as little allu-
sion as pofsible has been made to chemical
doctrines, this paper being intended for the
use of the practical farmer. It may not be im-
proper, however, briefly to mention those
authors whom the reader may consult, as fur-
nishing materials more immediately connected
with the philosophy of Manures.

The discoveries made by Dr. Priestley and
Mr. Cavendish, relative to airs or gafses, and
the composition of water, and Air. Bertholet's
Papers on the Composition of Animal and Vege-
table Mucilages, are of immediate application
to Agriculture. Dr. Ingen-Housz, and M.
Hafsenfratz, have suggested some new and
important principles, concerning the nutri-
ment of plants; and Mr. Kirwan's excellent
Paper on Manures, printed in the Irish Philo-

CEORGICAL ESSAYS. 303

sophical transactions, confirms the theory of
these gentlemen, and applies it to practice.
Lord Dundonald has been laudably employed
in applying the new chemistry (without a
knowledge of which this subject cannot be
thoroughly understood) to agricultural im-
provements, by the publication of his valuable
work, which contains many important facts,
not elsewhere to be found. Regarding the
great department of calcareous Manures, the
reader is referred to the fundamental -disco-
veries of the celebrated Dr. Black, in his Paper
on Alkaline Subftances, published in the Lite-
rary and Physical Ef^ays of Edinburgh, in
1755 ; and to the chemical Efsays of the
Bishop of LlandafF, who throws new light
upon every subject he undertakes to illustrate.
Dr. Home, Dr. Fordyce, and Dr. Hunter, have
also made many interesting observations, not
only on agricultural subjects in general, but
upon Manures in particular.

It is more than probable, that from the atten-
tion which philosophers have recently paid to
vegetation, some discoveries may be made, of
the utmost importance to agriculture, which
may contribute very materially to augment the
sustenance, and consequently to promote the

U 4

S04 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

most efsentlal interests of society. But more
facts are wanting to form a theory of important
application in practice. Experiments are
wanting to show the substances contained in
different soils, to explain the comparative
powers of diff*erent substances in nourishing
plants, and to ascertain the greatest quantity
of nourishing matter which can be produced
in different circumstances. There is no doubt
that the lands of this island, if cultivated in
the most advantageous manner, would furnish
aliment for thrice the number of its present
inhabitants ; and it is not improbable, that by
a judicious selection of plants for the nourishr
ment of cattle, or by extending the system of
watering of land, where it is applicable, that
animal food might be obtained in far greater
quantities from tht same lands, than at present.
If the wealth of a nation depends upon the
number of its inhabitants, and if that number
depends upon the abundance of food which a
country pofsefses, it naturally follows, that
Agriculture is the moft important political
object to which the legislature of any state can
direct its attention ; and that the nearer it is
brought to perfection, the more a nation is
likely to enjoy internal happinefs, and external
prosperity.

CEORGICAL ESSAYS. SOB

ESSAY XIII,

On Cottages with Gardens.

As it seems to be the disposition of gentle-
men to erect cottages upon their estates, with
small portions of land to be formed into gar-
dens, I shall here present the industrious la-
bourer with a plan to direct his labours
throughout the year. Some people may ob-
ject to this method of bettering the condi-
tion of the cottager; conceiving that it may
be the means of abating his industry, as
a labourer, in the service of the farmer ; but,
it is experimentally proved, that a day-labourer,
with an industrious family, has a sufficiency of
time lor the management of a small garden,
after he has performed the labours of the day.

The Societv, established for " Bettering
the condition of the day-labourer," have, in
my opinion, extended their ideas too far, in
the directions given for the *' management of
a cottage garden, throughout the year."— •
If the cottage be remote from a markf t-town.

306 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

it will be better, that the garden shall contain
nothing but what may be consumed by the
family : Turnips, cabbages, for all seasons
of the year, Scotch-kail, onions, carrots,
leeks, brocoli, potatoes, peas, beans, parsnips,
radishes, parsley, pot-herbs, gooseberry- bushes,
and perhaps, a few bee-hives ; a few apple
and plum-trees, may be advisable : but the
present occupier cannot look forward to any
advantage from them. Thus circumstanced,
the bond of union between the day-labourer
and his employer, wall be firm and lasting ;
but when land is added to the cottage, for the
support of one or two cows, the whole system
is changed, and the cottager is made to ap-
proach too near to the small farmer, wIk) is
known to drag out a miserable life between
poverty and hard-working. AVhen the day-
labourer is able to purchase a cow, it should
always be kept by the farmer, and paid for
out ot the weekly earnings: this is upon
the supposition that the cottager has an indus-
trious family, and is rising in the world in
consequence of his industry and attention.
The face of things is now changed : the man
may venture to keep a pig ; his wife may raise
poultry ; and the garden may be so enlarged,
so as to supply the family with something to

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 307

carry to market. The labourer and the far-
mer being upon good terms, he may be able
to obtain a rood of land, for the purpose of
growing a few bushels of buck-wheat, or
barley, for supplying the housewife with occa-
sional food for her poultry. This is the
smiling picture of an industrious cottager and
his family ; and as example is better than pre-
cept, I shall beg leave to realize the picture,
by introducing the life of Britton Abbot,
written by Thomas Bernard, Esq.

" Two miles from Tadcacter, on the left-
hand side of the road to York, stands a beau-
tiful little cottage, with a garden, that has long
attracted the eye of the traveller. The slip of
land is exactly a rood, enclosed by a cut quick
hedge j and containing the cottage, fifteen
apple-trees, one green gage, and three wine-
sour plum-trees, two apricot-trees, several
gooseberry and currant bushes, abundance of
common vegetables, and three hives of bees 5
being all the apparent wealth of the pofsefsor.
The singular neatnefs and good order that
marked every part of this little domain, and
sonie circumstances respecting the owner,
which had been mentioned to me by Dr. Burgh
of York, made me anxious to obtain the history

508 GXORGICAL ESSAYS.

of the cottager and his family. In the end of
May, J 797, I called there in my way from
York ; but found the house and the gate of the
garden locked. In the road to Tadcaster,
however, I met his wife, laden with a basket
of provisions from the market ; and engaged
her to find her husband, who was at work
about a mile off, and to send him to me at the
inn at Tadcaster. When he arrived he very
willingly gave me his history as follows —

" His name is Britton Abbot : his age sixty-
seven, and his wife's nearly the same. At nine
years old he had gone to work with a farmer ;
and being a steady careful lad, and a good
labourer, particularly in what is called task-
work, he had managed so well, that before he
was 22 years of age, he had accumulated near
401. He then married and took a little farm
at 301. a year ; but before the end of the second
year he found it prudent, or rather necefsary, to
quit it; having already exhausted, in his at^
tempt to thrive upon it, almost all the little
property that he had heaped together. He
then fixed in a cottage at Popple ton ; where,
with two acres of land, and his common right,
he kept two cows. Here he had resided very
comfortably, as a labourer, for nine years, and

OEORGICAL ESSAYS. S09

had six children hving, and his wife preparing
to lie in of a seventh, when an enclosure of
Poppleton took place ; and the arrangements
made in consequence of it, obliged him to seek
for a new habitation, and other means of sub-
sistence for his family

" He applied to Squire Fairfax, and told him
that, if he would let him have a little bit of
ground by the road side, " he would show him
the fashions on it." After inquiry into his
character, he obtained of Mr. Fairfax the
ground he now occupies; and with a little
afsistance from the neighbours, in the carriage
of his materials, he built his present house -, and
planted the garden, and the hedge round it,
which is a single row of quick, thirty-five years
old, and without a flaw or defect. He says he
cut it down six times succefsively when it was
young. Mr. Fairfax was so much pleased
with the progrefs of his work, and the extreme
neatnefs of his place, that he told him he should
be rent free. His answer deserves to be re-
membered : " Now, Sir, you have a pleasure in
" seeing my cottage and garden neat : and
" why should not other squires have the same
" pleasure, in seeing the cottages and gardens
" ;u nice about them } The poor would then

310 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

" be happy ; and would love them, and the
" place where they lived; but now every little
" nook of land is to be let to the great farmers ;
" and nothing left for the poor, but to eo to
" the parish."

'' He has had seven children ; six of whom
attained to man's estate ; and five are now
living, and thriving in' the world. His son
has a little farm near Helmsley Moor : one of
his daughters is the wife of a joiner at York;
another, of the occupier of a little farm at Kel-
field; a third of a labouring man, who
has a little land of his own, near Daffield; the
fourth is the wife of a labourer, who has built
a cottage for himself at Tadcaster, and wants
nothing (as the father obser^'ed) but a bit of
ground for a garden. Britton Abbot says he
now earns 12s, and sometimes 15s. and 18s. a
week, by hoeing turnips by the piece ; setting
quick, and other task-work : " but to be sure,"
he added, " / hare a grand character in all
" this country y He gets from his garden, an-
nually, about 40 bushels of potatoes, besides
other vegetables ; and his fruit, in a good year,
is worth from 31. to 41. a year. His w^ife oc-
casionally goes out to work ; she also spins at
home, and takes care of his house and his garden.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 311

He says, they have lived very happy together
for forty-five years. — To the account that I
have given, it may be needlefs to add, that
neither he, nor any part of his family, has ever
had occasion to apply for parochial relief.

" Though my visit was unexpected, and he at
the latter end of his Saturday's work, his
clothes were neat and sufficiently clean : his
countenance was healthy and open , he was a
little lame in one leg, the consequence of ex-
posure to wet and weather. He said he had
always worked hard and well ; but he v^^ould
not deny but that he had loved a mug of good
ale when he could get it. When I told him
my object in inquiring after him, that it was
in order that other poor persons might have
cottages and gardens as neat as his, and that
he must tell me all his secret — how it was to
be done ; he seemed extremely pleased, and
very much affected : he said, " nothing would
" make poor folks more happy, than finding
" that great folks thought of them ;" that he
wished every poor man had as comfortable a
home as his own ; not but that he believed
there might be a few thriftlefs fellows, who
would not do good in it.

512 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

" I asked him whether he had not a cow.
He said he had had one, and she had died;
and having no other place but the lane to keep
bis cow, he had not attempted to get another.
" Could you get land, if you had a cow r" — He
thought he could. — " Supposing then," I ad-
ded, " a cow could be bought for 12l. and
" you could rent it on the terms of paying
" down Si. 10s. immediately; and then 31. 10s.
" at the end of each year during three years ;
" and that the cow was to be yours at the end of
" the three years, if she lived, and you paid
" your rent regularly : — Do you think such a
" bargain would answer for you ?" — Yes, he
said, he was sure it would very greatly ; and
there were few cottagers to whom it would
not be a very great advantage ; especially
where they had a family of children. I told
him to inquire whether he could get a little
land, and I would have some more talk with
him about it, when I came down in August.

OBSERVATIONS.

"The histor)^ of Britton Abbot appearstome
to merit attention. At the time of the en-
closure of Popplcton, when he had six young
children living, and his wife preparing to lie

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 313

in of a seventh, his whole little system of eco-
nomy and arrangement was at once destroyed i
his house, his gardcfn, his little field, taken
frorn him ; and all his sources of wealth dried
up. With lefs succefs in his application for
the rood of land, the spot in which his industry
was to be exerted, and, in justice to him it
must be added, with lefs energy than he pof-
sefses, he might have gone with his family
into a workhouse ; and, from that hour, have
become a burthen to the public, instead of
being one of its most useful members. Ob-
serve for a moment the effects of his well-
directed industry. Without any parochial aid,
he has raised six of his seven children, to a
state of maturity ; and has placed them out
respectably and comfortably in the world.
Five of them are now living, in the middle
period of life ; and he continues, at the age of
sixty-seven, a good working labourer; happy
in his own industry and good management, in
the beauty and comfort of his cottage, and in
the extreme fertility of his garden.

" Britton Abbot pofsefses a degree of energy
and spirit, that we must not expect to find in
every cottager. If, however, the poor do not
exert themselves, and have not so much forc-

Volume II. X

314 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

thought and management as might be wished,
the fault is lefs in them, than in the system of
our poor laws, and in the manner in which
they are executed. Were they properly and
■universally encouraged to industry and eco-
nomy, we should soon find thriving and happy
cottagers in every part of the kingdom. Let
only a tenth of the money, now spent in work-
houses,in what is usually called '^^ the relief of the
poor,'* be applied in afsisting and encouraging
them to thrive and be happy in their cottages,
the poor's rate will be lefsened, and a national
saving made both in labour and food*. The
labourer is capable of more exertion, and is
maintained for lefs than half the expense, in

* This experiment would be easily tried. Suppose
the poor's rate of a parish, so aj.plied, to be 6001. a \ear;
and that tOl. a jear of the rate were to be annually em-
ployed in afsisting the most industrious and deserving
labourers, to become pofselsors of cottages and cows : I
am confident the poor's rate of that parish would be
greatly diminished in a few year«; probably to half its
present amount. The difference between a law that
encourages the poor to exeition, and one that attempts tp
cem/iel them to it, is, that in the first you have the co-
operation of the millions of the people who are to be the
objects of the lawj in the second, all the labour is
thrown on the unfortunate and umuccefsful jinsons^ who are t«
attempt to execute itt

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 315

his cottage than in a workhouse. Fn his
cottage he has his family around him, he has
something he can call his own, -he has ob-
jects to look forward to, and is the master of
his own actions. — Do7Jiestic connexions, pro-
perti)^ liherty, the hope of advancement., those
master-springs of human action, exist not in a
workhouse.

** It is the misfortune of this country, that
the well-disposed and industrious poor do
not receive sufficient aid or encouragement.
They find no distinction made between them
and the idle and profligate ; except this — that
the idle and projligate are maintained in part at
their expense. As the law is too frequently
executed, the cottager, though poor himself, is
regularly afsefsed^br the relief of the poor ; but
he receives no benefit from the fund, no afsist-
ance towards the support of himself and his
family, uniefs he is reduced to absolute want,
and presents himself hopelefs at the door of
the workhouse.

** The evil has been greatly increased by
the ninth of George I. which authorises the
farming of the poor, and refuses relief to
those who will not submit to reside in the work-

X2

516

GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

house *. It is, in consequence, the interest of
the farmer of the workhouse, to keep it in
such a condition, that (to use Mr. Parry's
wordsf ) " the honest and industrious labourer,
'* who has brought up a large family with
^' credit, and who, from misfortune, is poor,
" and, from age, past his labour, will submit
*' to be half starved, rather than take up his
** abode amid such wretchednefs and pro-
" fligacy." By these means, workhouses be-
come objects of terror to the honest and
industrious, and at the same time the favourite
resort of the difsolute and abandoned ; the
dirt, the waste, the disorder, the want of regu-
lation, and the undistinguishing treaiviejit\ of

* An act has been lately pafsed (in December, 1795,)
empowering the magistrates to order the cottager, under
special circumstances, temporary relief at home. It has
not, however, been attended to in some districts j and in
others, the execution gf it is very unwillingly submitted
to by parish officers.

f See the first Report of the Society for bettering the
condition of the poor.

X An English workhouse is the only place upon earth,
where the idle have the same allowance of food, and the
same accommodation, as the industrious. In the table of
diet of the Rasphouse at Rotterdam, there is a great dif»

iGEORGICAE, JESSAYS. 317

ihe worst and best characters, being as grati-
fying to them, as they are irksome and dis-
gusting to the well-disposed poor.

" Let us consider what must be the effect of
this system on the cottager. — Tenant to the
farmer who has taken his cottage over his
head, he is aware that his new landlord will
require as much rent as he can contrive to
pay. He has a young and increasing family ;
and, when times are at the best, he often finds
it as much as he can do to go on, from one
day to another, in their support. He can
hardly expect that, during the severity of the
winter, the high price of bread, or the visita-
tion of sicknefs, his earnings will always, and
at all seasons, continue equal to the necefsities
of his family. If the hour of adversity arrives,
he knows the rule of his parish, that " no as-
" sistance is to be given to the labourer^ zchite
**" he pofsefscs any thing of his own;'' and that
what with much labour and much self-denial,
he shall have saved, must all be exhausted

ference made between those who do full work, and those
who only yfox\halftask. In the establishment at Munich,
mere necefsaries are allowed for those who do not work —
for those who do, comforts and luxuries.

X3

318 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

and spent, before his claim to parochial relicT
can be admitted. It may be well to consider
what incitement he has to thrift and fore-
thought. Can we confidently answer for our-
selves that, so circumstanced, we should act
even as well, and look as much to futurity, as
he does , or that we should not be made mere
sensualists by despondency ? Is it perfectly
clear, that we should not spend every penny,
that could be spared from the daily nourish-
ment of our families, in self-indulgence at an
ale-house ?

*' Happy should I be, if I could make use of
the history of Britton Abbot, to obtain for
the labourer, encouragement to imitate the
energy of his industry. Of the different
modes of aiding and animating the poor, none
would have more tendency to raise them above
the want of parochial aid, than'that of enabling
them progrefsively to follow his example, in
such a manner, that the most deserving might
in their turn, become the owners of comfort-
able cottages and productive gardens; a mea-
sure which seems to be peculiarly called for
by the present condition of the dwellings of
the poor. It is a melancholy fact, that, ia

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 319

tnost parts of England*, their habitations are
not only comfortlefs and devoid of accommo-
dation, but insufficient in number; and that
hone >t and indus-rious families are frequently
driven into the work-house^ merely for the
want of cottages in their parish.

" If the custom of setting apart ground for
them to build upon, were to obtain generally,
and in a manner to induce and enable them to
take the benefit of it, it would afsist in gradually
correcting this national and increasing evil,
and in supplying that useful clafs of men with
proper habitations. — It would have other very
important effects. It would diminish the calls
for parochial relief; it would encourage and

* There are some parts of England, particularly in the
northern counties, where the habitations of tlie poor are
very comfortable; and other parts, In which the public
spirit and benevolence of individuals have done, and are
doing, much to improve them in their own neighbour-
hood. Picturesque cottages might be so disposed around
a park, as to ornament and enliven the scenery with much
more effect, than tJme mh/ilaced Goihic castles, and those /lig-
my models of Grecian tem/iles, that perverted taste is so busy
with ; but it is the unfortunate principle of ornamental
buildings in England, that they should be -uninhabited and
uninhaiitablt.

X4

320 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

improve the good habits of the poor; it
would attach them to their parishes, and give
them an increased interest and share, in the
property and prosperity of their country. The
Jand required for each cottage and garden,
need not be more than a rood ; the value of
■which would bear no pofsible comparison to
that of the industry to be employed upon
it. Tlie quarter of an acre that Britton Ab-
bot enclosed, was not worth a shilling a year.
It now contains a good house and a garden,
abounding in fruit, vegetables, and almost
every thing that constitues the wealth of the
cottager. In such Enclosures, the benefit to
the countr}^, and to the individuals of the
parish, would far surpafs any petty sacrifice of
land, to be required. Five unsightly, un-
profitable, ACRES OF WASTE GROUND,
WOULD AFFORD HABITATION AND COMFORT
TO TWENTY SUCH FAMILIES AS BrITTON

Abbot's.

" In order to encourage the exertions of the
labourer, -I- should hope that this would be
conceded to me, that the rood of land, en-
closed for his cottage and garden, (on condi-
tion of a house being erected) be held in fee
simple ; and that so long as a parishioner, Ja-

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 321

bouring generally within his parish, continued
owner and occupier, such cottage and garden
should, by parliamentary authority, be exempt
from rent, taxes, rates, tithes, and all burthens
whatsoever. It would be an important object
to keep these little freeholds in the hands of
the labourers of the parish ; so that they might
be transmitted from father to son, like those
little estates, which we contemplate with so
much pleasure in Burrodale. If, therefore, the.
exemption from rent, taxes*, &c. continued
no longer than while the cottage was both the
property and residence of a parishioner, gene-
rally working within his parish, it would not
be of half as much value to any other person,
as to him for whom it was originally intended;

* Tlie exemption from land tax would create another
exemption ; that of not having to attend county
elections. It might be proper that no settletaent should
be effected, or varied, by any ownership, or occupation,
of these cottages : and that the performance of the con-
dition, by the erection of the cottage, should be certifted
and recorded at the quarter sefsions. The rent to be
paid by a stranger, should not be lefs than a guinea a
year J to be distributable in fuel among the poor of the
parish at Christmas. This would serve at once as -«
penalty on the intruder, and as a compensation to the
parishioners.

332 georgicAl essays.

and if in some instances they got into other
hands, they would soon return again into the
pofsefsion of the labouring parishioner.

" As the means of promoting industry and
good conduct among the poor, I should hope
that a preference would be given to " indus-
" trious parishioners, members of friendly so-
" cieties j" and that the character of the man,
the number of his children, and other circum-
stances, would induce the farmers to give him
the carriage of his materials, and his other
neighbours to help him with a pecuniary sub-
scription*. The annual sum of 101. or 201.
so collected in a parish, and impartially and
publicly given, as a premium to the most
deserving labourer in that parish, (either to
afsist him in erecting his cottage, or to enable
him to purchase his cow) would produce a
great effect on the good habits of the poor;
and, while it rewarded merit, would stimu-
late others to follow the example.

* When a young man in New England has saved a
little money towards erecting his house, he applies to
his townsmen for afsisfance : they fix the time, and all
of them attend to get the building up. I have known
one of those houses erected and covered in, in the course
•f a few days.

OEORGICAL ESSAYS. 323

"It would have other important effects. — It
would greatly diminish parish rates* ; for he
who pofsefses a freehold cottage and garden, or
a cow, has seldom, if ever, occasion to apply
for parochial relief. By attaching the cot-
tager to his own parish, it would secure to the
farmer a certain supply of labourers, and
would equalize, and keep down the price of
labour, now much enhanced by the disposi-
tion to wander about, in quest of the highest
wages and the easiest work^ a disposition
which has occasioned a considerable waste in
the produce of national labour. But this
would not be all. Freehold cottages and
gardens, do not only attach the owners to
their country, but are also the surest pledges
and securities for their conduct. The cottager,
who has property, is habituated to set a higher
value on himself, and on his character, and
seems to be of a superior order of men. Be-

* Landlords and farmers, who wish their own poor's
rates reduced, would d» well to inquire into the
amount of the poor's rates in those parishes, where la-
bourers have gardens and cows. One annual rate of
sixpence in the pound has proved fully adequate to the
relief of the poor in such a parish. See the Earl of Win-
chelsea's letter, and some other reports, on the advan-
tages of cottagers rentiDg land.

324 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

sides thiS;, the addition, which these little free-
holds might make to the industry, morals, and
produce of a country*, would be an object of
consideration in this respect; that the cot-
tager, who has a garden and a little property
of his own, has always before him a pleasur-
able object of industry for his leisure time :
whereas, he who has none, is driven to the ale-
house by the same unhappy mcefsiiy^ that im-
pels idle young men to the gaming table, — the
want of occupation.

" In the mode which I suggested to Britton
Abbot, of his renting the cow, he would ac-
quire a gradually increasing interest in her, so
as to make him anxious for her preservation,
but not such as to involve him deeply in case
of her death, or to give him a right to dispose
of her. In this way, the sum of 15l.-|-

* Productive gardens to cottages, would, by the in-
creased consumption of vegetables, make a considerable
saving in bread corn ; the same observation may be ap-
plied to cottagers' cows. Of butter, eggs, and poultry,
our markets might have a regular and cheap supply
from cottagers.

f Upon supposition that the price of the cow
were 12). the donor of such a fund would have to ad-
vance 8l. 10s. the first year, 51. the second, and ll. lOs^

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 325

would be sujfficient to constiute a perpetual
fund, in any parish, for supplying the annual
premium of a cow for some industrious and
well-disposed labourer, as long as the land-
lord will consult his own interest, and afford the
means of feeding her. Whether this object is
to be attained by annexing ground to the cot-
tages, or by letting to the cottager an agist-
ment for his cow, or by supplying him with
pasture, and a certain quantity of hay*, at an
annual rent: or by making it one of the con-
ditions on which the farmer takes his farm,
that he shall keep his cottager's cow at a limited

the third; after which, the rent of 31. 10s. paid for three
years, for each cow, would produce in future, lOl. 10s.
a year ; being (withr the 31. lOs. originally paid by
the cottager) 2l. more than would purcliase a cottager's
cow every year after. The additional 2l. a year,
would, I presume, be sufficient to insure, for the year,
the landlord's interest in the cows.

* Mr. Burdon's cow pastures are closes of sixteen
acres, for twelve cows each ; he allows each cottager
two loads of hay ; making the hay in small stacks of
four loads each, so that one stack serves two cottagers.
He finds the system answer, both as to the improvement
of ground, and the amount of rent. I can only say,
that, when I was at Castle Eden, I thought his cottagers'
hay slacks and cows the most pleasing ornaments of a
very ^beautiful place.

$26 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

price, — whatever mode is to be adopted,
will depend much on the circumstances of the
country. There is hardly any part of England,
however, in which the cottager's cow may not
be provided for, by one or other of these
means j or by another mode, which I should
prefer, when practicable, as the right which
it would give the poor man, would be wi-
alienable; and that is, enclosing and im-
proving from the waste*, cow pastures of ten
or twelve acres each ; the exclusive benefit
whereof, the cottagers of the parish should
enjoy at a small rent ; which, (after providing
for fences, &c.) might go as a fund for supply-
ing the poor of the parish with fuel. Such
enclosures would be extremely gratifying and
beneficial to that useful clafs of men, the la-
bouring poor. The stock on them should be
limited ; and a preference given to labourers
working within the parish, in proportion to
their families, their industry, and character.

" I have only to add, that my friend's history
contains in it a strong proof, that, though the
cottager is benefited by the supply of a garden

* This plan has been adopted in the Iver Enclosure
Bill now before Parliament. 31// May, 1800.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 527

and of land for his cow, while he continues a
labourer ; yet, if more land is added, just
enough to constitute him a little fanner, with
a very small capital, and to make him forego
his profit and advantage as a labourer, his
means of life, instead of being improved by
the acquisition of land, are prejudiced. No
persons earn a harder or more precarious
living, or do lefs good with their land, than
very small farmers. The condition of a la-
bourer, who has a well-stocked garden, a
couple of cows, a pig, and just ground enough
to keep them, is affluence, compared with
the lot of him, who attempts to live as a far-
mer, on a small quantity of ground, not suffi-
cient to maintain him as a farmer, though
abundantly adequate to its object, if divided
among several labourers.'*

I think I cannot conclude this homely, but
interesting efsay, in a way more consistent
with its original design, than by publishing
the following Golden Rules, for the use of the
labouring cottager and his family.

1 . The ready penny always fetches the best
bargain. He who buys upon trust, must not
complain if he is cheated. The shopkeeper

528 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

suspects his customer who buys on trusty and
thinks that he means to cheat, and never to
pay ; and therefore he takes good care to be
beforehand, and charges high accordingly.

2. The best pennyworth is to be had where
most sit together, in the open market ; and
bargains are often cheaper in the latter enci
of the day. When honest men have done
their work, it is better for them to go to mar-
ket, than to the alehouse.

3. When times are hard, why should we
make them harder still ? Is it not enough to
be taxed once by government, without being
taxed twice by folly, thrice by drunkennefs,
four times by lazinefs, and so on .'' — A good
man, even in hard times, will do twice as
well, as a bad man will in the best of times.
Let us all then rise up against ourselves, who
thus tax and injure ourselves : and we shall
soon find that the times will mend. Let us do
good to ourselves at home, and we shall become
happy in our own habitations; and learn that
it is a true saying,- that ** God helps those who
help themselves."

4. Time is our estate; it is our itiost

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. S29

valuable property. If- we lose it, or waste
it, we can never — never purchase it back
again. We ought, therefore, not to have an
idle hour, or throw away an idle penny.—
While we employ our time and our property,
(however small that property may be) to the
best advantage, we shall find that a fortune
may be made in any situation of life ; and that
-the poor man, who once wanted afsistance
himself, may become able to afsist and re-
lieve others.

5. Industry will make a man a purse,
and frugality will find him strings for it. Nei-
ther the purse nor the strings will cost him any
thing. He who has it, should only draw the
strings as frugality directs; and he willbe
sure always to find a useful penny at the bot-
tom of it. The servants of industry are known
by their livery; it is always zvhole and zvliole-
some. Idlenefs travels very leisurely, and
poverty soon overtakes her. Look at the
ragged slaves of idlenefs, and judge which is the
best master to serve ; — Industry, or Idlenefs.

6. Marriage is honourable : and the
marriage state, when entered into with pru-
dence, and continued in v/itli discretion, is of

J^'ohune II. Y

3S0 GEORGICAL ESSAYS,

all conditions of life the most happy ; but to
bring a wife home, before we have made pro-
vision by our industry and prudence, for her
and our children, or to choose a wife, who
has not, by attention and economy on her part,
proved herself fit to manage a family, is ex-
tremely imprudent and improvident. Let,
therefore, the young prepare themselves for
the married state, by treasuring up all the sur-
plus of their youthful earnings j and they will
marry with confidence, and live together in
comfort.

7. Of all idolatry that ever debased any
savage or ignorant nation, the worship of the
gin bottle is the most disgraceful. The wor-
shipper becomes unfit for any thing ; he soon
dries up his liver, and ruins himself and his
family.

8. He who does not make his family com-
fortable, will himself never be happy at home;
and he who is not happy at home, will never be
happy any where. — Charity begins at home :
the husband and wife, who can hardly keep
themselves and their children, should not keep
a dog to rob the children of part of their food.

9. She who roasts or broils her meat, wastes

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. !i!^l

half of it in the Jire. She who boils it, loses
much of it in the steam. But when the good
wife stews her meat gently, thickening the
liquor with a little meal, ground rice, or pease
and vegetables, and making it savory with
fried onions, herbs, and seasoning, her husband
and she fare much better, their children thrive
and grow hearty and stout, and their money
goes twice as far.

10. When you stew or boil your meat, if
you leave the vefsel uncovered, a great deal
of the best part goes off and is wasted in steam,
which never returns.

11. Sinning is a very expensive occupation.
• — Ask those who have practised it j they can
tell you what it has cost them.

12. Sin is the greatest of all evils; the sal-
vation of the soul our best good; and the
Grace of God our richest treasure. Let the
poor man find his way to the cheapest market
on Saturday, to a place of divine worship on
Sunday, and, like an honest man, go to his
labour on Monday. Following these plain
directions, he may be twice happy i happv

HERE, AND HAPPY HEREAFTER.

Y 2

332 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

ESSAY XIV.

Experimoits and cmicise Agricultural Ohsercations.

JCjvery person, who, for a series of years,
has attended to the progress of agricultural
knowledge, must be convinced, that experi-
ment alone is the origin of useful knowledge;
that reasoning, without experiment, only be-
wilders; and that all remarks and observa-
tions that do not come in this shape, ought to
be received with caution. This being fully
admitted, we shall soon see much proud
reasoning swept away, and facts alone per-
mitted to have real weight and influence.

1 . On the Direction of Ridges*,
In the County of Norfolk, where wheat h
universally raised upon narrow lands, they en-
deavour to lay their ridges North and South,
that the sun may have an equal influence on
either side of the narrow ridges. In other
counties, this circumstance, though very im-
portant, is seldom attended to.

* By A. Hunter, M. D.

GJKORGICAL ESSAYS, SS5

Vrell, as clean water has no tenacity. The
sower should use a fourth, or a third more
seed in bulk than usual of dry grain, as the grain
is fqund to swell in that proportion. After sow-
ing, harrow in as quickly as pofsible, and
though not necefsary, give it a fresh furrow if
convenient. You may expect the seed to
make its appearance in a fortnight at farthest.
May 8, my steeped barley, sown on the 10th
and 11 th of April, is now from four to six
inches high; and what was sown on the 19th
and 21st of April, on a ley holme, a month
ploughed, is this day, or in the space of a
fortnight, fairly come up ; and the head ridges,
especially one that was recently ploughed,
though sown on the 25th, is beginning to ap-
pear. But the steeped seed running short, my
overseer sowed about a rood on the fresh
ploughed head-ridge, with unsteeped barley,
where not a plant as yet appears -, on the con-
trary, the grain may be found in the soil as
dry, hard, and wrinkled on the skin, as when
taken from the granery. In this uncommonly
dry season, I need not point out other in-
stances of grain much longer sown, not as yet
come up. I shall only add, that 1 have uni-
formly followed this method for above twelve
j^ears with unvaried succefs.

'Y 4

336 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

5, On Bam Floors*'.

In some of the midland counties, there is
practised a pecuhar method of laying wooden
barn floors : instead of the planks being nailed
down to sleepers, in the ordinary way, the
floor is first laid with bricks, and the planks
spread over those, with no other confinement
than that of being pinned together, and their
ends let into walls, placed in the usual way,
on each side of the floor.

By this method of putting down the planks,
provided the brick work be left truly level,
vermine cannot have a hiding place beneath
them; and a communication of damp air
being eftectually prevented, floors thus laid are
found to wear better than those laid upon
sleepers. Planks used for this method of lay-
ing, ought to be made of youthful, stout,
strong-grained wood, and well seasoned. The
bricks used, should be set edgeway upon mor-
tar, and made as firm and level as pofsible.

6. On Biick-zc'heatf,

Buck-wheat prevents the growth of weeds,
but will not destroy couch-grafs. It is usually

» By Mr. Marsl]all. t By a Suffolk, farmer.

etORGICAL ESSAYS. S^3

S. On Sand used as litter •.
In many parts of Norfolk, bordering upon
the sea, it is the custom to litter their stables
with sand instead of straw ; as the bed be-
comes soiled or wet, fresh sand is scattered on,
until the whole is in a degree saturated with
dung and urine : the stall is then cleaned out,
and a fresh bed of sand laid in. By this
means, manure, of a quality singularly excel-
lent, is produced, and which is carried by the
farmers to avety considerable distance.

3. To uncover Turnips buried under snow t-
The instrument used in Norfolk for this pur-
pose, is called a snow sledge. It is, simply,
three deal or other boards, from one to two in-
ches thick, ten or twelve inches deep, and
seven to nine feet long, set upon their edges in
the form of an equilateral triangle, and
Strongly united with nails, or straps of iron,
at the angles, at one of which is fastened, by
means of a double strap, a hook or eye, to
hang the horses to. lliis instrument being
drawn over a piece of turnips covered with
snow, forces up the snow into a ridge, while
between the ridges a stripe of turnips is left

• By Mr. Marshall.
•f By Mr, Marshall.

Y3

334 GEORGICAL ESSAYS,

bare, without having received any material
damage from the operation.

4. On the management of Seed Barler/ in a dry.
season *.

It is well known that barley is lefs valuable
when it does not ripen equally ; that barley
which comes up speedily in a dusty soil, must
gain a great advantage over seed weeds, and
that barley viiiich shall come a fortnight or
three weeks earlier than others to market, will
probably bring a higher price.

Therefore, first take out about one-third of
the contents of the sacks of seed barley, to
allow for the swelling of the grain. Lay the
sacks with the grain to steep in clean water;
let it lie covered with it, for at least twenty-
four hours. When the ground is very dry,
and no likelihood of rain for ten days, it is
better to lie thirty-six hours. Sow the grain
wet from steeping, without the addition of
powdered quick-lime, which, though often
recommended, can only poison the seed, suck
up part of its ufefiil moisture, and burn the
hands of the sower. The seed will scatter

* By William Gopljjnd, Esq,

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. S39

tlie hay from over-heating and becoming
mildewed, it may be put together greener
than otherwise, without danger of firing. All
kinds of cattle &;c. prefer inferior hay thus
managed, to the best that can be placed bo-
fore them that has not been sahed; the salt
afsimilates with the juices of the hay, and
thereby prevents too great a fermentation. —
The proper way of using it is, in building the
stack, to sprinkle the salt alternately between
each layer of hay, in the> proportion of one
hundred weight to seven or eight tons of hay,

10 To eradicate Coltsfoot*.

In winter, plough the land. In spring, get it
by frequent ploughings in good order for tur-
nips ; SOW them early, and when the coltsfoot
comes up, let it be hand-pulled. By this
means the coltsfoot may be entirely eradicated.
The expense, about ten shillings per acre.—
The coltsfoot having a deep tough root, is very
difficult to pull up, but when the land is
ploughed deep, and made light, it is easily-
drawn out.

.♦ By Mr. Thomas Barnard,

S40 GEOftCICAL ESSAY*.

11. On Jerusalem Artichokes *.

I find the produce of Jerusalem artichokes
to be about three hundred bushels per acre, and
I thinlc they are nearly equal in value to po-
tatoes for feeding store pigs, that are not lefs
than five or six months old. For fatting hogs,
I do not find they are near so valuable as po-
tatoes. But their chief recommendations are,
the certainty of the crop, that they will grow
in any soil, and that they do not require any
manure, at least, for such a produce as I have
stated. The Jerusalem artichoke is proof
against the severest frost, and may be taken
out of the ground as occasion may serve;
whereas potatoes are soon affected by frost, and
must, therefore, be secured before the winter
sets in.

* By Mr. N. Hartley.

georgical essays. 337

sown in Suffolk with grafs-seeds, for laying
down land •, and for that purpose it is preferred
to most other kinds of spring corn.

i. On Sleeping Seed Barlei/ in dung water *.
The last spring being remarkably dry, I
soaked my seed barley in the black water
taken from a reservoir, which constantly re-
ceives the draining of my dunghill and stables.
As the light corn floated on the top, I
skimmed it off, and let the rest stand twenty-
four hours. On taking it from the water, I
mixed the seed grain with a sufficient quantity
of sifted wood ashes, to make it spread regu-
larly, and sowed three fields with it. I began
sowing the 16th and finished the 23d of April.
The produce was sixty bushels per acre, of
good clean barley, without any small or green
corn, or weeds at harvest,

I sowed also several other fields with the
same seed dry, and without any preparation ;
but the crop, like those of my neighbours, was
very poor ; not being more than twenty bushels
per acre, and much mixed with green corn
and weeds when harvested. I also sowed

• By Mr. James Chappie, of Bodmin.

53S CEORGICAL ESSAYS.

some of the seed dry on one ridge in each of
my former fields, but the produce was poor in
comparison of the other parts of the field.

8. To prevent Butter from being tainted by Cabbages
or Turnips^.
A small bit of salt-petre, powdered and
put into the milk pan with the new milk,
effectually prevents the cream and butter from
being tainted, although the cows be fed on the
refuse leaves of cabbages and turnips. In the
beginning of last winter, my men were very
careful not to give to the cows any outside, or
decayed leaves of the cabbages or turnips, yet
the cream and butter were sadly tainted ; but
as soon as the dairy-maid used the salt-petre,
all the taint was done away ; and afterwards,
no care was taken in feeding the cows, for
they had cabbages and turnips in all states.
Our milk pans hold about nine pints of milk,

9. On Salting Haj/f.
Few farmers are acquainted with the bene-*
fit arising from salting hay, particularly when
stacked in sultry weather ; as the salt preserve^

• By J. Jones, Esq.

•f By Mr. Thomas Barnard,

GEORGICAL ESSAY3. 3*1

IZ' A Table/or Manuring Land*,

As every husbandman should know the
exact distribution of his manure, I have con-
structed the following table for his use :

No. of heaps to a load

1

2

96

80

67

57

3

64

53

44
38

4

43

40

33

28

24

5

38

32
26
22
19

6

32

26

22

19

16

7

27
23
19

' 'j
8

24

20

16

At 5 yards distance

193
160

At 5| yards

At 6 yards

134

At 6| yards

114

16
14
12
10

14 :

12-
10;

9 ;

At 7 yards

98

49

43

32
28

At 11 yards

S6

21

18

17
15

14
12

At 8 yards

75

37

25

■55

Exjilanation of the first twt Retot of Ftgmes,

The number of heaps of one load each, laid at five
yards distance, is 193 to cover an acre-~2 heaps to a*
load, 96—3 heaps, 64, and so to the end. Each of
the succeeding rows of figures to be read in the same
Kianner.

By the Rev. H. J. Close,

342 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

13. To destrojj Ant-hills*.

With a common spade, ground sharp^ di-
vide the hills into four quarters. With the
same instrument, pare off the sward of the
quarters, an inch or two thick, leaving the
triangular turves pared otf fast at their base,
folding them back upon the adjoining sward.
This done, dig out the core of the hill, chop-
ping and spreading the mould abroad, and
leaving a hollow bason where the hill stood,
in order to collect the winter's rains, and there-
by effect a radical cure. Return the folds of
swards as a cover to the excavation, leaving
the surface grafsy and nearly level, so as not
to be discemable from the surrounding sward.
Between Michaelmas and Christmas is the
proper time for performing this operation ; for
then the excavated mould becomes tempered
by the winter's rains and frosts ; and the folds
of sward have time to unite with the soil be-
fore the summer's drought sets in.

14. Ofi chopping Stubbles f .
All good farmers chop their stubbles soon
after harvest, and convey them to the fold } ard,
to be trod into manure. When the stubble is

* By Mr. Marshall,
t By A. Hunter, M. D.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 34S

left upon the land,, it is entirely lost as a ma-
nure. Besides, it prevents the plough from turn-
ing in the land with neatnefs. In those parts
of the kingdom where the stubble is remorved
into the fold yard, the price for chopping and
raking into heaps is, from one shilling and
sixpence to two shilling per acre ; a triffling
expense when compared with the advantages
that arise from the operation.

16. On Weeds''^,

Wherever abundance of thistles, nettles,
and other weeds, are observed in the roads and
lanes, we may pronounce that much bad
farming exists in the neighbourhood. ITiesc
should be cut down before they perfect their
seed, and carried off to the fold yard, or burnt
into ashes. The price of manure being now
so much increased, it is matter of surprise
that this practice is so little attended to, espe-
cially as it effectually prevents the difsemina-
tion of the numerous tribe of winged seeds,
that occasion so much trouble to the farmer.

It is a pleasing circumstance to observe the
feeble hands of every village, now busily em-

* By A. Hunter, M. D,

344? GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

ployed in collecting the dung that is casually
dropped upon the frequented highways, a cir-
cumstance of economy but lately introduced
into the northern parts of this kingdom ; and
which I hope will be followed by the im-
provement above mentioned. Every load of
dung obtained in this manner may be con-
sidered as a proportional quantity of animal
and vegetable food added to the common
stock. In some districts, immense quantities
of river weeds may be collected at a small
expense.

On the ImdUity of Fallowing *.
On the South Downs of Sufsex, they have
an admirable practice in their course of crops,
which cannot be too much recommended ; that
of substituting a double crop of tares instead of
a fallow for wheat. Let the intelligent farmer
give his attention to this practice. They sow
forward winter' tares, which are fed off late
in the spring with ewes and lambs ,; they then
plough, and sow summer tares and rape, two
bushels and a half of tares, and half a gallon
of rape seed, per acre; and this they feed off
with their lambs, in time to plough once for

* By A. Young, Esq.

6E0RGICAL ISSAYS. 245>

wheat. A variation is for mowing ; that of
sowing tares only, in succefsion, even so late
as the end of June for soiling. October the
6"th, I saw the finishing of a fine crop of sum-
mer tares, between Lewes and Brighton, on
land that had yielded a full crop of winter
sown ones. The more this husbandry is ana-
lysed, the more excellent it will appear. The
land, in the fallow year, is made to support
the utmost pofsible quantity of sheep that
it can admit of. The two ploughings are
given at the best seasons, in autumn, for the
frosts to mellow the land, and prepare it for
a succefsive growth of weeds, and late in
spring, to turn thcnx down. Between the
times of giving these stirrings, the land is
covered with crops. The quantity of live
stock supported, yields amply in manure. —
The treading that the soil receives, previous
to the sowing of the wheat, gives an adhesion
grateful to that plant 3 in a word, many views
are answered, and a new variation from the
wretched businefs of summer fallowing dis-
covered, which by a judicious application,
would be attended, in great tracks of this
kingdom, with most happy consequences to
the farmer's profit.

Fohmie IL Z

S46 GEORGICAL ESSAYSi

1 7 0?i Sea--j}eed *.
Near the sea-coast of the County of Nor-
folk, great quantities of sea-weed, or ouze,
are collected by the intelligent farmers, for
the purpose of increasing the size of their
compost dunghills. It is mixed with earth
and lime, or marl and dung, for one year, and
then laid on arable land. The industrious
and provident farmer can be placed in no
situation where he cannot obtain something
for the enlargement of his manure heap, with-
out applying immediately to his stable, or fold-
yard. An attention to this provident branch
of husbandry cannot be recommended in too
forcible terms. It is a warm exprefsion, but
I think a just one, that no farmer ought to
spit upon any man's land but his own.

18. On Turnips ^^
The farmers in Norfolk, continue sowing
turnips from midsummer to the latter end of
August, by which means their late crops
remain good till the latter end of April, and
often to the middle of May, Those late sown
turnips are always of a diminutive size, so

* By A- Hunter, ISI. D.
t Bv A. Hunter, M.D,

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 347

they should be allowed to stand thicker upon
the ground, to make up in number what is
wanting in weight. The best farmers sow
theirturnips in drills, three feet asunder, and
at a second hoeing leave them a foot asunder
in the rows. The intervals must in this mode
of cultivation be carefully horse-hoed. An
acre of land contains 4,840 square yards, or
43,560 square feet. Suppose every square
foot, under the broad-cast management, to
contain one turnip, and that they only weigh
two pounds each, on an average, the land
will produce forty-six tons per acre. In dry
seasons, broad-cast turnips should be sown as
soon as pofsible after the plough, in order that
the seed may be placed upon a moist bed : a
consideration of great- consequence.

19. On Carrot Hay*.
On the authority of the ingenious Mr. Monk,
author of the Liecestershire Survey, we are
told, that a gentleman of respectable character
in that county, is used to cut off the tops of
carrots in the month of July, for the purpose
of making them into hay, the trouble of
making being little more than what is be-

« By A. Hunter, M. D.

Z 2

S48 6E0RGICAL ESSAYS.

Stowed upon clover. A good acre of carrots,
we are told, will make four tons of excellent
hay, very acceptable to all kinds of cattle. —
After this operation, the carrots soon put out
fresh leaves, which bring the roots forward
without diminishing their size. However
singular this experiment may appear, it is given
to the public under respectable authority.

20. To Destroy Mofs *.

"When old sward becomes infected with
mofs, let it be well harrowed, and afterwards
manured and bush-harrowed. But even with-
out manuring, the land v^ill be greatly bene-
fited by the operation.

21 To preseixe Carrots from the Frost ■^ .
The carrots being taken up, and their tops
(which are given to cattle, &c) cut off, let
them be placed as close to each other (perpen-
dicular) as pofsible in a trench. When the
trench is full, cover them over with strawv
and over the straw return the mould that was
taken out of the trench. Carrots so preserved,
keep better than when put into sand.
^ ' ■ ' ' " '

* By J. Monk,. Esq.

-J- By J. Monk, Esq.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. S49

22. On Capons*.
As Gentlemen of landed property have lately
shown a disposition to increase the comforts
of the cottager, I flatter myself that the follow-
ing observations will be the means of reviving
a practice that may be profitably undertaken
by the families of those persons who rank as
cottagers.

Horsham,- in Sufsex, is the great emporium
of Capons. They are there fattened to an ex-
tent unknown in other places. When fully
fed, they often exceed nine pounds in weight.
Their food consists of barley-meal, milk, and
the skimmings of the pot, that' is something
which is greasy 5 but for the finishing, they
depend on sweet and good molafses. In the
northern parts of this island, the practice of
making capons was formerly well understood
in almost every village, but the art is nearly
lost ; a very singular circumstance in an age
of unbounded luxury/

23- On parh]g and burning for Grafs f.
A few years ago a Gentleman pared and

* By A. Hunter, M. D.
I By A, Young, Esq.

Z S

350 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

burned a poor worn-out lay ; spread the ashes,
and harrowed in white clover, rye-grafs, rib-
grafs, and trefoil, without any ploughing.
The land has ever since been a very fine mea-
dow. This is a remarkable experiment that
deserves much attention, for it is applicable to
cases m which such management would prove
uncommonly convenient. It is, where suitable,
the cheapest of all improvements. How un-
fortunate it is for the theoretical enemies of
paring and burning, that no year pafses in
which fresh facts do not appear which prove it
to be the most admirable of all practices !

24. On Baer or Pond-IVced*.
i have found, from experience, that river, or
pond-weed, is a most excellent manure for
turnips. At this time I have part of two
pieces of turnips, for which I put on. about
twelve loads per acre of fresh, green, river
weeds, and which are fully equal, or, if any
difference, rather superior to the turnips in the
other parts of the closes, and which were dres^
sed with an equal quantity of common dung

Where land, destined for the turnip crop, is

* B^ a Noifolk Farmer.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 351

situated near a stream abounding with the
vegetables which usually grow in such situ-
ations, the cultivator is highly to blame if he
docs not avail himself of the means thus offered
of fertilizing his land,

The usual method of procuring the weed is
to make a staunch or dam acrofs the stream,
by means of a strong rope made fast to stakes
on either side, with the afsistance of hurdles,
or other stakes, driven into the bottom of the
river, the more effectually to stop the weeds as
they float down the stream after cutting. The
dam being fixed, the weeds are next to be
cut ; the most effectual instrument for which
is a long chain, if I may so term it, of scythes,
formed so as to take any necefsary curve. This
instrument is drawn by a man on either side
the stream, who pulls alternately, by which
means the weeds are cut effectually and expe-
ditiously. As soon as a suf^cient quanti-ty are
collected on the dam, they are drawn out by
crombes, forks, &;c. and thrown into a heap,
from which they may be immediately carried
©n to the land, and let down in heaps of a
similar size, and at an equal distance, as is ob-
served in setting on dung. That they may be
spread with the greatest evennefs, one man^

Z4

S52 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

with the blade of a scythe, cuts a slice from the
side of the heap, of about six or eight inches
in thicknefs, whilst others load the weeds thus
cut on the carts. In this manner the businefs
goes forward ; some drawing the w^eeds from
the river, another cutting the heaps, the rest
loading, &c.

That the above answers extremely well as a
manure, I can say not only from my own ob-
servation, but from the constant practice of
some of the best farmers in the county of
Norfolk. Mr. Coke, I believe, constantly
manures a considerable quantity of land for
turnips with the weeds collected from the lake
at Holkham.

On Carrots^.
Last spring I sowed, broadcast, two acres of
carrots, follov/ing a potatoe crop, on a light
sandy loam of twenty shillings an acre. They
were twice hoed at thirteen shillings the two
acres, in the manner of hoeing turnips ; and in
the course of the summer, I mowed one-third of
the tops twice J another third of the tops J
mowed once, and the remaining thirdof the crop

* By Sir Henry Vavasour, Bart,

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. S5$

the scythe did not pafs over. The tops were
greedily devoured by my horses, cattle, and
pigs, in the fold-yard; and were equal in
quantity and value to a considerable crop of
clover, cut and made use of in the same mode.

At the end of October, I took up the carrot
roots, and preserved them in a trench in the
manner of potatoes. The crop was full six
hundred bushels per acre ; and it was not found
that the roots of those carrots, whose tops had
been twice cut, were at all inferior, in size or
quality, to those whose tops had been left un^
touched. A pafsage was left for a small cart
to carry off the tops, and another I made by
drawing the young carrots for family use.

I have reason to consider this mode of cul-
tivating carrots, equal to the best fallow crop,
provided the carrots are twice well hoed, and
the tops are cut off, as the scythe prevents any
weeds seeding in the autumn.

Aly horses, oxen, milch cows, and pigs, are
at this time eating the carrot roots ; my turkies
and other poultry, have them boiled, and are
fatted well upon them ; even my pigeons are
fatted upon carrots, .as they constantly attend

554 tSEORGICAL ESSAYS.

in the fold-yard, to pick up every particle that
drops from the mouths of the cattle ; which
supply is sufficient to keep my pigeons at home,
and to save an expense in feeding them during^
the severe weather.

The market price for carrots, near my home,
twelve miles east of York, is from tenpence to
one shilling per bushel, at which price, it must
be allowed, that the crop is a profitable one.

I must observe, that the demand for carrots,
in this neighbourhood, is not inconsiderable,
for stallions ; for it is found that this food is
inore invigorating and fattening than any oiher
that can be given to them.

26. On Dibbling Wheat*.
Wheat is generally planted on a clover lay,
and if the land be very light, it should be
ploughed a week or ten days before planted;
and should a good rain fall, it will be advan-
tageous, because the holes will stand open the
better to receive the seed, and the ground will
not rise so much when bush-harrowed: In
heavier land, the plough should receive the dib-

* By David Barclay, Esq.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 355

biers only a day or two, and be planted in the
earliest part of the season, which should be
particularly observed, as heavy land, after
much rain, cannot be dibbled.

Plough the land from three to four inches
deep, and nine inches wide, and make about
eio-hteen furrows on one ridj^e of land, about
five yards wide ; but when the soil is very dry,
the ridge may be double the breadth. Let a
man follow the plough with a spade, and level
the flag, where it may have been broken by the
plough; then roll it with a roller of about
seven feet, with one or two horses, or oxen,
and it is fit for dibbling, A man or a woman
has a dibble in each hand, about two feet nine
inches long, made of iron, the bottom of which
is made in the form of a cone, suitable to make
a hole in the ground not lefs than two inches
deep, and .the handle is covered with wood for
the ease of the dibbler, who walks backward,
and turning the dibbles partly round, (which
must be particularly observed, because that
action prevents the mould from falling into the
hole) makes two holes on each flag, at the
distance of three inches the length way of the
flag. Children follow, and drop in two or
three seeds, and care should be taken that they

S5fi GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

do not drop in more : two at the beginning of
the season would be sufficient, and three at the
latter end. The land should be bush-harrowed
three or four times In a place, the same day, by
the farmer, with bushes fixed to a gate-lift, or
if on light harrows, care must be taken that the
tines do not penetrate the ground. Seven
pecks of wheat prepared as usual, are sufficient
for an acre. One dibbler generally undertakes
the businefs of one gang, after the ground is
plowed and rolled, at 9s.; 9s. 6d.; 10s. or 10s. 6d.
per acre. He hires other dibblers, women at
one shilling per day, or men according to their
abilities, (women generally do two-thirds of the
work of a man) and children at seven or eight
year old, at threepence halfpenny per day, who
follow the dibbler, and drop the wheat into
one row of the holes : Children, ten or t^velve
years old, drop into two rows, and receive
sevenpence per day. An active dibbler, used
to the businefs, with three droppers at seven-
pence per day, can plant nearly half an acre,
if the soil be favourable, and the weather per-
mit. Land in good heart, which had been
well manured for turnips, hoed and fed off, and
sown with birley and grafs-seeds, which have
continued in grafs a year or two, is considered
not to want manure : but if otherwise, it may

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. S57

be manured at the rate of fifteen loads an acre,
either before it is ploughed, or after it i»
planted j if the former, plough not more than
three' inches deep, and if the latter, the manure
should be carried on in a frost, or the land may
be folded with sheep, which is preferable, on
account of not carting upon the land.

Pease and beans are likewise dibbled, and
one only put into a hole ; the holes for pease
are two on a flag, three inches and a half
distant length ways ; for beans, only one hole
in the middle of the flag, and five or six inches
distant. The price of dibbling pease seven
shillings, and beans four shillings and sixpence
per acre.

353 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

ESSAY XV.

On the PreparatioHy CuUiire, and Use of the Orchis
Root.

Oalep is a preparation of the root of Orchis, or
Dogstones, of which many species are enume-
rated by botanical writers. The Orchis viascula
Linn. sp. pi. is the most valued, although the
roots of some of the palmated sorts, particu-
larly of the Orchis Latifolia, are found to an-
swer almost equally well. This plant flourishes
in various parts of Europe and Afia, and
grows in our country spontaneously, and in
great abundance. It is afsiduously cultivated
in the East ; and the root of it forms a con-
siderable part of the diet of the inhabitants
of Turkey, Persia, and Syria. A dry, and not
very fertile soil is best adapted to its growth.
An ingenious friend of mine, in order to col-
lect the seed, transplanted a number of the
Orchises into a meadovA^, where he had pre-
pared a bed well manured for their reception.
The next spring few of them appeared, and
not one came to maturity, their roots being
black and half rotten. Tlie same gentleman

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 355

informed me that he had never been able to
raife any plants from the seed of the wild Or-
chis ; but he ascribes his want of succefs to
the wetnefs of the situation in which he re-
sides. I have now before me a seed pod
of the Orchis, the contents of which, to the
naked eye, seem to be seed corrupted and
turned to dust; but, when viewed through a
microscope, appear evidently to be organized^
and would, I doubt not, with proper culture,
germinate, and produce a thriving crop of
plants. The properest time for gathering the
roots is when the seed is formed, and the stalk
is ready to fall, because the new bulb, of
which the salep is made, is then arrived to its
full maturity, and may be distinguished from
the old one, by a white bud rising from the top
of it, which is the germ of the Orchis of iht
succeeding year.

Several methods of preparing salep have been
proposed and practised. Geotlroy has delivered
k very judicious procefs, for this purpose, in
the Histoire de V Academic Royalc des Sciences^
1740; and Retzius, in the Swedish Trans-
actions, 1764, has im.proved GeoiTroy's method.
But Mr. Moult, of Rochdale, has lately fa-
voured the public with a new manner of curing

S60 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

the Orchis root ; and as I have seen many
specimens of his salep, at least equal, if not
superior, to any brought from the Levant, I caa
recommend the following, which is his procefs,
from my own knowledge of its succefs. The
new root is to be washed in water, and the fine
brown skin which covers it, is to be separated
by means of a small brush, or by dipping the
root in hot water, and rubbing it with a coarse
linen clotli. When a sufficient number of
roots have been thus cleaned, they are to be
iipread on a tin-plate, and placed in an oven
heated to the usual degree, where they are to
remain six or ten minutes, in which time they
will have lost their milky whitenefs, and ac-
quired a transparency like horn, without any
diminution of bulk. Being arrived at this state,
they are to be removed, in order to dry and
harden in the air, which will require several
days to effect j or, by using a very gentle heat,
they may be finished in a few hours*.

Salep, thus prepared, may be afibrded, in
this part of England, where labour bears a high

* Vid. A Letter from Mr. John Moult to the Author,
containing a new method of preparing Salep,— —Phii,
Transact, vol. 59.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 361

Value, at about 8d. or lOd. per lb. And it
might be sold still cheaper, if the Orchis were
to be* cured without separating from it the
brown skin which covers it ; — a troublesome
part of the procefs, and which does not con-
tribute to render the root either more palatable
or salutary. AVhereas the foreign Salep is now
sold at 53. or 6s. per lb.

The culture of the Orchis, therefore, is an
object highly deserving of encouragement
from all the lovers of agriculture. And as the
root, if introduced into comm.on use, would
furnish a cheap, wholesome, and most nutri-
tious article of diet, the growth of it would
be sufficiently profitable to the farmer.

Salep is said to contain the greatest quantity
of vegetable nourishment in *he smallest bulk.
Hence a very judicious writer, to prevent the
dreadful calamity of famine at sea, has lately
proposed that the powder of it should consti-
tute part of the provisions of everv ship's com-
pany. This powder and portable soup, dis"-
solved in boiling water, form a rich thick jelly,
capable of fupporting life for a considerable
length of time. An ounce of each of these
articles, with two quarts of boiling water.

Volume II, A a

562 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

will be sufficient subsistence for a man a day * ;
and, as being a mixture of animal and vege-
getable food, must prove more nourishing than
double the quantity of rice-cake, made by
boiling rice in water. This last, however, sail-
ors are often obliged solely to subsist upon for
several months, especially in voyages to
Guinea, when the bread and flour are exhaust-
ed, and the beef and pork, having been salted
in hot countries, are become unfit for use f.

But, as a wholesome nourishment, rice is
much inferior to salep. I digested several
alimentary mixtures prepared of mutton and
watery beat up with bread, sea-biscuit, salep,
rice-flour, sago-powder, potatoe, old cheese,
&:c. in a heat equal to that of the human
body. In forty-eight hours they had all ac-
quired a vinous smell, and were in brisk fer-
mentation, except the mixture with rice,which
did not emit many air bubbles, and was but

* Portable soup is sold at 2s. 6d. per lb.; salep, if culti-
vated in our own country, might be afforded at lOd. per
lb.; the day's subsistence would therefore amount only
to 2^d.

f Vide Dr. Lind's Appendix to his Efsay on the
Diseases of Hot Cliinates.

OEORGICAL ESSAYS. 363

litlle changed. The third day several of the
mixtures were sweet, and continued to fer-
ment ; others had lost their intestine motion,
and were sour ; but the one which contained
the rice was become putrid. From this expe-
riment it appears that rice, as an aliment, is
slow of fermentation, and a very weak cor-
rector of putrefaction. It is therefore an im-
proper diet for hospital patients; but more
particularly for sailors, in long voyages, be-
cause it is mcapable of preventing, and will
not contribute much to check the progrefs of
that fatal disease, the sea-scurvy*. Under
certain circumstances, rice seems disposed of
itself, without mixture, to become putrid ; for
by long keeping, it sometimes acquires an of-
fensive fcetor ; nor can it be considered as a
very nutritive kind of food, on account of its

* Cheese is now become a considerable article of ship
provisions. When mellowed by age, it ferments readily
with flesh and water, but separates a rancid oil, which
seems incapable of any further change, and must, as a
septic, be pernicious in tlie scurvy ; for rancidity appears
to be a species of putrefaction. The same objection
may be urged, with still greater propriety, against the
use cf cheese in hospitals; because convalscents are so
liable to relapses, that the slightest error of diet may oc-
casion them. Vide Percival's Letter to Mr. Aikin. —
Thoughts on Hospitals, p. 95.

Aa 2

364 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

difficult solubility in the stomach. Experience
confirms the truth of this conclusion : For it is
observed by the planters in the West Indies,
that the negroes grow thin, and are lefs able
to work whilst they subsist upon rice.

Salep has the singular property of conceal-
ing the taste of salt-water * ; a circumstance
of the highest importance at sea, when there
is a scarcity of fresh water. I desolved a
drachm and a half of common salt in a pint
of the mucilage of salep, so liquid as to be
potable, and the same quantity in a pint of
spring water. The salep was by no means
disagreeable to the taste, but the water was
rendered extremely unpalatable.

This experiment suggested to me the trial
of the Orchis-root as a corrector of acidity ;
a property which would render it a very useful
diet for children. But the solution of it, when
mixed with vinegar, seemed only to dilute,
like an equal proportion of water, and not
to cover its sharpnefs. *

Salep, however, appears by my experi-

* Vide Dr. Lind's i^ppendix.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 363

ments, to retard the acetous fermentation of
milk, and consequently would be a good
lithing for milk pottage, especially in large
towns, where the cattle, being fed upon sour
draff must yield acescent milk.

Salep, in a certain proportion, which I have
not yet been able to ascertain, would be a
very useful and profitable addition to bread.
I directed one ounce of the powder to be dis-
solved in a quart of water, and the mucilage
to be mixed with a sufficient quantity of flour,
salt, and yeast. The flour amounted to two
pounds, the yeast to two ounces, and the
salt to eighty grains. The loaf when baked
was remarkably well fermented, and weighed
three pounds two ounces. Another, loaf made
with the same quantity of flour, &c. weighed
two pounds and twelve ounces : from which
it appears that the Salep, though used in so
small a proportion, increased the gravity of the
loaf six ounces, by absorbing and retaining
more water than the flour alone was capable
of Half a pound of flour and an ounce of
salep were mixed together, and the water
added according to the usual method of pre-
paring bread. The loaf, when baked, weighed
thirteen ounces and a half j and would prg-

Aa 3

566 GEORpiCAL ESSAYS.

bablyhave teen heavier, if theSalep had been
previously difsolved in about a pint of water.
But it should be remarked, that the quantity
of flour used in this trial, was not sufficient to
conceal the pecuHar taste of the Salep,

The restorative, mucilaginous, and demul-
cent qualities of the Orchis-root render it of
considerable use in various diseases. In the
sea-scurvy it powerfully obtunds the acrimony
of the fluids, and at the same time is easily
aflimulated into a mild and nutritious chvle.
In diarrhoeas and the dysentery, it is highly
serviceable, by sheathing the internal coat of
the intestines, by abating irritation, and gently
correcting putrefaction. In the symptomatic
fever, which arises from the absorption of pus,
from ulcers in the lungs, from wounds, or
from amputation, Salep, used plentifully, is an
admirable demulcent, and well adapted to
resit that difsolution of the crasis of the
blood, which is so evident in these cases. And
by the^same mucilaginous quality, it is equally
efficacious in the strangury and dysury ; espe-
cially in the latter, when arising from a vene-
real cause ; because the discharge of urine is
then attended with the most exquisite painj
from the ulcerations about the neck of the

tJEORGICAL ESSAYS. 367

bladder, and through the course of the urethra.
I have found it also an useful aliment for pa-
tients who labour under the stone or gravel *.

From these observations; short and imper-
fect as they are, I hope it will sufficiently ap-
pear that the culture of the Orchis root is an
object of considerable importance to the pub-
lic, and highly worthy of encouragement from
all the patrons of agriculture. That taste for
experiment, which characterises the present

* The ancient chjmists seem to have entertained a
a very high opinion of the virtues of theOrchis root, of
which the following quotation from the Sec ret a Secre-
TORUM of Raymund Lully, affords a diverting proof.
The work, is dated 1565.

SEXTA HERB A,

Satiyio7t.
*' Satirion herba est pluribus nota, hujus radicis collec-
ta ad pondus lib, 4-. die 20 mensis Januarij, contuude
fortiter et mafsiim contusam pone in oliam de aurichal-
co habente in cooperculo 20 foramina minuta sicut
athomi, & pone inlus cii prsedicta melsa lactis vaccinl
•calidi sicut mulgetur de vacca }fe. 3. & mellis libram i.
vini aromatici Jfe. 2. & repone per dies 20. ad solem &
conserva & utere."

" Istius ilaq; dosis ad pondus 3. 4. & hora diei decima
exhibita mulieri post ipsius menstrua eadem nocte c5ci-
piet si vir cum eaagat."

Aa 4

368 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

age, and which has so amazingly enlarged the
boundaries of science, now animates the ra-
tional FARMER, who fcars not to deviate
from the beaten tract whenever improvements
are suggested, or useful projects are pointed out
to him. Much has been already done for the
advancement of agriculture ; but the earth
still teems with treasures which remain to be
explored. The bounties of Nature are inex-
haustible, and will for ever employ the artj
and reward the industry of man.

CEORGICAL ESSAYS. 3C9

ESSAY XVI.

On the Thrashing Machine.

]^OTHiNG has hitherto caused so much lofs
and vexation to the farmer, as the procefs of
separating the corn from the straw; and various
methods have, in different ages, been adopted
for accompHshing this operation. The ancient
inhabitants of Asia and Egypt, v^^here agricul-
ture is supposed to have had its origin, knew no
other method than that of enclosing a spot in
the open air, and smoothing it with cjay, rolled
hard ; this was the thrashing-floor. The corn
being next spread in sheaves, oxen were turned
in, and kept in motion till the business was
done. " Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that
treadeth out the corn." Deut. xxv. 4.

If iElian may be believed, the Greeks vrerc
neither so merciful nor cleanly in this circum-
stance. They besmeared the mouths of the
poor animals with dung, to keep them from
tasting the corn under their feet. Ilifr. Ani-
pial. L. iv. cap. 25.

570 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

Machines were next invented, in different
countries, made of planks or beams, stuck over
with flints or hard pegs, to rub the ears be-
tween them ; others to bruize £)ut the grain
by sledges or trail carts.

Dicendum et quas slnt duris agrestibus Arma
Tribula, trabaeque, et iniquo pondere rastri.

The translators of Virgil, from Father
O^ilvie downwards, have included the flail in
this desrciption :

The Sled, the Tumbril, Hurdles, and the Flail,

Dryden.

Tribulum, however, was certainly the ma-
chine first described for the single purpose of
separating the grain from the husk or chaff.
At what period of time the flail took place
of the former awkward machine, is not known
with certainty. President Goguet says, that
the Turks and many of the Italians have not
yet adopted it. The barbarous Celts, ac-
customed to fire and sword, made short work.
They burned the straw, and instantly de-
voured the grain ; and it is said this custom
continues in some parts of the Highlands of
Scotland to this day.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. S71

In Britain, till within these twenty years,
the flail may be said to have been the only in-
strument employed for thrashing com ; but
previous to that period, several attempts were
made to construct machines for performing
that laborious work. The first attempt was
made by an ingenious gentleman of the county
of East Lothian, Mr. Michael Menzies, who
invented a machine that was to go by water,
upon the principle of driving a number of
flails by a water-wheel ^ but from the force
with which they wrought, the flails were soon
broken to pieces, and consequently the inven"
lion did not succeed.

Another thrashing machine was invented
about 1758 by Mr. Michael Stirling, a farmer
in the parish of Dumblain, Perthshire. This
machine was nearly the same as the common
mill for drefsing flax, being a vertical shaft
with four crofs arms, inclosed in a cylindrical
case, three feet and a half high, and eight
feet diameter. Within this case, the shaft
with its arms, were turned with considerable
velocity by a water-wheel, and the sheaves of
corn being let down gradually, through an
opening for the purpose on the top of the

372 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

box, the grain was beat ofF by the arms, and
prefsed with the straw through an opening in
the flooF, from which it was separated by riddles
shaken by the mill, and then cleared by fan-
ners, also turned by it. The great defect of
this machine was, that it broke off the ears of
barley or wheat, instead of beating out the
grain, and was only fit for oats.

Several other machines were afterwards
invented by different persons, for accomplish-
ing this important-operation, but none of them
answered the purpose, till one was constructed
by Mr. Andrew Meikle, at Houston-Mill,
near Haddington, Scotland, whose family
pofsefs a kind of hereditary right to genius
and invention. — Mr. Meikle, who for several
years, had been attempting to bring these
machines to perfection, ascertained, after
much investigation, that they had all been
constructed upon wrong principles, and that
beating must be had recourse to instead, of
rubbing, otherwise the work could not be per-
formed in a sufficient manner. He therefore,
in 1785, made a working model, turned by
water, at Know-Mill, in which the grain was
heat out by the dmin, after pajsiiig tluviigh two
plain rollers^ which were afterwards altered

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 57r>

for \.\\o fluted ones. Mr. George Meikle, son
of the former, being at Kilbegie, the residence
of Mr. Stein, agreed, to erect a machine of
this nature for that gentleman, upon condition
of Mr. Stein furnishing all the materials, and
paying him for the work, only in case the ma-
chine ansicered the desii^ed purpose. This was
agreed to, and the machine was completed in
February, 1786-, being the first of the kind
ever made. It was found to work exceed-
ingly well, and the only alteration made from
the above mentioned model was, that instead
of plain rollers, fluted ones were substituted..
In consequence of this succefsful attempt, a
patent for the invention was applied for, which,
after a considerable opposition, from a person
no ways concerned in the invention, was ob-
tained in April, 1788.

Since the erection of this machine, Mr.
Meikle has progrefsively introduced a varietv
of improvements, all tending to simplify the
labour, and to augment the quantity of the
work thereby performed. AVhen first erected,
though the corn was equally well separated
from the straw, yet, as the whole of the straw,
chaff and corn, were indiscriminately thrown
into a confused heap, the work could only

374 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

with propriety be considered as half executed^
By the addition of rakes or shakers, and two
pair of fanners, all drove by the same ma-
chinery, the different procefses of thrashing,
shaking, and winnowing, are now all at once
performed, and the corn immediately prepared
for the public market. When I add, that the
quantity of corn gained from the superior
powers of the machine is fully equal to a
twentieth part of the crop, and that, in some
cases, the expense of thrashing and clean-
ing the corn is considerably lefs than what was
formerly paid for cleaning it alone, the im-
mense savings, arising from the invention, will
at once be seen.

Where farms are of small size, it w^ould
be improper to recommend the erection of
large machines, as the interest of the original
purchase would be a heavy drawback from
the advantages; but under contrary circum-
stances, I am decidedly of opinion, that
a machine of great powers, provided with
two rakes or shakers, and two pair of fanners^
is the most profitable one for the pofsefsor.
By a machine of this kind, when wrought by
horses, the grain is completely thrashed and
cleaned at little more expense than is paid for

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 875

cleaning it alone when thrashed by the flail,
independent of the additional quantity of corn
produced by the powers of the machine ; and
when wind and water is substituted instead
of horses, the saving is considerably increased.

A horse-machine of the greatest powers,
with the appendages of rakes and fanners,
may be erected for one hundred pounds, and
when wrought by wind, for two hundred
pounds, independent of the buildings and
fixtures which are required. It would be un-
fair, however, to charge these to the account
of the thrashing machine, as even upon a
middle-sized farm a greater extent of building-
is required for barn-work, when the corn is
separated from the straw by the flail, than
when the operation is performed by the thrash-
ing machine.

From the most minute attention bestowed
on this subject, I am confident, an extra quan-
tity of corn, equal, in ordinary years, to 5l per
cent, will be given by the thrashing machioe
more than by the flail; besides innumerable
other advantages which accompany that ma-
chine. Indeed the lofs by the flail has long

4

376 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

been proverbial, and the best of farmers were
obliged to submit to lofses of this nature, be-
cause they could not be remedied; — but with
the thrashing machine no corn need be lost>
as ever}^ particle of grain is scutched off, when
the machine is constructed upon right prin-
ciples.

The expense of horse-labour, from the in*
creased value of the animal, and the charge
of his keeping, being an object of great im-
portance, I beg leave to recommend, that up-
on all sizeable farms, that is to say, where
two hundred acres, or upw^ards, of corn are
sown, the machine should be wrought by
wind, unlefs where local circumstances afford
the conveniency of water.

Wind m.achines were, till lately, exposed
to danj^erous accidents, as the sails could not be
shifted when a brisk gale suddenly arose, which
is often the case in the variable climate of North
Britain. These disagreeable circumstances
are now effectually prevented, by the inventive
genius of Mr. Meikle, and. the machine may
be managed by any person of the smallest
discernment, or attention.

GfeORGICAL ESSAYS. 377

The whole sails can be taken in, or let out,
in half a minute, as the wind requires, by a
person pulling a rope within the house, so
that, an uniform motion is preserved to the
machine, and the danger from sudden squalls
prevented.

Where coals are plenty and cheap, steam
may be advantageously used for working the
machine. A respectable farmer in the County
ot East Lothian, works his machine in this
way, and being situated in the neighbourhood
of a colliery, is enabled to thrash his grain at
a trifling expense.

The quantity of grain thrashed in a given
time, must depend upon its quality, on the
length of the straw, and upon the number of
horses, or strength of the wind by which the
machine is wrought ^ but under favourable cir-
cumstances, from seventy to eighty bushels of
oats, and from thirty to fifty bushels of wheat,
may be thrashed and cleaned in one hour; but
It is from clean dry grain only that so much will
be done in that period.

In a word, the thrashing machine is of the
greatest utility to the farmer ; and from it the

Volume IL B I)

S78 G.EORGICAL ESSAYS.

public derives a vast additional quantity of
food for man and beast. If five per cent, is
added to the national produce, it is as great a
gain to the public as if the national territories
were increased one-seventh more than their
present size : for this additional produce is
gained without any other expense than the
money laid out in erecting the machines; no
more seed is sown than formerly, nor m.ore la-
bour employed, and these articles have always
been estimated as equal to two-fifths of the
produce.

As a farmer's capital ought never to be laid
out in expensive building,, or works of an extra-
ordinary kind, I am of opinion, that the sums
necefsary for erecting machines, should, in the
first instance, be expended by the landlord,
and the tenant bound to leave them in a
, workable conditioji at his departure. Many
farmers have capitals sufficient for undertakings
of this kind, but the great body of that pro-
fefsion would be injured by such an expense^
as they would thereby be deprived of the
means of improving their farms in other re-
spects. Besides, as every improvement, at the
long run, centres in the pocket of the pro-
prietor, it is but fair and reasonable he should
contribute his moiety of the expense laid out

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 379

in procuring it; and in many cases he would
be benefited in the first instance by the erec-
tion of thrashing machines j particularly where
new farm-steadings are to be built, as fewer
buildings would of course be necefsary.

I shall now offer some calculations relative to
the probable amount of the savings, which
might accrue to the public, if thrashing ma-
chines were universally used. I do not affect
to be accurate in these calculations, which
cannot be expected before facts are sufficicntlv
ascertained -, but to borrow the words, very
properly used by the president in his speech to
the Board of Agriculture, July 29, 1794, " to
be enabled to form some general idea of the
nature and extent of public improvement, is
a great step gained."

The extent of ground, annually employed
in Great Britain, in the raising of corn, may
be computed at seven millions five hundred
thousand acres, and the average produce of
the different grains, at three quarters per acre,
as below that increase no farmer can raise it
with profit. I observe, in the President's speech
to Parliament, when he moved the establish-
ment of the Board, that he supposed there

Bb 2

380 GEORGICAL fiSSAYS^

were only five millions of acres annually env
ployed in raising of grain : but I have reason
to think this is a mistake ; for if the popula-
tion of the island be ten millions, the produce
of these acres would be far below what is re-
quired for the support of that number of peo-
ple, independent of what is necefsary for the
feeding of horses,, and sowing the next crop.
I observe, also, in the reprinted survey of the
county of Stafford, a pretty just calculation of
the number of acres annually sown in that
county, amounting to one hundred and fifty
thousand acres. Now, as Stafford is not a
corn county, I do riot take much latitude when
I fix upon it to average the whole counties of
England ; this would make the total quantity
sown in that kingdom amount to six millions
of acres. The remaining one million five
hundred thousand acres I suppose to be sown
in Scotland and Wales, u'hich makes their pro-
duce only equal to that of ten English counties.

It seven millions five hundred thousand
acres be annually sown in Britain, and the
average produce amount to three quarters per
acre, then the total quantity of grain annually
raised in Britain would be twenty-two mil-
lions five hundred thousand quarters.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. Jgj

I, have already said, that the thrashing ma-
chine, from its superior powers, will give one
twentieth more grain than when the operation
of thrashing is performed by the flail : thii
furnishes an increased quantity of one million
one hundred and twelve thousand five hundred
quarters ; which, tak^n at the average price of
thirty-two shillings per quarter for all grains,
amounts to 1,781,2501. Add to this the dif-
ference of expense between thrashing with the
above machine and the flail, which may be
stated at Is. per quarter ^ although when the
machines are wrought by wind or water, the
difference is more than double that sum. This
on 22,500,000 quarters, is 1,125,0001.3 the
whole amounting to 2,90G,250l.

I scarce expect to be credited when I say
that the above enormous sum would annually
be saved to the public, if the zv/iole corn raised
in Britain was separated from the straw by
these machines, and yet few political calcu-
lations will admit of such certain demon-
stration Let me only suppose that one eighth
of our corn is threshed in that way, and still
the saving is immense. If any person doubts
tlie principles upon which these calculations
are built, I have only to request he would pay

Bb3

S82 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

Strict attention to the subject, and I am pretty
positive he will soon acknowledge they are not
over stretched. The only deduction necefsary
to be made, is for the interest of the money
expended in erecting .the machines; the prin^
cipal sum of whichj especially upon large farms,
will be repaid by the savings of three years
crops.

In a word, I consider the invention of this
implement, as the greatest improvement that
has been introduced into Britain during the
present age. The toil of human labour is
thereby lefsened — the stock of agricultural
produce is greatly increased, and the facility
of managing large concerns mightily promoted.
The duty of rewarding the inventor, is a debt
incumbent upon the whole landed interest of
the Island, and by discharging it, they will sti-
mulate ingenious mechanics, of all descriptions,
to exert their talents in making useful dis-
coveries.

OEORGICAL ESSAYS. 383

ESSAY XVII.

On the Means of extending the Cultivation of Corn
on Strong Lands, without diminishing their Value,
or lefsening the Production of Anitnal Food*

JL HAT farm, it is obvious, is the best mana-
ged, which yields the greatest produce at the
least expense. And it may be laid down as
an axiom, that no farm, which has its resources
only within itself, can yield the produce that a
tillage-farm will, on which the crops are so
judiciously diversified, as to keep such a stock
of cattle as shall supply it with manure. A
farm, so conducted, may be made not only to
produce plentiful crops of corn, but actually
to support as large, and in many cases larger,
stocks of cattle, than the same compafs of
ground would have done, were the whole to
have been in grafs. And this is the true point
of view in which agriculture should be looked
at, both by landlord and tenant; as holding
out to the one the prospect of increasing pro-
fit J to the other that of an improving income.
To this point also, as an object of political

Bb4

584 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

economy, should every legislative regulation
and encouragement, if they ever interfere, be
directed.

At present too much land is exclusively
appropriated to pasture. In consequence of
which, other causes also co-operating, grain has
gradually been increasing in value, and is now
becoming alarmingly scarce. Were a contrary
system, however, not judiciously conducted, to
take place, there would then be a deficiency
of animal food ; a deficiency which, from the
prevailing habits of life, would be equally dis-
trefsingi and, indeed, more so, as it could
with more difficulty be supplied.

Happily for the community, in this instance,
as well as in most others, private interest co-
incides with public duty ; though prejudice too
frequently prevents the coincidence from being
noticed.

An indiscriminate use of the pjlough is,
however, by no means recommended: the
strong feeding lands, such as will fatten an ox
of seventy, or even sixty stone (fourteen pounds
to the stone) per acre, ought rarely to be med-
dled with 3 neither should the superior kijids

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 385

of meadow land, nor land subject to inun-
dation, or which, from its relative situation,
admits not of complete drainage j as such
land,' in winter time particularly, must be fre-
quently inaccefsible. There are other lands
also, which, from their incorrigible barrennefs,
will never repay the expense of tillage. There
is no danger, however, of any practical farmer
wishing to disturb them.

Respecting those lands which are proper for
turnips, the mutual advantage, both to land-
lord and tenant, in occasionally subjecting them
to the plough, is so obvious, and at the same
time so well understood, that it would be
superfluous to insist upon it. And yet I have
been told, and by a gentleman too of the first
agricultural information in the kingdom, that
there are at this day, innumerable sheep-
walks, both in Suffolk and Norfolk, let at
present for only two shillings and sixpence
per acre, which the proprietors have refused to
have put into a course of tillage at a rent of
ten shillings per acre, and upon a onc-and-
twenty years lease !

The lands, more particularly locked up from
the plough, are all those- gradations of soil

386 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

comprehended between strong clay and unc-
tuous loam ; those lands, in short, which are
not adapted to turnips, and on which sheep
cannot be folded to consume the turnips with
advantage. It is a received opinion, that on
this sort of land the plough can rarely be ad-
mitted without injury.

It is the intention of this Paper to point out
how lands of this description, that is to say,
all those gradations of soil between strong clay
and unctuous loam, may be so advantageously
managed, while under the plough, as to afford
the landlord an increase of rent, and be again
converted to pasture without debasement of
its quality.

It may be necefsary to premise, that nothing
will be here stated, which is not the result of
actual experiment, personal knowledge, or re-
peated observation, or else of such well authen-
ticated information as may be confidently re-
lied on.

^\^loever intends breaking up land, con-
taining the least particle of clay, need not be
told, that it is efsentially necefsary to lay it as
dry as pofsible ; not only on account of the
crop intended to be grown upon it, but for the

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 3S7

conveniency of getting upon it at all times
with the plough, carting on manure, and car-
rying away the produce.

The privilege of paring and burning ought
never to be granted to a tenant, who is not
under lease, or on whom his landlord cannot
place implicit confidence. Where the privi-
lege is in no danger of being abused, it may
safely be indulged in.

In performing this operation, care should
be taken to do it with a smothering heat ; for
if the fires are too intense, the ashes will be of
inferior quality. Tlie advantages of this prac-
tice are numerous : it in a great measure an-
nihilates seed weeds i it is destructive to many
kinds of insects, and other vermin noxious to
agriculture; it decomposes whatever come*
within the sphere of its activity j and the
ashes it produces neutralizes the soil, and as-
sist in the farther decomposition of vegetable
and animal matters contained in it j and these
substances it converts into suitable food for the
future crop. Its operation on the soil is some-
thing analogous to the operation of malting
on grain : as malting disposes the grain to part;
fxGtly with its most nutritious principle, the.

588 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

saccharine matter, so will paring and burning
dispose the soil profusely to part with its nu-
trition to the plants which are committed to
it : and this it will do', not for a single year
only, but for several years, according to its
original degree of fertility, in succefsion ; and
if the crops are exhausting ones, till it is soon
worn out. Hence on pared and burned land,
more so perhaps than on any other, no two
exhausting crops should follow each other.

In Derbyshire, and that part of Yorkshire
which borders upon it, and probably in many
other parts of the kingdom, which I am not
able to speak to, it is not unusual to pare and
and burn as a preparation for wheat. And if
the wheat be followed by turnips, rape, cab-
bages, or potatoes, according to the nature
and quality of the soil, and the manure they
respectively may have produced, returned to it,
there is not much to be reprehended in the
practice j though it would certainly be better
to reverse it, and let a fertilizing crop take the
lead. AVhen this is done, and an exhausting
and a fertilizing crop are taken alternately, the
land when laid down again to grafs, provided
it be judiciously performed, will be in better
condition than when first broken up.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. ^,89

If you commence your operations with
paring and burning, your are obviously to be
regulated in your choice of the season for
performing it, not only by the intended crop,
but by the weather, and the moist or dry state
of the soil itself. If the work can be exe-
cuted, which sometimes it may be, early in
in spring, your first crop, provided the soil be
not too stiff, may be potatoes, which may be
followed by wheat. Rape, turnips, (to be
drawn off) or cabbages present themselves, if
you are not early enough for potatoes. Should
your choice fall on the two former, the ground
may be cleared time enough for wheat : if on
the latter, barley will be your next crop. The
crops to succed wheat are, drilled beans, peas
and beans mixed, or tares, to be mown green,
or eaten off upon the ground. Many object
to tares on cold clayey soils, as being too
backward in spring, a time when green food
is certainly most valuable. On such soils
it must be confefscd, they cannot be made
tliat advantage of, which they may be on
warm sands, or rich loams ; neverthelefs
they may on the coldest soils be made to an-
swer a very beneficial purpose. Ihey may
either be eaten off by sheep, or mown green

590 GEORGIOAL ESSAYS.

for horses, milch-cows, young stock, and even
hogs. AVhcn eaten off by sheep, the sheep
should have accefs only to part of the field
at a time, and should be shifted to a fresh
part every week, ten days or a fortnight, as
occasion may require. They ought also to be
driven to a grafs field at night, or folded,
where folding makes a part of the agri-
cultural system. For v/orking horses they
are excellent. A farmer, whom I knew in
Leicestershire, used to maintain his horses
entirely, and other cattle in part, upon tares
for two months in the season. A great part of
his farm, on which he sowed tares indiscrimi-
nately, was a cold clay. I have frequently
heard him speak of them as one of his most
valuable crops. Where the tares were off
time enough, he sowed turnips. After the
latter-mown tares, the land was fallowed to
be ready for barley in the spring. His tur-
nips were drawn off. The great objection to
winter crops, requiring to be carted off, ex-
clusive of the labour, is the injury that is of-
tentimes done by cutting up and poaching
the ground by the cart and horses. The per-
son I have just spoken of, as soon as the land
grew mirey, laid aside his carts, and used
sledges, which having an extended base, will
4

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 591

jilide aloft, where a cart would sink and be
laid fast.

A better method, however, has been adopt-
ed by a friend of mine in Derbyshire, the
greater part of whose farm is of that kind of
soil which will not admit of the winter crops
being eaten on the ground. He has his land
ploughed into narrow ridges of such a de-
terminate width as to allow the wheels of the
carts, which he uses for drawing off his win-
ter crops, to run in the furrows. His horses,
or oxen, draw double, and the shafts of the
carts are at such a distance apart, as that the
animals go in the furrows also. By this con-
trivance, the labour of drawing off the crop is
much reduced, as both the horses and carriage
go upon the firmest ground, and the land
is not so much cut up and poached. There
is no disadvantage in the ridges being narrow ;
on the contrary, the narrower the ridges, if
properly formed, the drier they will be. —
Tliis practice, wherever it can be adopted, is
well worth attending to, as it removes a great
difficulty and objection to the growing winter
crops on clayey or other soils, where they can-
not be eaten on the ground.

592 GEORCICAL ESSAYS.

A different, and, it is pofsible, a still better
method has been suggested to me by one, of
whose knowledge and experience as a practi-
cal farmer I have reason to think highly, and
consequently feel disposed to pay a deference
to any speculative idea he may throw out on
this subject. He proposes either to make use
of moveable sheds, (such as they have in Flan-
ders,), but with the addition of a fioor of
wattled hurdles; or else to have an open fold,
with a floor of the like kind. Were this prac-
tice to be adopted, a space should be first
cleared of the crop to be consumed, equal to
the size of the intended fold. The food must
be given in racks or cribs. As fresh ground is
cleared, a fresh fold should be prepared. The
hurdles which composed the floor of the first^
fold, will be getting dry against they are
wanted a second time.

The advantages attending this contrivance
would be many ; the sheep would be kept
out of the mire, neither would the land be
cut up nor poached; and the trouble, expense
and inconvenicncy of carting the food from the
field, and bringing the dung back again,
would be saved, as in this case it would be
deposited where it was produced. Some in-

CEORGICAL ESSAYS.- 393

conveniencles might probably arise which do
not immediately present themselves; perhaps,
where the hurdles lay hollow, there might be
danger of their breaking; perhaps it might
be uncomfortable for the sheep to lie down
upon them. The expense would not at all
events be great ; the price of hurdles, three
yards long by one wide, is in general, not
more than six or eight-and-twenty shillings a
score. Allowing each sheep two square yards,
the flooring of a fold that would contain an
hundred, would cost between four and five
pounds. With care they would last, at least,
two if not three seasons ; and even when no
Ipnger fit for their original destination, they
would not be without their value as fire-
wood.

The idea, as it is new, will by many, no
doubt, be treated as visionary. But as it may
be brought to the test of experiment for a few
shillings, upon a small scale, it would be no
great waste of time to ascertain its practica-
bility. AV>re it even to fail, it is pofsible it
might suggest some farther idea, by which the
object in view might be accomplished.

Much has been said and written on the sub-
Voliunc II. C c

394 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

ject of rotation of crops : if the rotation be
such, as to take in alternately an exhausting
and fertilizing one, it seems to be of little con-
sequence, (except, perhaps, in the case of
wheat following clover,) in what order they
succeed each other.

By exhausting crops, every one knows, are
understood, wheat, i ye, barley, and oats; by
fertilizing ones, crops of every kind which are
consumed upon the land, or mown, or carried
off before they perfect iheir seed, and which
are brought back again in the state of manure.
Peas and beans also, though scarcely fertiliz-
ing crops, properly so called, have an amelio-
rating tendency, by smothering weeds, and by
leaving the soil in a moist and open state, pro-
per tor the reception of wheat.

On strong lands, the following courses |
have known succefsfully practised ;
■ Beans,
Wheat,
Cabbages,
Barley,
Clover J
this course presents three ameliorating crops
to two exhausting ones.

CEORGICAL ESSAYS. 395

Potatoes,

Wheat,

Turnips (carried off,)

Barley, and sometimes oats ;
this was a very common course about twenty
years ago in a bleak part of Derbyshire, where
I formerly resided.

Wheat,

Tares, and afterwards turnips,

Barley,

Clover, or

Wheat,

Tares,

Oats,

Turnips ;
these were the general courses, with few devi-
ations, observed by the Leicestershire farmer
mentioned before.

It admits not of a question, that an acre of
clover, tares, rape, turnips, or cabbages, will
furnish at least twice the food that the same acre
would have done, had it remained in pasture ;
by any one of these courses, therefore, it fol-
lows that the land would maintain, at least, as
much stock as when in grafs, besides pro-
ducing every other year a valuable crop of

Cc 2

396 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

com. No calculation is made upon the value
of the straw, which whether consumed as lit-
ter, or as food, will ^dd considerably to the
stock of manure.

That the condition of the land would be im-
proved, there can scarcely remain a doubt up-
on the mind of any man, who will consider
the subject attentively. The plough by pul-
verizing the soil and breaking its tenacity, not
only gives admifsion to the fertilizing influence
of the atmosphere, but by intimately mixing
the manure, prevents that tenacity taking place
in future, so long at least as the manure re-
mains totally unexhausted. But as the soil
will have a fresh and ample supply every other
year, the stock of manure, with its concomi-
tant fertility, will rather accumulate than be
diminished ; in consequence of which, when-
ever it is again converted into pasture, it will
be in superior condition to what it was when
first broken up.

A principal circumstance, which the land-
owner has to attend to, is the laying down his
land to grafs. On this being well or ill executed,
will greatly depend its future value. It is
pecdlefs to obsersT, that it ought to be in the

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 397

best pofsible condition, contrary to the prac-
tice which formerly prevailed of cropping the
ground, so long as it would produce any thino-j
and then suspending the plough, till such time
as the land recovered itself. A summer's fal-
low on all tenacious soils, should always pre-
cede the sowing of permanent grafs-seeds.

It has been much disputed, whether land
should be laid down with a crop of corn, or
with grafs-seeds only. Which method would
be attended with the more immediate profit,
admits not of a question ; and as that profit
affects the public, as well as the farmer, and
without any apparent injury to the proprietor,
the argument preponderates in favour of lay-
ing down land with a crop of corn. Both
methods, however, I have seen practised with
succefs.

The great error in laying down land to
grafs, stiff land particularly, is not alio win o-
seed enough.

Previously to its being laid down, the

land should be got into very fine tilth, and

well manured, with the addition of lime and

Cc 3

598 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

vegetable ashes of any kind, if they can be
procured.

Various opinions prevail respecting the kinds
■and proportions of the different grafs-seeds to
be sown. J knew a gentleman, whose farm,
which was an extensive one, consisted chiefly
of strong rich clay, all of which I may afsert
to have known, atone time or other in tillage;
indeed, I do not recollect scarcely a single
field, except what was subject to inundation,
which had not been broken up and laid down
again more than once, within my own me-
mory. His practice was to lay down with a crop
of barley, and t© sow \Apou7idsofwhite clover.
a peck of rib-grafsy and three quarters of hay-
seeds per acre. By this liberal allowance of
seed, he always secured a thick coat of herb-
age the first year ; which differed from old
pasture only in being more luxuriant.

It was his opinion, and his practice was in
conformity to it, that no land was injured by
the plough, if judiciously managed : For
though it might not carry, for the first year or
two, such heavy cattle as it would afterwards,
yet he always found that in the mean time, it

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 399

Would, support and fatten more in number of
a smaller size.

I mention this instance, as not only coming
within my own immediate knowledge and daily
observation, (for, indeed, I stood in the nearest
degree of relationship to the person alluded
to, being one of his family,) but as it proves
that strong clay land may be broken up and
brought back again into grafs, not merely
without injury, but with advantage.

In breaking up old pasture, of which the
soil is clay, should paring and burning not be
approved of, the first crop may be beans sown
broad-cast under furrow, or what is better
dibbled in : these are to be succeeded by
wheat. As soon as conveniently may be af-
ter the wheat is harvested, the land should be
prepared for a winter fallow, and if cabbages
are intended for the future crop, ploughed
into three feet ridges. In performing this
operation, the ridges should be laid as high
and narrow as pofsible, the furrows wide and
open. In this form, the ridges will receive the
full influence of the air, sun, and frost ; and by
the furrows being wide and open, the water
will run off immediately as it falls.

Cc 4

400 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

In the beginning of April, dung should be
laid in the furrows and covered by the plough;
by which means, the furrow and ridge will
change places. Cabbages, which are intend-
ed to be consumed early in winter, should be
planted out about the latter end of April, or
as soon as the ground can be got ready, the
seed being sown in July or August preceding.
They should be planted on the ridges three
feet asunder, and horse and hand-hoed when
necefsary : if a succefsion be wanted till late
in the spring, the planting should continue at
intervals, till the beginning of July. The
late-planted cabbages should be raised from
seed sown in February.

The American drum-headed cabbage is the
best for the first crop ; for the spring use, the
Scotch cabbage is preferable, as being more
hardy and lefs disposed to run to seed early in
in the season.

Cabbages are much cultivated in many parts
of the kingdom, particularly in Leicestershire
and Lincolnshire, where they are given to
sheep, especially to ewes and lambs in the
spring, and are greatly preferred to turnips,
where the soil is too moist and adhesive to ad-

CEORGICAL ESSAYS. 401

mit of the turnips being eaten off. There Is
no stock they may not be given to with ad-
vantage, whether milch-cows, feeding cattle,
or stores.

A gentleman in Lincolnshire, who grows
them upon a large scale, calculates a fair crop
of cabbages at 12l. per acre. I have frequently
given them with great advantage to milch-
cows and young cattle; but not attending to
the circumstance at the time, am not able to
speak to their value when applied to that kind
of stock. In giving them to milch-cows, care
should be taken to strip off all decayed leaves,
otherwise they communicate a very disagree-
able flavour to the milk and butter.

Laad which has produced cabbages, will be
in suitable condition for barley ; to which, in
regular course, will succeed red clover. The
course may then recommence as before, or
the beans may be omitted. In situations
commanding lime, the lime should be applied
after the cabbages. In the place of cabbages,
tares or rape may be substituted, should they
more conveniently accommodate themselves
to the exigency of the farm.

Beans and wheat alternately I have known

402 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

tried, and with succefs; manuring for the
beans every other course. But I think this
course Inferior to the former one, as it does
not afford its due proportion of food for cattle,
(unlefs indeed, the beans are all consumed at
home,) and consequently would not effectually
furnish the necefsary supply of manure.

Potatoes and wheat have been recommended,
and which I have known practised upon a small
scale for some years. It is now, I under-
stand, in that part of the country where 1 for- ,
merly knew it practised, in a great degree laid
aside, under the idea, that repeated crops of
potatoes impoverish the soil. I rather believe,
when long persisted in, they render the soil of
too loose a texture for wheat.

There seems to be no reason why a limited
time should be prescribed for continuing strong
land under tillage. Indeed, from every obser-
vation I have been able to make, I should con-
clude, that so long as the tillage was con-
ducted upon a right principle, so Jong would
the soil not only retain its original fertility, but
in some degree, would be advancing in im-
provement. That stnng land is not injured
even by continual tillage, we may have a con-

4

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 403

vinclng proof, by only adverting to any of the
new inclosures which have taken place in our
own memories. We shall find upon examina-
tion, that those lands which had been well
managed, though they had been under tillage
for centuries, are, now that they are laid down
in grafs, as good land as the adjoining fields,
which have probably never been disturbed for
ages.

There is a certain degree of exhaustion
which every soil will bear annually without
any perceptible injury, and which is uniformly
regulated by the innate fertility of the soil it-
self Nature, however, has providently con-
trived, that where that degree of ^nnual ex-
haustion, which the soil will sustain without
injury, is exceeded, little farther -ff required to
enable it to recover itself, tharl that it should
have rest or lie fallow : that this is a fact, we
need only look at those open fields where the
common course is wheat, beans, fallow. What
reason is there to suppofe the soil lefs fertile
now than it was formerly ? If it be not lefs
fertile, what but the fallow-year restores it?
It is true, the fallow is commonly assisted
by a drefsing of manure j but if with no other
manure than the land itself furnished, it is in

404 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

no degree adequate to the robbery the soil
must have sustained by producing two crops
of grain in succefsion. We may, therefore,
conclude, that if the fallow, afsisted by the
manure the preceding crops had produced,
did not completely renovate the soil, common
fields would long ago have been reduced to a
caput mortuum. But what puts this renova"
tmg property of a fallow out of all contro*
versy, is a fact recorded by Mr. Young*. Ihe
practice he speaks of prevails also, I have been
informed, in some parts of Efsex.

if, therefore, land will recover the exhaustion
of any single year by a year's fallow, we may
reasonably presume it will more than recover
what it has lost, by producing a crop which
shall not oniy not exhaust, as no crops are sup-
posed to do gathered green, but at the same
time, shall supply a large stock of manure.

What is it 'that has so rhuch improved with-
in this last half centur)% the value of light soils,
butthe introduction ofthat system of agriculture,
which prescribes an alternation of exhausting
and fertilizing crops ? Before the turnip hu$-

* Agricultural Survey of Lincolnshire, p. I01,

CEORGICAL ESSAY'S. 405

bandry was introduced, a great deal of light
sand land was scarcely worth cultivating. The
introduction of that veirt'table alone has im-
proved the value of such property in most cases
three and four fold; and in many instances, ten
and even twenty fold. I am aware, that the im-
provement may be attributed not only to the
plentiful supply of manure, furnished by a
turnip crop, but from the soil being consoli-
dated by the trampling of the cattle in con-
suming it on the ground. This advantage, it
must be confefscd, clay land cannot have,
neither does it stand in need of it ; for, indeed,
the consolidation which sand land wants, it
already pofsefses, and commonly in a greater
degree than is necefsary. Fertilizing crops,
which are not consumed where they grow,
have a natural tendency to counteract the ad-
hesive quality of strong soils, both by loosen-
ing the soil, and by the repeated ploughings they
acquire ; so that, besides the benefits they have
in common, the advantage which sand land
derives in one way by the production of a fer-
tilizing crop, clay land obtains in another.

There seems to be no question that. barley
is in general the fittest grain to be sown with
grafs-seeds. The same tilth, which answers for

406 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

the one, is requisite for the other. Barley has
a disposition to loosen the texture of the
ground in which it grows ; a circumstance
highly favourable to the vegetation of grafs-
seeds, which require a free and open soil to
extend their roots in ; the tender and delicate
fibres of which, have much difficulty in con-
tending with the resistance of a stubborn soil.
And this points out the reason why grafs-seeds
so frequently fail on strong land, not in a pro-
per state of cultivation. There is, however^
little danger of their succefs, when the ground
has been well fallowed in the preceding sum-
mer, (which it ought always to be, previously
to its being laid down) and brought into fine
tilth and condition In the choice of barley,
that sort should be preferred which runs least
to straw, and which is the soonest ripe.

It is a practice with several, in laying down
land to pasture, to confine themselves solely
to the artificial grafses, under the idea that
along with the hay-seeds, they run the risk of
stocking their fields with many uselefs, if not
noxious, plants.

It is not to be denied, that along with the
hay-seeds are sown the seeds of many plants.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 407

which ought certainly, if they could be, to be
excluded. But if with these, you exclude also
the natural grafses, you deprive your pasture
of its most valuable herbage.

It is much to be v^'ished that the different
kinds of natural grafses, as they are oalled,
were to be cultivated apart, together with
such other plants, of which there is variety, as
cattle are observed more particularly to affect.
Were this once done, and the properties of the
dilferent grafses and plants carefully ascer-
tained, with regard to their several tendencies
to fatten, to stimulate appetite, or promote
digestion, such a combination might be
formed as to produce pastures superior to any
that are known at present. Till that period,
however, -hall arrive, hay-seeds, it is to be
hoped, will retain their station, care only being
taken, which, indeed, is a matter of the utmost
importance, to collect them from hay-ground of
the best quality.

As soon as the barley is harvested, it will be
of great service to the infant plants, to draw a
moderately heavy roller over them, provided
the ground be dry, and yet in that state as not
\o be altogether insensible to the impreifion of

/

408 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

the roller. Unlefs it be very luxuriant, po
stock should be suffered to pasture upon new
grafs on any account, till the following spring;
and before cattle are then turned upon it, it
should be suffered to get a good head, and it
should never be eaten bare.

I have not known many instances of new
grafs being mown the first year after sowing ;
and in the few in which I recollect the prac-
tice, it was chiefly with a view of obtaining
seed to lay down other fields with. The ex-
pedient, I remember, answered exceedingly
well. The grafs being of good quality, and
suffered to stand till the seed was perfectly
ripe, the crop was abundant. It was thrashed
out, and the hay (which, indeed, was little bet-
ter than straw) given to the cattle in the fold?
yard. The seed being arrived at maturity,
and not heated, as common hay-seeds are apt
to be, in the stack, there is reason to conclude
that every grain, thus saved, would vegetate.
What was the immediate effect on the field
from which they were gathered, inthe few cases
I speak of, I cannot now charge my memory
with. Had it been any thing perceptible, I
have no doubt I should still retain some im.~
prefsion of it.

C£6RG1CAL ESSAYSi 409

As the tenant has had his advantage in
breaking up the soil, it seems reasonable he
should be at the expense of the grafs-seeds for
laying it down again • though, perhaps, it
would be expedient for the landlord to furnish
them, charging them to the tenant. He would
thus be certain of the proper sorts and quan-
tities being applied. For though it is the in-
terest of both landlord and tenant that the
land should be properly laid down, yet as the
former has not only a present but a permanent
interest in the event, he has a double induce-
ment to take care that the businefs is properly
executed.

Nothing would be more easy than to pre-
scribe " a mle by which an increase of rent
might be computed, where permifsion is given
to break up old pasture now under lease,'*
provided the future profits of the tenant, in
consequence of such permifsion, could be ac-
curately ascertained, and compared with the
profits he makes at present. Could this be
done satisfactorily, equity would direct that
the increased profit should be divided between
the landlord and tenant in equal proportions, a
deduction being made for the tenant's trouble
and exertion in obtaining it. It would be n#

Volume II. D d

\
4rO GEORGICAL ESSAYS^.

unreasonable allowance to set apart one-thrrd
of the increased profit as an equivalent for the
extra trouble and exertion of the tenant. But
as the whole must be a matter of unavoidable
contingency, depending, not only on the vari-
ation of seasons, but fluctuation; of price, the
landlord ought certainly to content himself
with a much lefs proportion than one-third.
Supposing a calculation to be made upon the
average chance of increased profit, twenty, or
at the most five-and-twenty, per cent, on that
calculation seems« to be no inequitable com*
pcnsation i and- it would add still more to the
equfty of it, if this compensation were reduced
to a corn-rent.

It will be observed, that in this Efsay I
have confined myself solely to the consideratioa
of strong soils, improper for the common course
of turnip husbandry. But the same argument?
which are made use of to show the expediency
and policy of occasionally ploughing up strong
land, will ^pply with more than equal force in
inculcating the necefsity of ploughing up soils,
of a different quality, were any arguments, in-
deed, wanting to recommend a practice, th«
importance of which, as applied to light soils,
is so universally understood.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 4ll

To have entered into the minutise of the
dinferent operations required in a course of
husbandry, such as is here recommended, or
to have directed the specific modes of con-
ducting them, &c. would have been repeating,
and to no useful purpose, what is already
known to every practical farmer, and, indeed,
to every theoretical one. I have consequently
avoided dwelling unnecefsarily upon that»
which it would have been superfluous to have
written upon, and which could not fail of being
tedious in the perusal.

It may not, however, be improper, before
the subject is finally dismifsed, to remark, that
were the system here proposed to be acted
upon, it would probably be necefsary for the
farmer to make some slight alteration in the
arrangement of his stock. On this head no
general rule can be laid down. Every one
must adopt that arrangement which shall best
suit his own particular case. In many cases,
however, no alteration of any kind need to
take place. Upon every grazing farm a certain
portion of it is set apart for hay. While,
therefore, the pasture was under tillage, the
meadow might, and most probably would, be
converted into pasture; dover, straw, and

Dd2

412 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

green food, making a reserve of hay unnc-
cefsary.

That system of agriculture, permit me to re-
peat, is the most perfect which obtains the
greatest produce (as applied to raising articles
of food) from a given quantity of ground at the
least expense. And in no way can such pro-
duce be so effectually obtained as by a course
of crops, furnishing sustenance to man and
cattle alternately. In this course there is
nothing of novelty or experiment ; it has been
known probably for ages* ; and the practice

* Harllib, who lived nearly two centuries ago, says,
that in Normandy it was customary to feed the cattle in
the winter on boiled turnips. The custom, however, is of
much older date : Columella, who wrote in the time of
Tiberius, mentions the giving turnips to cattle in the
winter, as a practice that prevailed amongst the Gauls
even in his time. From the manner in which he relates
the circumstance, there is reason (o conclude the turnips
underwent some culinary preparation. It is a curious
circumstance thot a practice, which is considered even
at this day as a novel and refined improvement in hus.
bandry, should have been familiarly known at so remote
a period, and amongst so rude a people.

Columella speaks also of its being a common practice
in some parts of Spain to grow corn, to stand for a crop,
and to be mown green for fodder, alternately. Here is
another modern improvement, at least as old as the
Christian xra 1 Lib. ii. cap. 10, et 11.

©EORGICAL ESSAYS. 413

of it has already been adopted, with the hap-
piest effect, on many of the light lands in this
kingdom, particularly in Norfolk, for more
than half a century past. That it is equally-
practicable and expedient on heavy soils, it has
been the busincfs of this Efsay to point out
and to prove.

Dd3

414, GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

ESSAY XVIII.

On raising Wheat far a series of years on the same lan^,

JL HE erroneous idea, that plants draw from,
the earth such particles as are congenial to
their own natures, has occasioned the farming
maxim, *^ That wheat cannot be raiired for a
a series of years on the sanie land." But the
truth is, that under the broad-^ast husbandry,
there is not sufficient time for manuring and
stirring the ground between the operations of
reaping and sowing. Such being the case,
may we not remove the obstacle by substi-
tuting " transplanting" for " sowing;" with a
view to decide on this important question, I
instituted many small experiments, none of
which exceeded the forty-eighth part of an
acre, and from my succefs in that way, I was
induced, last year, (1801) to make an experi-
ment upon a more extensive scalcj in the mid-
dle of a field of six acres, at that time sown
with wheat, broad-cast. The land taken for
my experiment, measured exactly the ninth
part of an acre ; it had the same management
as the other lands in the field, but with this dif»

tJaORGICAL ESSAYS^ 415

iference, that the experimental land had an
additional ploughing, a few days before trans-
planting, a circumstance of considerable mo-
ment. The progrefs of the experiment was
this : In October, 1 800, a pint of wheat was
drilled upon a piece of garden ground and
in the third week of ]March following, the
plants were taken up with a spade, in order to
be transplanted upon the land ploughed and
•harrowed fine for their reception. At this
time the plants had just begun to show their
■coronal roots. Trenches, at the distance of
nine inches, were drawn with a hoe, and into
them the plants were laid, in a reclining pos-
ture, and at the distance of nine inches from
■each other; so that each plant had eighty-one
Inches of soil to grow in, whereas in broad-
oast sowing, each plant has not pofsefsion of
more than eighteen inches. The expense of
transplanting \vas estimated, by a skilml far-
mer, at twenty-eight shillings per acre, but in
proportion to the increased skill of the planters,
mostly women and children, the expense will
naturally diminish. The land was rather neg-
lected, having been but once hoed, and from
the time of planting, to the l.-arvest, no wheat
could look better. When thrashed, the crop
measured out near three bushels of marketable

Pd 4

4-16 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

grain, a product as near as pofsible to what
was produced on the contiguous lands of the
same field, And here I beg leave to remark,
that the whole field was foul, and nbt in good
coridition. This present year, (1802) I have
prepared the same land to receive another
crop of transplanted wheat ; and I propose to
continue the experiment for a series of years
upon the same land, a thing of great impor-^
lance, and hitherto deemed impracticable. In-
dependent, however, of the original purpose,
it is probable that the transplanting of wheat,
for a single year, will turn out a beneficial im-
provement in the hands of a correct husband-
rnan. I am inclined to think, that the third
week in March, if the season be favourable,
is the- best tsme for transplanting wheat, as at
that time the coronal roots begin to make their
appearance. Till then, the plants are not in a
condition to be transplanted, a circumstance
that I wish to be attended to ; no more plants
should be taken up than can be put down in a
day. It will be almost unnecefsary to remark^
that when wheat is intended to be cultivate4
upon the same land for a series of years, the
same quantity of manure, together with the
same number of ploughings,'should be annually
))estpwed upon it, as if only intended fpr ^

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 417

smgic crop. In the year of the above expe-
riment, I had a rood of land under transplant-
ed wheat in another field, which was then un-
der broad-cast and drilled wheat. In this ex-
periment the plants were put in by the dibble,
as late as the middle of April, and the crop, at
harvest, was allowed to be finer in ear than
either the drilled or broad-cast ; but by the neg-
lect of the superintendant, the sheaves were
not kept separate in the barn, and all that I
could learn was, that the product of the field
was at the rate of thirty-three bushels per acre ;
so I shall estimate the transplanted w^heat at
that rate.

Mr. Bogle, in a paper presented to the Bath
Society, warmly recommends this mode of cul-
tivation ; and the Rev. Mr. Pike, much about
the same time, gives a short but satisfactory
hint relative to this subject, as published in the
second volume of Mr. Young's Annals of
Agriculture. Such being the case, I can as-
sume no merit beyond the prosecution of the
idea. As much of the succefs of this scheme
depends upon keeping the land clear of weeds
by frequent and judicious hoeings, I wish to
imprefs upon the minds of those gentlemen,
who may make the trial, the necefsity of per-
sonally attending to that operation.

418 GEORGICAL ESSAYS,

When the land is not in high condition, I
should prefer six inches to nine, a distance in
which the hand-hoe will work with great ease.
Upon the whole, I am inclined to recommend
dibbling of the plants, in preference to the
laying them in the fmTows made by the hoe,
as practised in one of my experiments, but
wlien ihat mode is pursued, care should be
taken not to place the crown of the plant
deeper than one inch within the ground, bein|^
its natural position,

RECOMMENDATIONS.

1 . By this scheme, only half a peck of seed-
wheat is required per acre, instead of two
bushels and one peck, being the quantity
usually sown broad-cast; and this is a consi-
deration of infinite consequence, as the seed
required for one acre " broad-cast" will be
sufficient for twenty acres " transplanted."

2. It employs the feeble hands of the village
at a time when they have but little employ-
ment.

5. Land fhat, in consequence of floods, hat
become too wet for sowing in October, may-
be cropped with transplanted wheat in the

OEORGICAL ESSAYS. 419

spring, whereby the field will be kept m its
regular course of tiU'ge. A circumstance of
great consequence m th^ ey^ of ^ correct and
judicious farmer.

4. Tlie wheat may be hoed at a small €3?-
pense, whereby the mischievous consequences
of hand- weeding will be avoided at an ad^
vanced season.

5. It will give the farmer a taste for garden-
culture, which will insensibly remove the
slovenliness too generally observed in farming
operations.

. 6. It may be objected to this plan, that some
difficulty will arise in obtaining a sufficient
number of hands for the purpose of planting ;
but this objection will be over-ruled, when we
consider the ease with which dibblers are now
obtained in every district where dibbling is
practised.

7. As it seems to be an established law in
nature, that land will not push up more stalks
from one root than she can well support, it fol-
lows, that the greater the surface a plant has to
spread upon, the greater will be the number
pf stems produced. In this mode of culture-,

4^d GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

each plant has eighty-one inches of soil to
grow upon, whereas in the broad-cast hus-
bandry, the plants have only about eighteen
inches,

8. The land will have an additional plough-
in March, which will effectually destroy such
weeds as are beginning to vegetate j and as
the wheat will cover much of the ground
after the first hoeing, we may expect to keep
the land perfectly clean and free from weeds,
at the expense of a second stirring by the
hoe.

9. As soon as -the crop is cut down, may
we not take the earliest opportunity to sow
winter tares, with a viev/ to be eaten off pre-
vious to the transplanting in spring, especially
as Mr. Bogle says, that wheat may be trans-
planted as late as Alay ? Or rather, may not
stubble-turnips, brocoli, or rape be advan-
tageously introduced, to occupy the land from
harvest to March or April } Some may say,
that this will be distrefsing the land, but I an-
swer, if land be well manured, well stirred,
kept clear of weeds, and cropped in a ju-
dicious manner, that it never can be distrefsed.
Should experience prove the justnefs of this

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 421

idea, a field of five acres, kept continually
under transplanted wheat, will aiFord a suffi-
cient supply of bread corn for a family of
thirteen persons. After all, I consider this
scheme more in a speculative than in a practi-
cal light.

Memorandum. The transplanted ivheat of
this year t as mentioned in the body of this Es^
say, was, in the course of the spring, entirely
destroyed by the zoire-worm, which unfortunate
circumstance has broke the thread of my ex-
periment ^ and it is noiti too late in my life to
begin it anew.

422 GSORGICAL ESSAYS.

ESSAY XIX.

On Floating Land,

JL HE most valuable, and I had almost ^aid,
the only improvements of magnitude that have
of late years been made, here, in agriculture,
have been in the various provisions of green
food, afforded for the necefsity of winter, and
for the more prefsing wants of the two first
months of spring. In this series of improve^
ments, I beg leave to clafs, " floating of land,"
which, though it cannot, in every situation, be
so widely extended as the cultivation of tur-
nips, rape, cabbage, lucerne, &c. yet where
it can be fully executed, it will in no wise dis*
grace the relationship in which I have placed
it, but will afford it abundant aid and support.
For floated meadows not only require no ma-
nure from the farm yard, but liberally encou-
rage the plough, by affording an annual extra
supply of manure : and although, by this
practice the farmer cannot provide green food
for all the months of winter, yet he can, there-
by, considerably shorten the wintry voidj for.

GEORGICAL ESSAT9. 42S

in March and April, which are the two most
trying months to the farmer, these meadows
are covered with grafs enough to receive any-
kind of stock, if the weather will permit.

The following is a strong proof of the great
utility of this practice: Having heard that
the proprietor of an old floated meadow, had
disposed of the produce of it, in the year
1795, in a way that was well calculated to as-
certain its real value, I wrote to a person who
resides on the spot, requesting him to send me
a particular account of the product of the
meadow, and I received the following state-
ment.

** In order to make the most of the spring
^ feed, the proprietor kept the grafs untouch-
•* ed till the second day of April, from which
•* time, he let it to the neighbouring farmers,
•* to be eaten off in five weeks, by the after-
" mentioned stock, at the following rates per
" head : a sheep lOd. per week, a cow 3s. 6d,
** a colt 4s.

424 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

/. S. d,

107 Weather sheep, one week 4 9 2

8 Cows ditto 1 8 O

4 Colts - ditto 0 16 0

6 1

Total of five weeks 53 5 10
3 Colts, 3 weeks to be added 116 0

Total 35 1 10

After this statement, my correspondenf,
sensible that it is this spring crop which prin-
cipally claims the attention of the public, and
on which I ought to lay peculiar strefs in re-
commending the practice, dismifses the sub-
ject with saying, that the hay crop was, as
usual, about fifteen tons, and was six weeks in
growing.

The above sum, it should be obser\'ed, was
made by the owner of this meadow, at a time
when other grafs land is in a dormant state, or
exhibits but feeble symptoms of vegetation.
He had received more than four pounds an
acre for his land, when his lefs fortunate neigh-
bours were only looking forward to two future

GEORGICAL tsSAYS. 425

crops, in which expectation he has, at least, an
equal prospect with them.

But the advantages of this art will be
seen in a still stronger light, v/hen we are
told, that this meadow, which is now in the
occupation of a miller, was a few years ago,
in the hands of a farmer, who being at va-
riance with the miller, was entirely deprived
of the use of the water for a whole winter,
which unfortunately was succeeded by a very
dry spring and summer j of course, the spring-
feed was lost, and the whole hay-crop of eight
acres was only three tons.

Such a specimen of productivenefs as the
above, one would hope, will carry sufficient
weight with it, to turn the scale against any
objections to the practice, arising from a dread
of expense, or from an aversion which many
entertain to what they stile cutting their land
to pieces; and will prevail upon every one
who pofsibly can, to adopt this mode of im-
proving his land. I trust, likewise, that the
above instance of fertility will be esteemed a
proof that this is not merely book-farming,
but is worthy the attention of real practical
farmers; and in confirmation of -this, I could

Volume //. p e

425 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

produce several instances of renters of land,
having profitably expended several hundred
pounds in forming meadows of this kind,
without any allowance from their landlords;
than which, a more clear demonstration of
the great utility of floatingj in my opinion,
cannot be given.

•ZOaCICAL £$SAY8. 4^1

ESSAY XX.

On the Rise ajid Ascent of Vapours.

In the Philosophical Transactions, vol. 59,
for the year 1769, is inserted a paper upon the
different quantities^ of rain which fell at dif-
ferent heights over the same spot of ground,
by William Heberden, M. D. F. R. S. in
which he says, " What may be the cause of
this extraordinary difference has not yet been
discovered. It is probable that some hitherto
cnknown property of electricity is concerned
in this phaenomenon."

I have often thought -that the true cause of
the ascent of vapours in the air, which form
meteors, hath not yet been discovered, or at
least, enough attended to; and of conse-
quence, many pha:nomena attending thereon
appear unaccountable and intricate. Having
frequently, of late, given some attention to
this subject, I am inclined to believe, that, by
considering it in a new point of view, some
light may be thrown upon it.

Ee 2

428 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

Various have been the opinions of Philoso-
phers in their attempts to account for the ascent
of vapours from the earth, their suspension
in the air, forming clouds, rain, &:c. Each
hypothesis has had its followers ; but many of
their data being false, and not agreeable to
nature, their endeavours fell, in course, short
of their expectations. I shall just mention
two or three which have been the riiost gene-
rally received.

The Cartesians tell us, that the particles of
water are formed into hollow spherules by the
solar heat; these being filled with subtile mat-
ter, become lighter than air, and are easily-
buoyed up in it. But as we are now afsured
that this materia suhtilis has no foundation ii;
nature, all reasoning from it must be rejected.

Dr. Nieuwentyt, and several others, in or^^
der to account for the ascent of water in air, i
fluid so much lighter than itself, imagined that
particles of fire, separated from the rays of the
sun, and adhering to the particles of water,
make, together, little bodies lighter than an
equal bulk of air, which must therefore rise
therein, till they arrive at such an height as to
lOeet with air of the sam^ specific gravity

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 4129

with themselves, forming there a thin cloud.
They supposed that rain was produced by the
separation of those particles of lire from the
water, whereupon the latter coalesce, and
descend, according to their own gravity, in
drops of rain or dew. A small degree of con-
sideration will prove this hypothesis to be erro*
neous. We need only to reflect, that heat
must also be generated by such a combination,
and we ought to be sensible of an extraor-
dinary degree of warmth in pafsing through
a cloud, whereas the vapour is really colder
than rain itself; heat should likewise, accord-
ing to this theory, be produced by evaporation;
but we find it, on the contrary, to generate
cold to an excefsive degree.

Another opinion concerning the rise and
suspension of vapours is, that though water
be many times specifically heavier than air,
yet if the surface of it be increased, by greatly
diminishing the bulk of its particles, it cannot
easily fall ; since the weight of each particle
is known to diminish in proportion to the cube
of its diameter ; whereas the surface, to which
the air resists, decreases only as its square;
and this is sufficiently evident from the floating'
of dust, motes, and other light bodies for a

Ee3

430 6E0RGICAL ESSAYS.

time therein, according- as they are more or lefs
minute. To be convinced of the insufiiciency
of this notion, we need only consider, that the
rising of dust, &c. in the air, is constantly
Owing to the application of some external
force ; whereas vapours are always rising, as
well in calm as windy weather, neither do they
fall to the ground, or subside, when the wind
ceases, unlefs under certain conditions, and the
air is always loaded with them.

Tlie most generally received opinion is,
that, by the action of the solar heat on the sur-
face of the water, the acqueous particles arc
formed into globules filled with a flatus, or
warm air. They are thus rendered specifically
jighter than common air, and must rise therein,
till they meet with such as is of equal specific
gravity with themselves. But we are well
afsured that there can be no flatus within these
globules, warmer or more rarefied than the air
that surrounds them, as the action of the sun ifi
equal in strength on every part of the surface ;
and if they could be formed, their existence
would be only momentary, as we see in the
bubbles of soaped water, when blown up by
the warm air from the lungs j nay, soaped water
is much more tenacious than common water,-

OEORGICAL ESSAYS. 431

and must, consequently, keep the air longer
inclosed. To the formation of these bubbles a
warm air from the lungs is required j on the
contrary, as we have mentioned above, cold is
generated by evaporation.

Dr. Desaguliers, after endeavouring to con-
fute the theories mentioned above, advances
the following owe of his own. He observes,
with Sir Isaac Newton, that when the particles
of a body are separated from their contact by
heat or fermentation, their repulsive force
grows stronger, and they exert that force at
greater distances ; so that the same body may
be expanded into a very large space by be-
coming fluid, and may sometimes take up
more than a million of times the room it did
in a solid state. Thus, when the particles of
l^ater are turned into vapour, they repel each
other strongly, and, at the same time, repel air
more than they repel each other. Aggregates
of such particles, made up of vapour and va-
cuity, according to this theory, will easily rise
in air of different densities, as they are more or
lefs attenuated by heat. He observes that heat
acts more powerfully on water than on com-
mon air ; for that the same degree of heat,
which rarefids air two-thirds, will rarefy water

E e 4

43'^ GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

near 1400 times, changing it into steam or
vapour as it boils it. And, in winter, the
smaJl degree of heat, \vhich, in respect of our
bodies, appears cold, will raise a steam or va-
pour from water, at the same time that it con-
denses air. Alfo, that the density or rarity of
this vapour depends chiefly on its degree of
heat, and but Httle on the prefsure of the cir-
cumambient air. From which he infers, that
the vapour being more rarefied near the sur-
face of the earth, than the air is by the same
degree of heat, it must necefsarily be buoyed
up into the atmosphere ; and since it does not
expand itself much, though the prefsure of the
incumbent air grows lefs, it at length finds a
place where the atmosphere is of the same
specific gravity with itself, where it floats,
till, by some accident or other, it is converted
again into drops of water, and falls down in
rain.

We may remark, that in all the theorieg
above-mentioned, fire is looked upon as the
principal or sole agent in the formation and
ascent of vapdurs. Dr. Desaguliers gives the
following experiment, to prove that air is
not necefsary for the formation of steam or
vapour.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 45?

** Take a pretty large vefsel of water, which
must be set upon the fire to boil. In this ves-
sel must be suspended a glafs bell, made heavy
enough to sink in water ; but put in in such
a manner, that it be filled with water when
upright, so that no bubbles of air be left with-
in. As the water boils, the bell will, by de-
grees, be emptied of its water, the water in the
bell being prefsed down by the steam which
rises from it ; but as that steam has the appear-
ance of air, in order to know whether it be air
or not, take the vefsel off the fire, and draw
up the bell till only the mouth remains under
water ; then, as the stem condenses by the cold
air on the outside of the bell, the water will
rise up into the bell, quite to the top, with-
out any bubble above j which shows that the
steam, which kept out the water, was not
air."

But the Doctor was not aware that the ri-
sing of the bell in this experiment, which he
supposed to be from the steam, is, in reality,
owing to air discharged from the water in
boiling, and which is reabsorbed by the water
whilst cooling. See experiments by the Hon^
Henry Cavendish, F. R. S. Philosoph. Trans,
Anno 1766.

454 Gf^ORGICAL ESSAYS.

The rise and ascent of vapours into the at-
mosphere, is looked upon, by all philosophers,
as a kind of natural distillation. This idea is,
indeed, a necefsary consequence of every hypo-
thesis, in which the action of fire is esteemed
the principal agent. In which case, fire, solar
and subterraneous, by joining with, or increa-
sing the repellency of the particles of fluids,
renders them capable of rising in the air, as
vapours in an alembic ; after which the cold-
nefs of the air condenses them, in the manner
of the refrigeratory in common distillation ;
hence they descend, in the form of rain, upon
the surface of the earth.

But we must observe, that a considerable
degree of heat is necefsary to effect this ; nay,
very little vapour is seen to rise in the still till
the water actually boils ; it is also quickly con-
densed, nor is it capable of being much diffused
in the air. For although the water in the re-
frigeratory be grown very hot, you will scarce
perceive the least vapour come from the mouth
of the Worm ; the whole seems entirely con-
densed into water : Whereas we see that va-
pours are raised from the earth in places most
remote from the action of the sun, and far re-
moved from the influence of subterraneous

GEOR6ICAL ESSAYS. 4S5

heat; here the supposed powerful action of fire^
is, I presume, totally inadequate to the effect.

Vapours are continually rising in wet caverns
and subterraneous places, to which little heat
can have accefs. These are sometimes formed
into ice. In the Memoirs of the Academy of
Sciences, we are told that in September, 1711,
near Basan^on, there were found three pyra-
Qiids of ice, fifteen or sixteen feet high, and five
or six in circumference, in a cavern eighty feet
deep, the bottom of which was covered with
three feet of ice : And we know that all grottos
and caverns underground, are constantly found
yery damp and moist Vapours also rise in
great quantities from ice itself; though kept in
very cold places, and remote firom the influence
©f the sun.

We are hence certain, that evaporation goes
on in places where the rays of the sun never
reach ; the dampnefs, coldnefs, and ice found
in these subterraneous mansions, show no de-
|;ree of heat in any degree answerable to ihd
effect, as being the immediate cause of the ris«
»f vapo^B.

In Greenland, during the absence of the

436 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

sun, or winter season, when the cold was sd
intense as to raise blisters on the skin, and to
congeal brandy, the air was very misty, cloudy,
and heavy snows fell ; hence we find a con-
siderable ascent of vapours where the action of
heat was extremely weak and confined.

If it could be allowed that the ascent of
vapours depended solely upon the action of
heat, it would then appear impofsible that they
could be able to rise any considerable height
into the air. We know that the vapours in
distillation are condensed, even when every part
of the apparatus is become very hot ; this must
happen to vapours before they arrive at any
considerable height.

If you ascend a high mountain in a hot sultry
day, at the summit you will shudder with cold,
the plains below being at the same time parched
up with heat.

In many parts of the torrid zone, where they
faint in the valley under a vertical sun, the
highest mountains are frequently covered with
snow; the summits produce variety" of plants
and animals: there must be, from thence, a
considerable and constant evaporation.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 437

■ If the ascent of vapours was alone caused by
the action of heat, they could only be diilused
through the air; and I presume that, if this
was the case, it would be iinpoft-ible but that
the transparency of the air must be destroyed;
so great a quantity of steam would never suffer
us to see the celestial bodies ; nay, the rays of
light could not but be so variously refracted,
as to prevent our seeing any object upon the
surface of the earth distinctly, as in thick
mists.

The quantity of water in the atmosphere, at
all times, is prodigious ; and of this we may
form a tolerable idea from the following con-
siderations :

First, The quantity of fluid exhaled from
animal bodies. Sanctorius found, that the
quantity exhaled from a human body, in the
space of twenty-four hours, amounted to near
five pounds irj weight; how great must the
quantity be from the whole race of mankind !
"We must take into this account the quantity
of perspiration from the whole animal cre-
ation.

i^econdlyy The quantity of exhalation from

GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

vegetables. Dr. Hales says, from experiments,
that the middle-rate perspiration from a sun-
flower, three feet and a half high, in the space of
twelve hours, in a very dry day, was one pound
four ounces avoirdupois weight ; from which
some degree of judgment may be formed of
the great quantity of fluid daily exhaled from
vegetables.

Thirdly, Tlie immense quantity of exhalation
from the water upon our globe. Dr. Hally,
by observing the quantity evaporated from a
vefsel full of water of the same degree of salt-
nefs with that of the ocean, calculated, that the
quantity exhaled from the Mediterranean Sea
only, in one summer's day, there being little
wind, amounted to 5,280,000,000 tons of
water.

If we consider how thick and dense the va-
pours hang over water, when heated, I think
it will appear very evident that, if the ascent
©f vapours from the earth was owing to the
same cause, we could never be able to have a
distinct view of any object upon the surface of
our globe.

Was the ascent of vapours owung to the |m-

6EORGICAL ESSAYS. 43f

mediate influence of fire, a sensible heat must
be perceived, as the steam rising from water,
under that circumstance, is very hot ; on the
contrary, we find a considerable degree of cold
is produced by natural evaporation.

Dr. Franklin made the following experiment
upon this subject. The ball of a thermometer
was repeatedly and alternately wetted with
^ther, and blown upon with a pair of bellows to
quicken the evaporation ; by which means the
included liquor descended from sixty-five de-
grees, the heat of the air at that time, down
to seven ; that is, twenty-five degrees below
the freezing point, llie bulb, at the end of
the experiment, was covered near one-fouith
of an inch thick with ice, proceeding either
from water mixed with aether, or from the
breath of the afsistants.

Any one may observe that immediately after
coming out of a bath, ox washing the hands in
water, a remarkable coldnefs is felt, unlefs the
skin be well dried with a napkin ; hence the
nccefsity of drying the body very well after the
use of bath, fomentations, &c.

This experiment not only shows cold to
3

440 CEORGICAL ESSAYS.

be produced by evaporation, but that this pro-
cefs goes on in an extreme degree of cold.

From these experiments we are led to con-
clude, that heat cannot be, as hath been uni-
versally agreed to, the chief and primary agent
in the ascent of vapours. Some other power
must then be discovered to elucidate tliis phae-
nomenon.

I flatter myself that the following theory will
be found lefs exceptionable tlian any other
hitherto given.

The Cause of the Rise and Ascent of Vapours.

I presume that the rise and suspension of
vapours is owing to the power of the air as a
menstruum, capable of difsolving, suspending,
and intimately mixing the particles of water
with itself.

All fluids are capable of difsolving par-
ticular bodies, and as the air is a fluid we may
conclude it to pofsefs that property.

The Hon. Mr. Boyle found, from expe-
riments, that there was no exhalations from
liquors in vacuo, but as soon as the air

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 441

was let into the receiver, they rose up plen-
tifully.

We know, from experiments, that the air
contains, at all times, and in every part, a large
quantity of water.

In this solution it appears, that an intimate
union, or proper mixture, takes place between
the aerial and aqueous particles, by which a
compound is produced, perfectly clear and
transparent, fit for the transmifsion of the rays
of light, and adapted to the economy of the
animal and vegetable creation.

All menstruums are confined in their action,
and can only take up a certain proportion of
the solvent; when they have performed that,
they are in a saturated state, and incapable of
suspending more; if in this state the solution
be any way weakened, a proportionate quan-
tity of the suspended matter separates from the
menstruum, and is precipitated.

The power and effect of all solvents is in-
creased, in some degree, by heat, agitation,
and the greater extension of the surface of the
matter acted upon; and, by the contrary of

Volume II, . F f

442 GEORGICAL ESSAYS,

these, their power is rendered weaker, and
more confined.

As the air of our atmosphere is a perfect
chaos of all kind of corpuscles, a sort of com-
pound matter, consisting of air, water, emana-
tions and exhalations from the three kingdoms
of nature, we cannot have any certain idea of
its nature and action in its most simple state.
We must, therefore, at present be content with
reasoning from analogy ; and if we are by that
made capable of accounting for the various
phcenomena attending the rise and ascent of
vapours, it will be a strong presumption that
my theory has some foundation in nature.

I shall lay it down as a rule, that the air is
always in a saturated state, containing as much
"water as it can suspend, or nearly so ; it being
only from accidental causes that its solvent
power is made stronger or weaker, causing the
various phaenomena observed in our atmo-
sphere.

The air being reduced to the density which
it has near the surface of the earth, by the
weight of the superincumbent air, is more or
lefs comprefsed, according to the greater or lefs

GEORGICAL ESSAYS: 443

"Weight of the atmosphere ; hence the higher
We go from the surface^ the rarer is the air, as
appears from experiments made with the baro-
meter upon mountains. The greater the den-
sity of the air, the more powerful is its action
as a menstruum, as a greater quantity of sol-
vent is applied in a given space.

We may presume, that the water upon the
Surface of the earth rises up in consequence of
the attractive power of the air as a menstruum,
in which it becomes suspended, an intimate
combination taking place. The nearer the air
to the surface, the more it will be saturated^
but the watery particles are soon^ by the at-
traction of the air above, diffused to a greater
height, and this, probably, to the very summit
of the atmosphere : we are, however^ certain
of its presence at the tops of the highest moun-
tains. It may be observed that, let the mists
be never so thick near the surface, if we as-
cend a high mountain the air is found to be-
clear, and the mists are seen floating below.
This may be illustrated by what happens in
the making of tinctures ; in which case, the
vefsel being at rest, the menstruum becomes
more highly impregnated the nearer it is to the

Ff 2

444 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

surface of the solvent, but weaker and weaker
the more remote from it.

Agreeable to this is an observation of Jaco-
bus Zarabelli, given in Mr. Boyle's works.

" Contigit id meee experientiae, quod etiam
aliis contigifse audivi,ut aseenderim ad summi-
tatem usque montis Veneris, qui omnium in
patavino agro altifsimus est; ibi per totum
diem habui aerem serenifsimum, sed infra circi-
ter medium montis vidi nubes, qu3e me visione
vallium prohibebant, vesperi autum postquam
de illo monte descendi, inveni factam eo die
infera parte magnam pluviam, cum in montis
cacumine nil pluifset.'^

Nay, it has been observed, that no rain fell
upon the top of the cathedral at York, when
there was small drizzling rains with thick mists
in the streets below. This on] j happens when
the air is in a state of stagnation. The par-
ticles of all solvents are more universally
diffused by agitation of the menstruum.

Have we nothere an easy and natural solution
of the phcenomenon observed by Dr. Heberden,
as mentioned at the beginning of this paper }

CEORGICAL ESSAYS. 445

Of the Effect of Winds in afsisting and promoting the
liise of Vapours.

I take the property of winds, in afsisting the
solvent power of the air, to be analogous to
the effect of agitation in other menstruums.
Their efficacy in drying up the water and
moisture in the fields, roads, and streets, after
heavy rains, and in damp weather, is obvious,
and easily accounted for.

The air, as a menstruum, when at rest, can
only take up and difsolve a certain quantity of
water; it becomes saturated and incapable of
suspending more; but, when agitated by
winds, the saturated part is blown off from
contact with the surface of the solvent, and a
fresh quantity of unsaturated air is immediately-
applied thereto. By which means the procefs
of evaporation goes forward with great celerity,
and the moisture upon the surface of the earth
is soon dried up.

In damp and low situations, such as marshes,
bogs, and vallies surrounded by high moun-
tains, there being no winds or agitation of the
air, mists and fogs are seen hanging like thick
clouds ; and in such places the grafs and other
vegetables appear loaded with drops of water,

Ff3

446 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

in consequence of a precipitation of tlie overr
charge of water in the air.

In damp weather, with a stagnant state of
the air, large towns and cities are observed,
when viewed from a distance, to be covered
with thick and ahnost impenetrable fogs, fre-
quently hiding the whole from the sight, ex-
cept, perhaps, the tops of high spires of
churches. In this state of the air, the walls,
ceilings of houses, marble slabs, &c. become
damp, and covered with drops of water.

When a brisk wind gets up, these mists, or
portions of over-saturated air, are carried off;
in consequence of which the moisture is soon
evaporated,

I have often, at four or five miles distance,
observed the city of York obscured by thick
mists, so as to prevent my seeing any part of
it, except sometimes the very summit of the
cathedral ; and a wind then arising, such a
quantity of over-saturated air was carried ofF,
^s to extend visibly, and without interruption,
to a village two miles distant, towards the con-
trary point from which the wind blew. The
air was at that time fo clear in every other

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 447

part, that I was able distinctly to perceive the
high roads over the hills at fifteen or twenty
miles distance.

When the air is at rest, or in a state of stag-
nation, it becomes impregnated with water
beyond saturation, and cannot combine with
the overcharge ; as this can be only diffused,
it soon precipitates, and falls in the form of
rain.

The air is, for the most part, but little agi-
tated, with us, when the wind is southerly;
hence the reason why such winds are mostly
attended with mists and small drizzling rains.
In this case the rains are continual,

As the over saturation is only near the sur-
face of the earth, the particles of water fall
from a small height, and not having opportu-
nity to collect themselves together, the r^irj
jnust be small and drizzling,

"When a brisk wind blows, the over-charged
portion of air is driven by the agitation of the
whole mafs, in various directions ; part is car-
ried up to a considerable height, swims about,
find, by refracting the rays of light into different

Ff4

448 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

directions, become visible to us, forming
clouds, which, soon losing their equilibrium,
fall in 'rain. As the length of the pafsage in
falling gives the aqueous particles opportunity
to collect together, large drops are generally-
formed. Hence appears the reason why-
showers are usually of short continuance, sud-
den in coming, seldom attended with mists, and
frequently intermixed with gleams of sunshine,
in windy v/eather.

But as some winds, though boisterous, bring
with them, at times, a quantity of over-satu-
rated air, they will, of course, be attended
with mists and drizzling rain ; of this kind are
the easterly winds with us, which blowing over
a pretty large tract of sea, come charged with
moisture. On the contrary, the north and
westerly winds are generally dry, and attended
with fine weather.

From a proper consideration of what is here
advanced, a considerable light may be throwi^
upon agriculture.

Some lands naturally moist, though thej^
may appear dry to a superficial observer, are
found to encourage the growth of particular

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 44§

plants without the trouble of watering. The
cultivator immediately gives it as an infallible
rule, that such plants need not that afsistance,
in which he is soon followed by others glad to
save the trouble and expense. In consequence
of which, another farmer plants in land natu-
rally dry. Ilie crop, for want of its necefsary
moisture, disappoints his expectation j he won-
ders at the effect, but never reflects upon the
cause.

We shall instance this in the culture of cab-
bages, Mr. Young, in his Northern Tour, in-
forms us that Mr.Scroope planted this vegetable
in the great drought of 1765, without water-
ing, and is positive that it is a needlefs trouble.
He is followed by Mr. Crowe and Mr. Tur-
ner. The Marquis of Rockingham, Mr El-
lerker, and Mr Tucker, on the contrary, found
the advantage of watering in dry seasons,

I shall not hesitate to say, that both these
opinions, though capable of misleading the
ignorant farmer, are justly founded, the dif-
ference proceeding from the natural dryne(s
and moisture of the respective lands. Two
closes, though contiguous, the one shall be
found composed of a very moist and wet soil ^

450 GEORGICAL ESSAYS,

the Other, to as great an extreme, dry and
parched. Nay, different parts of the same
field arc often found, in this respect, to vary
greatly in their natures, nor is this always in-
dicated by external appearances.

Without attending to this subject, agriculture
will be for ever a vague and uncertain study.
The endeavour to raise any particular plant by
the same mode of culture, in all kinds of land,
is as absurd as to seek for the plant called
Pile-wort in the deserts of Arabia.

I flatter myself that, if attention be given
to what is laid down in this efsay, the intelli-
gent cultivator will be enabled to judge pro-
perly of the nature of his lands, regarding
drynefs and moisture ; his fields and garden^
will evidence its utility.

The afsistance of the botanist may in this
ease be of great advantage. A collection of
the most common and obvious plants, natural
to different soils and situations, engraven and
digested under their proper divisions, will be
of great use in showing the difference of soils
in different places. A person, from a thorough
knowledge of this subject, will become ca-

6EORGICAL ESSAYS. 45|

pable of giving a right judgment of the in-
trinsic value of any parcel of land, from a
short and transient view of it, and that with
the greatest exactnefs and certainty.

We Jinow from experience, that vegetables
do not solely depend upon their roots for a
necefsary supply of moisture, but absorb,
through innumerable bibulous orifices dispers-
ed all over their surfaces, a great quantity of
water from the atmosphere,

This absorption can only take place when
the air is in an over-saturated state ; suffering,
in consequence of this, a degree of precipita^
tion, forming rain, mists, and dews. The
higher the situation of any parcel of ground,
aeteris paribus ^ the lefs will it be subject tq
mists and dews^ and e contra.

This radical and superficial absorption is an
admirable provision of nature, and seems ab-
solutely necefsary to the preservation of vege-
tables, by affording them a constant and plen-.
tiful supply of moisture.

Agreeable to this, it is probable that the
lands on which Mefsrs, Scroope, Turner, and

6

452 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

Growe planted their cabbages, were, from
their situation, more liable to mists and dews
t"i:an those where the Marquis of Rocking-
ham, Mefsrs. EUerker and Tucker made their
experiments.

The superficial absorption of the plants, in
the fir$t case, together with the supply of na-
tural moisture from the soil, proved sufficient
without the afsistance of watering. But, in
the other, for want of sufficient moisture in
the ground, and a proper supply from the
atmosphere, the afsistance of the planter be-
come necefsary.

We may, from hence, learn the bad conse-
quences of forming general rules from parti-
cular experiments. A mode of culture shall
answer very well upon one particular piece of
ground, which will be found fruitlefs in ano-
ther, though contiguous, and apparently of the
same quality. Such is the variety observable
in the works of nature.

In order to obtain an exact knowledge of
the nature of particular lands, as to their de-
gree of moisture, I would advise the cultiva-
tor not only to examine the soil itself,^ but also

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 45?

the probability of its being more or lefs so ^
plied with water from the atmosphere.

Besides the methods in common use, I
would visit my ground in a hot summer's day
a little before sun-set, and carefully obsc -ve
in what parts a mist or fog first appears; this
will always be, ceteris paribus, over the part
or parts where there is the greatest moisture,
and will be the more distinctly seen in pro-
portion to the greater heat of the preceding
day.

The same observation may be made in a
summer's morning about sun-rise ; for the
damper the ground, the longer the mists will
be seen suspended over it.

I have observed a great difference in this
respect, in different parts of one and the
same field.

The Effect of Heat in ajfisting and promoting the Rise
of rapours.

As heat contributes to the action of all men-
struums upon their solvents, we may conclude
that it greatly afsists the solvent power of the.
air upon water. The rationale of this re-

4

4i4f GEORGICAL ESSXYg.

mains yet to be discovered : we are, howevefi
well acquainted with its effects.

If we difsolve, in a sand-heat, as much nitre;
in water as it will suspend to saturation, and
keep it in the same degree of heat, being se-
cured from evaporation, it will for ever remain
suspended, and the solution be clear and
. limpid i but if it be taken out of the sand-
heat and exposed to the open air, the solvent
power being weakened, the over-charged part
of the nitre is detached from the water, and
shoots into crystals, adhering to the part of the
phial to which the greater degree of cold is
applied.

In summer, when the solar rays fall more
perpendicular upon the earth, the solvent
pow^r of the air is greatly increased, and that,
cceteris paribus, in proportion to the degree of
heat : at this time a much greater quantity of
vapours exhale from the surface of the earth.
This, indeed, is not very obvious when con-
sidered in a superficial manner, because the
air appears to be really dryer at such seasons
than in winter ; fluids sooner evaporate, and
lefs rain falls. But this, I presume, is owing
to the action of the air, as a menstruum, ren-

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 453

dered more powerful by the increase of heat,
by which water is so immediately and iii-
timately combined with it, as to escape our
sight. Thus the exhalations from the lungs
are imperceptible in a hot summer's day,
which in winter ifsue out in clouds.

It does not solely depend upon the coldneis
of the air, that the breath of animals becomes
visible therein : for we may observe this to be
the case frequently when the air is warm and
sultry ; nay, above summer's heat, as is indi-
cated by the thermometer ; but at such times it
is always very damp and misty. This obser-
vation seems to corroborate our hypothesis-, iri
referring the rise of vapours into the atmo-
sphere to the action of the air as a menstruitm;
not to the immediate agency of heat, which
seems to be only an afsistant principle, by no
means absolutely nccefsary.

The air in the middle of summer, especiall/
when the sun is not far removed from the me-
ridian, is seldom over-saturated with moisture,
except in deep vallies, boggy and swampy situ-
ations, or when attended with cold winds,
stormy weather, &:c. ' In some very hot coun-
tries, far removed from the sea, the surface of

456 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

the earth being very dry, and the atmosphere
not liable to storms and tempests, the air is
never so over-saturated as to suffer any pre-
cipitation ^ hence it never rains.

The reflection of the solar rays from the sur-
face of the earth, afsists the action of the air
upon water in some degree j but as this is con-
fined merely to the part near the surface, its
action cannot extend far. Hence, when the
solvent power becomes weakened by any acci-
dent, the overcharge falls not from a height
sufficient for the watery particles to collect into
drops, but descends in the form of dew.

The action of subterraneous fires may, when
great enough to warm the air over the surface,
afsist its solvent powers but as this is ex-
tremely confined and rare in its appearance,
its effect can be but trifling.

We come next to consider the effect of
cold, &c. in impeding the rise and suspension
of vapours.

If we attribute the rise and suspension of
vapours to the action of the air, as a men-
struum, the power of cold, in impeding the

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 457

pTocefs, appears to be much limited; whereas,
if this phaenomenon was owing to the imme-
mediate action of heat, the absence of which,
or cold, would effectually put a stop to it.

The solvent power of all fluids is owino-
to their quality as fluids; and as long as they
continue fluid, and are prevented from be-
coming weaker, they will eternally keep this
property of being menstrua to their proper
solvends.

A certain degree of heat, necefsary to keep
fluids in their proper form, may pofsibly be re-
quired for the producing this phxniomenon.
But we have no idea of the smallnefs of the
degree required in this case. We know that
vapours maybe raised, and that in great plenty,
about the bulb of the thermometer, when the
mercury is frozen by intense cold. May it
not be probable, from hence, that the degree
of cold, necefsary to put an entire stop to the
rise of vapours, must be so great as to change
the very nature of the air as a fluid; nay, to
render it a solid mafs?

The degree of cold common to the at-
mosphere, has a power of diminishing tl-;,e sol-
Volume IT. q ^

45S GEORGICAL ESSAYS,

vent power of all menstruums ; they require
more of the solvend to saturate them when
afsisted by heat, and, if they be in that state
exposed to cold, they become weakened and
over-saturated; the over-charge is, of conse-
quence, separated. Let us apply this to our
subject.

In cold and frosty winter days, the sun shin-
ing clear, we perceive about noon, large cities-
arid other moist places, when viewed at a dis-
tance, to be covered with thick and impene-
trable mists. The solar heat, by increasing
the action of. the air, enables it to suspend a
considerable quantity of vapour just over the
surfaces of moist and damp places, but the
coldnefs of the season prevents it from being,
diffused' to any considerable distance. The
intimate combination of the aqueous and
aerial particles does not consequently take
place ; hence, the moisture being only in a
state of difiusion, mists are formed.'

But in a hot summer's day, when the sun
is in its meridian height, no such mists are to
be observed, though the procefs of evapora-'
tion goes on v/ith increased rapidity; the sol*
%'ent power of the air being at such times s@

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 459

great as to produce an immediate combina-
tion j this being gradually lefsened as the sun
declines, a precipitation ensues, and mists are
formed.

These become more and more perceptible
as the sun declines, and after sun-set grow ex-
ceedingly copious and thick, proportionate,
cceteris paribus, to the heat of the preceding
dayi hence many tell you, that thick mists in
summer nights foretcl a hot day.

In many parts of the East-Indies, especially
in places situated near the sea, the heat being:
altogether insupportable in the day-time, such
a quantity of vapours are taken up, and con-
sequently, so great an over-charge, when the
solar heat lefsens, that the fogs in the night
are so thick, as to interrupt all kind of com-
merce among the inhabitants, who are obliged
at such times to keep their doors and windows
as close as pofsible.

And it has been observeid in Rufsia, that
in winter, when the north wind blows, the air
is rendered too thick for respiration ; such a
plentiful precipitation taking place in conss-
quence of the cold.

Gg2

460 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

This over-charge, in frosty weather, when
falling from a great height, forms snow in
large flakes ; if from that height, which in
warmer seasons produces mizzling rains, it be-
comes sleet ; but when only floating over the
surface! the watery particles, too sniall to be
visible, collect upon the ground and leaves of
vegetables, and form hoar frost.

The solution of water in air is found to gene-
rate cold; this by weakening the action of the
air as a menstruum, may, in some degree, help
the precipitation of part of the solvend, and
be thus a concurring cause of the mists hang-
ing over most places in rainy weather.

This discovery enables us to account for the
disagreeable chilly coldnefs which we feel in
very damp or wet seasons, especially when
snow is thawing upon the ground.

The Efect of the different State of the Air, as to
Rarity and Deiuity, upon its soheyit Poicer.

The more dense the air is, the greater must
its action be as a menstruum ; for a greater
quantity of it being at such times in a given
space, more is applied to the solvent. The

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 461

contrary of this must happen when its density
is diminished.

Evaporation goes not on in vacuo, as I
have mentioned in a former part of this efsay.

This is rendered visible to us by means of
the air-pump. For the air being rarefied in
the receiver, a dew or mist is formed in it, and
th^ water is, at length, seen trickling down
the sides ; the air being thus made lefs capable
of sustaining the watery particles, becomes
over-saturated within ; the over-charge is con"
sequently precipitated.

'&*

Does not this experiment show, that the
action of heat is only, at the most, an afsistant
in the formation of vapours, not a necefsary

agent ?

Thus thunder-storms, by which the density
of the air is much diminished, are mostly fol-
lowed by showers of rain. And the falling of
the mercury in the barometer, prognosticates
a similar precipitation.

G

g 3

462 6E0RGICAL ESSAYS.

The Separation of Wafer from the Air •when com^
billed intimately together.

We know that the air contains, at all times,
and in every part, a certain quantity of watery
and we suppose, a proper mixture, not a me-
chanical diffusion, to be the consequence of
this combination.

No method has yet been hit upon to effect
this separation. It may, perhaps, be done by
the method used in separating other compound
bodies, by elective attraction,

But this will be found very difficult, especi^
ally in such a manner as that the air, when
entirely divested of its water, may be render*
ed capable of examination,

iCEpRGICAL ESSAY5. 463

ESSAY XXL

On the Improvement cf Mofs Lmid.

jYlossEs are of various kinds, but may be re-
duced to the two following : 1 . Black or Peat
Mofs ; and 2. White or Flow Mofs.

The first, which is compofed of the roots and
fibres of heath, and other large vegetables, is
more solid and tenacious than- the white mofs,
&nd in consequence, more improvable. It is
generally used as peat for fuel.

The second retains a great quantity of
water, is almost a fluid, and, when drained, is
of a spongy light substance. In mofses of
this sort, there is a stratum from three to twenty-
four inches thick, of a light fungous substance,
above the black peat, which, when cut for fuel,
is laid aside, being incapable of making peat
for burning. This sort of mofs is not so fit fo.r
improvement as the first, especially when this

Gg4

464 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

stratum is very thick, as it requires a
longer time to consolidate, before the lime
or other manures can operate upon it, and
the first crops are not so certain, though in two
years it becomes nearly as good as the other,
and is improved to advantage. The mofses
here are, in general, from eight to fourteen feet
deep, and the succefs in reclaiming them has
been the same, whatever was their depth.

The first thing to be done, is to cut out
proper main or master drains, in order to carry
off the superfluous water, taking care to pre-
serve the greatest pofsible level, which in
every case that has yet occurred, has been
easily obtained, and which drains can be, and
are so constructed, as to divide the field into
inclosures from six to ten Scots acres. If the
mofs declines, the inclosures may be of any
dimension whatever.

The dimensions of these drains, when first
made, are eight feet wide at top, by four and
a half feet deep, gradually contracting to two
and a half feet at bottom, and cost at the rate
of one shilling per fall of eighteen and a half
feet, running measure. The ridges are then
to be marked off regularly, six or seven yard§

gEOrgical essays. 465

broad, formed with the spade, in the manner
following :

In the centre of each ridge, a space of about
twenty inches is allowed to remain untouched,
on rach side of which a furrow is opened, and
turned upon the untouched space, so as com-
pletely to cover if. Thus begun, the work is
continued, by cutting with the spade, in width
about twelve inches, and turning it over, to ap-
pearance as if done with a plough, until you
come to the division-furrow, which should be
two feet wide, cut out and thrown upon the
sides of the ridges.

The depth of the division-furrow is to be re-
gulated by circumstances, according as the mofs
is wet or dry, but so as to answer the purpose
of draining or bleeding the mofs, and con-
ducting the water to the main drains.

It may here be observed, that the succefs of
the after-crops depends very much upon a pro-
per tormation of the ridges. They must not
be made too high in the middle, for there they
will be ioo dry for the lime to act ; and near
the furrows they will be too wet, which is
equally prejudicial ; they should therefore be

#€6- GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

constructed with a gentle declivity towards the
furrows, so as the rain which falls may rather
filtrate through the ridge to the furrows, thaii
run quickly off the surface.

The operation of digging and forming the
ridges has generally been done by contract,
and where the surface is tolerably even or
equal, it costs one pound thirteen shillings and
fourpence per Scots acre, or twopence half-
penny . per fall ; but where it is in great
holes, and wheel-barrows used, it costs from

two pounds to two pounds two shillings pey
acre.

The next operation is to top-drefs the ridges
with lime, at the rate of from four to eight
chaldrons per acre. Five Winchester bushels
make a boll, and eight bolls a chaldron, of shell
lime, producing sixteen bolls powdered lime,
being the ordinary measure of Hme in this
district (Irish lime excepted, which is only
four AVinchester bushels) ; the quicker the
lime is put on after being slaked the better.
Coal and lime abound in the neighbourhood,
and the prime cost of lime at the kilns, is one
shilling and two-pence per boll, shells of five
Winchester bushels.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 461

The mofs is of a considerable extent, and
a narrow superficial road has been made
through the middle of it, so as to admit single
horse carts. A small trench or drain is cut on
both sides of the road, and the road covered
with gravel, or some hard substance, and
seems to stand well. By this road the lime
and dung is carried in single-horse carts, and
put upo!i the ridge from planks, by wheel-
barrows. The second year after the main
drains have been made, the sides consolidate
so as to carry single-horse carts in summer,
and the lime and dung is carried by them to
the road j and the crops taken off in the same
manner.

The proper season to prepare the mofs for a
first crop, is early the preceding summer ; in
that case the lime, aided by the heat, the after-
rains, and the winter frosts, makes a consider-
able progrefs in the procefs of putrefaction,
consequently forms a mould to receive the
seed.

Oats are sometimes sown as a first crop, but
they very often miscarry the first year, and
from what I saw, and was informed, never
ought to be sown where dung can at any ex-«

468 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

pense be procured. Potatoes planted in what
is called the lazy-bed way, ought to be the
first crop. The method is simple, and attend-
ed with little expense. The moss prepared
by ridges, and limed as before described, the
potatoe-beds next spring are marked off, acrofs
the ridges, five or six feet broad, with interme-
diate spaces of about two feet, as furrows or
trenches. Hie beds are covered over with a
thin stratum of dung, about eighteen single-
horse carts to an acre^ the cuttings of potatoes
are laid or placed upon the beds, about ten or
twelve inches asunder, and the whole covered
over with a stratum of mofs, from the inter-
mediate trenches, which is followed by ano-
ther covering from the trenches, when the
potatoe plants make their first appearance, the
covering in whole four or five inches. In this
state they remain without any hoemg till the
crop is taken up. The produce nevei* lels
dian from forty to fifty bolls of excellent pota-
toes, eight Winchester bushels to the boll, and
the bushel a little heaped.

When the potatoe crop is removed, the
ridges are again formed as before described,
and the division-furrow cleared out, which
costs at the rate of 18s, per acre.

CEORGICAL ESSAYS. 469^

In performing this part of the work, it will
naturally occur, that a greater part of the ma-
nured surface will be buried in filling up the
trenches between the lazy beds ; but that is
not the case. The workman makes two cuts
with the spade, at eighteen inches distance,
upon the side of the trench : another one foot
from the edge of it, as deep as the trench;
which instead of turning over, he prefses a
foot forward into the trench, which is con-
tinued the length of it, and when he comes to
the other side, he does the same, making both
meet, and so proceeds ; so that no part of the
manured surface is thrown down, and the
ridge left in the same form as before the lazy-
beds were made.

It may be here remarked, that every opera-
tion done upon mofs by the spade, can be ex-
ecuted at the third of the expense, that would
be requisite on any the easiest dry land. —
Mofs is a light substance, sufficiently tena-
cious, never sticks to the spade, and requires
no force to cut it, as it works as easy as a new-
made cheese would. Any person who has
seen mofses dug for peats as fuel, will be con-
vinced how quick, and with what facility it is
done, even by labourers not accustomed to it.

470 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

When the potatoe crop Is taken off, and the
ridges formed, they remain in that state till
spring, when oats are sown, (a wet or dry-
season, has from experience been found a
matter of indifference) and harrowed in with
a small harrow drawn by two men. Four
men, with ease, harrow at least, one acre one
rood per day, two and two by turns with the
harrow, and the other two in the interim with
spades, smoothing the inequalities, breaking
and dividing the mould, and clearing out the
division-furrows ; which last, in all operations
upon mofs, is efsentially necefsary. The early
or hot-seed oats are always preferred for seed.
The late, ofcold-seed, runs too much to straw,
and falls down, consequently the grain is of
mean quality, and unproductive in meal.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

471

Expense of improving an acre of Mofs.
Note — ^The acre in this acc(xint, is always
meant the Scots acre, being nearly one -fifth
larger than the English acre.

The average size of the in-
closures is eight acres j to in-
close which by the main drains,
will require 143 falls, of eight- ^JO.O 17 9
'teen and a half feet each, at Is.
per fall in proportion for one
acre, 17, falls.

Digging and forming the"]
ridges with the division-furrows, p-

is from ll. 13s. to 2l. 2s.

Prime cost lime"!
for top-drefsing one
acre, 8 chaldrons, be-
ing 320 bushels, or
64 bolls, at Is. 2d.
per boll.

>c£.3

J

14 8

The distance here "]
is from one mile to [
one mile and a half, I
64 bolls may at a
greater distance be
carried for

0 10 Q

2 2 0

.472 CEORCICAL ESSAYS.

Brought forward jC. 2 19 9

Expense of 64 bolls of lime 4 4 8

Laying on the lime 0 8 0

Value of the dung, supposing it")

bought, laid down at the side L « q q

of the field, 3s. per single (

horse-cart, 20 carts J

Laying on the dung 0 8 0

Trenching: lazy-beds for covering")

the potatoes )

Three bolls of potatoes for seed at 8s. 1 4 0

Taking; up the potatoes and car->

' u ^ r 1 10 O

rynig home )

14 0 5

Interest of of. 14 0 5d. for two years 18 0

Total expense 15 8 5
Produce of potatoes from 40 to 50

bolls, say 40 bolls, at 8s. per boll 16 0 0

Gain upon the first crop per acre Oil 7

Second Fear.

Reducing the lazy-beds into ridges 0 18 0

One boll of oats for seed --- — 013 0
Four men harrow one acre per day

at Is. 6d. each ---- 0 6 O

Reaping 6s. — Carrying off 2s. 6d. - 0 8 6

OEORGICAL ESSAYS. 473

Brought forward £.256
Leading and stacking 2s. 6d. —

Threshing 5s. - 0 7 6

Drefsing Is.— Carrying to market 5s. 0 6 O

2 19 O

Interest for one year 0 3 0

c£. 3 2 O
Produce of 10 bolls per acre^

at 13s. - - - - £.6 10 OV 7 5 0

Value of the straw O 1 5 o)

Gain on the second year £.4: 3 0

Third Year^

Digging the ridges ----*.--^^l 6 O

One boll of oats for seed 013 0

Harrowing 6s. — Reaping 6s. ^---012 0

Carrying off---^- 0 2 6

Leading and stacking --------o 2 6

Threshing 5s. — Drefsing Is. ----0 6 0

Carrying to market 0 5 0

Clearing main-drains -------o 1 0

3 8 0

Interest for one year 0 3 4

Expenses thir(j. year X, 3 1 1 4
Velume II, ** H h

474 GEORGICAL ESSAYS-.

Produce 10 bolls of) r> ^ .^ ^

oats at 13s. )

Value of straw 0 15 0JC.1 5 ^

Gain third year ^.3 13 S

Fourth Fear,
'By this time the mofs is so consolidated as t4
be ploughed by horses, within two bouts or
stitches of tlie division-furrows, and the
crop removed by carts.

Ploughing -0 6 O

Digging two spits, and clearing divi-
sion furrows - ---------o 4 •

One boll of oats for seed --013 O

Grafs seeds --1 0 0

Harrowing with horses 3s. Reaping 5s 0 8 0

Leading off and stacking 0 3 0

Threshing, &c. 0 3 0

Carrying to market --------0 4 0

Cleaning main-drains O 1 Q

3 2 6
Interest for one year O 2 8

3 5 2

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 475

Produce 6 bolls oats atl3s. ^.3 18 O

Value of straw -0 804 6 O

Gain fourth year ^.1 0 10

Fifth Year, Hay,

Cutting 3s. — Winning 3s. . 0 6 0

Leading and stacking os. — Cleaning

drains Is. 0 6 O

o£'.0 12 0

Produce of 200 stone "i „

of hay at 4d. j <i^- 3 6 8

After-grafs 0 10 0 3 16 5

Gain the fifth year o^*. 3 4 8

The mofs will now be sufficiently consoli-
dated, and fit for pasture, and will let, as
such, for ll. 5s. per acre

Recapitulation.

Gain the first year Oil 7

Second year 4 3 O

Tliird year 3 13 8

Fourth year 1 0 10

Fifth yt ar 3 4 8

£. 12 13 9
And will let for pasture at ll. 5s. per acre.

H h 2

476 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

The reclaiming of mofs upon this plaff^
bids fair to be of very great consequence, and
[ when it becomes better known, will, from ex-'
periencc, suffer further improvement. There
are many thousand acfes of this sort of ground
in Great Britain ; situate in climates where
corn thrives well ; some in the very best corn
countries, where lime, rriarl, or other calcari^
ous matter can be obtained at a moderate ex-
pense ; which appears to be what is most es-
sentially necefsary in this improvement ; and
much greater quantities of mofs abound in
Ireland, none of which produces a penny per
acre in its natural state. There is no danger
of not obtaining a proper level, for in most
large mofses a river runs through them, and
were it otherwise, and that they had no level,
they would in time become lakes,

lliere are no waste lands which can be Im-
proved with equal advantage as mofs ; none
will give so quick, or so large returns, or be
so permanent. — Any person pofsefsed of mofs,
and who may be desirous to make the expe-
riment, should go himself, or send a man ex-
perienced in agriculture, to see the operations
carried on at Swinridgemuir ; and before he
begins, endeavour to engage a labourer from

qEORGICAL ESSAYS. 477

that part, of the country, whohas been experien-
ced in the businefs, which they perform with
great ease and dexterity, and there is no doubt
but his own people will soon get into the me-
thod. If that cannot be obtained, a labourer
may be sent to work there a short time, which
will answer the purpose equally well.

So large a quantity of lime as is before men-
tioned, perhaps is not necefsary in this improve-
ment ; especially if only three crops of corn
were taken before laying into grafs. Six
chaldrons, or 240 bushels, shell lime, making
60 bolls of the measure sold at Lord Elgin's
works ; or 40 bolls of the Linlithgow measure,
might be abundantly sufficient for one acre,
and would have the same good effect as a
larger quantity, especially where potatoes with
dung are used for a first crop.

The calculations of the price of seed and
labour, as also the price of the produce of the
crops, are estimated at the prices in ordinary
years. The land thus improved lies between
Beith and Irwin in the County of Ayr, North
Brhain.

.Hh 3

I'it

GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

ESSAY XXII.

On Gathering Jpples and Pears, and Preserving them,

x\S apples shaken or beaten down with a
pole never keep in winter, they ought all to be
hand-picked by a person standing on steps
made on purpose.

The steps should be light, for convenience
of moving from one place to another, and so
contrived, that the ladder may be disengaged
from the back at pleasure, which may easily
be done if they are fastened together by a bolt
at top. There should be a broad step at top to
stand on, with room for the basket which is to
hold the fruit. AVhen you begin to gather the
fruit you should be provided with hand-baskets
of different sizes, and also with large baskets
or hampers, and wheelbarrows. You must
lay some short grafs mowings, perfectly dry,
(which you ought to provide for the purpose in
summer, and keep in a shed or any other dry
place till wanted) at the bottoms of the large
baskets and hampers, to prevent the fruit from
being bruised.

OEORGICAL ESSAYS. 479

Observe attentively when the apples and
pears are ripe, and do not pick them alw^ays at
the same regular time of the year, as is the
practice with many. A dry season will forward
the ripening of fruit, and a wet one retard it,
so that there will sometimes be a month or five
weeks difference in the proper time of gather-
ing. The method that I have practised is, to
observe when the fruit begins to fall ; I do not
mean what we call wind-falls, or the falling of
such as are infested with the caterpillars^ &:c.
but sound fruit ; I tlien put my hand under it ;
and if it comes off without any force being used,
I take it for granted that the fruit is perfectly-
ripe J unlefs the tree be sickly, which is easily
known by the leaves or fruit being shriveled*
If the foregoing observations are attended to,
the fruit will keep well, and be plump, and
not shriveled, as is the case with all fruit that
is gathered before it is ripe,

Tlie person on the steps should pick the
fruit carefully, and lay it gently into the basket
on the top of the steps, for if it be in the least
bruised it will not keep. For the same reason,
great care must be taken in emptying the fruit
out of the hand-baskets, when full, into the
iarge baskets or hampers. If more than one

Hhi

4fiO GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

large basket be wheeled at once, which may
generally be done, the lower ones must not be
so full as to let the bottom of the upper one
touch the fruit ; it will also be necefsary to put
some of the soft dry grafs between the baskets,
and also over the fruit in the upper basket,

"When the fruit begins to fall of itself, cover
the ground under the tree with some of the
short grafs mowings, or if that cannot be pro^
cured, with some pease -haulm, or oat or barley
straw, quite dry ; this will preserve the fruit
from bruising when it drops : the fruit which
thus falls of itself should be laid up separate
from, andusedbefore that which is hand-picked,
according to the season in which they are fit
to be sent to table. Should any be bruised by
falling on one another, they should be thrown
aside, as only fit for baking, or to be given to
the pigs.

When all the fruit is gathered in, rake off
the short grafs, &:c. and throw it up to rot, or
mix it with dung, or leaves of trees ; for if it
remain on the ground during the winter, it will
harbour slugs,

When the bolt of the steps is taken out, and

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 481

the ladder and back part separated, the ladder
will then be fit to use in gathering fruit off wall
trees ; only it will be necefsary to screw on the
upper part of it two pieces of iron, or nail two
pieces of ash or oak, about six or eight inches
long, to keep it far enough from the wall to
prevent the tree from sustaining any damage in
the bark or branches, which would infallibly
bring on the canker,

AVhen the fruit is carried to the fruit room,
lay some of the dry short grafs on the floor in
the area of the room ; then take the fruit
gently out of the baskets, and lay it in heaps on
the top of the grafs, keeping each sort in a
separate heap ; the heaps may be from two to
three feet high, or according to the quantity of
fruit that you have. AVhen the heaps are com-,
pleted, cover the tops at least two inches thick
with short grafs, in order to sweat them. Let
them lie a fortnight, then open the heaps and
turn them over, wiping each apple or pear
with a dry woollen cloth, which should be fre-
quently dried during the procefs, observing now
to lay in the middle the fruit which before was
at the top. Let the heaps now remain eight
or ten days covered as before; by that time they '
will have thrown out the watery crudities which

482 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

tliey may have imbibed during a wet season j
then uncover the heaps and v^ipe the fruit
carefully one by one as before, picking out
every one that is injured, or has the least spot,
as unfit for keeping.

Fruit should be gathered, if pofsible, in dry
weather, and when the dew is exhaled from
off the trees ; and remember never to gather
in the evening after the dew begins to falL

During the time that the fruit is sweating,
the windows should be left open, except in wet
and foggy weather, to adpiit the air to carry off
the moisture which perspires from the fruit.
The perspiration will sometimes be so great,
that on putting your hand into the heap, it will
come out as wet as if it had been dipped into a
pail of water : when in this state it will be
necefsary to turn and wipe the fruit.

In laying up fruit, the common practice has
been to lay it on clean wheat straw, but I find, by
experience, that when any of the fruit begins to
decay, if it be not immediately picked out, the
straw, by imbibing the moisture from the de-
cayed fruit, will become tainted, and communi-
cate a disagreeable taste to the sound fruit.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 48:?

I would likewise caution those who erect
new shelves in their fruit rooms, to have the
timber well seasoned, and to make use of
white deal in preference to red, as the latter,
especially if not very well seasoned, is apt to
give a very disagreeable resinous taste to the
fruit, which quite spoils it flavour. I would
therefore recommend covering the bottoms of
the shelves with thin coarse canvas, (such as
may be purchased -for about eight or tenpence
a yard) on which the fruit should be laid in a
single layers after being wiped perfectly drv;
but by no means lay them a top of one
another. When that is done cover them with
a piece of the same canvas, or thin flannel, or
with old newspapers, or whitish brown paper,
which will, in a great measure, exclude the air,
prevent the frost from injuring the fruit, and
preserve a beautiful smoothnefs on its skin.
The huit should be turned two or three times
during the winter ; as delicate and tender fruit,
by laying long without turning, is apt to rot
on the underside, even if perfectly sound when
laid up. Be particularly careful, however, to
pick out all the damaged fruit,

When the fruit is laid in, put the earliest
sorts on the lower shelves, or in the lower

1

4b i- GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

drawers, according to their time of coming in,
beginning with the Nonesuch, Golden Rennet,
and Jenneting Apples, and Bergamot and
Benne Pears; (for I find by experience that the
Jargonelle keeps best on the tree, as, if gather-
ed, it rots almost immediately 5) thus, by proper
management, you may have a constant suc-
cefsion of fruit from one season to the other.

"When there are large quantities of fruit, it
will require a great deal of time to lay it on
the shelves, &;c. : this businefs may therefore
be done in wet weather, or in the evenings,
when you cannot conveniently spare your men
from the out-door work in the day-time.

Those who keep their fruit in storehouses,
for the supply of the London and other markets,
as well as those who have not proper fruit-
rooms, may keep their apples and pears in
baskets orham.pers; putting some soft paper
in the bottoms and round the edges of the
baskets &c. to keep the fruit from being
bruised; then put in a layer of fruit, and over
that another layer of paper, and so on, a
layer of fruit and of paper alternately, till the
basket or hamper be full : cover the top with
paper three or four times double, to exclude

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 45.5

the air and frost as much as pofsible. Every
different sort of fruit should be packed sepa-
rately ; and it will be proper to fix a label to
each basket or hamper, with the name of the
fruit that it contains, and the time of its being
fit for use.

l3ut the best way of keeping fruit is, to pack
it in glazed earthen jars. The pears or apples
must be separately wrapped up in soft paper,
then put a little well dried bran in the bottom
of the jar, and over the bran a layer of fruit,
then a little more bran to fill up the interstices
between the fruit, and to cover it ; and so on,
a layer of fruit and of bran alternately, till the
jar be full ; then shake it gently, which wili
make the fruit and bran sink a little ; fill up the
vacancy at top with more bran, and lay some
paper over it, covering the top with a piece of
bladder, to exclude the air ; then put on tlie
top or cover of the jar, observing that it fits as
closely as pofsible. These jars should be kept
in a room where you can have a fire in wet or
damp weather.

If fruit be to be sent to any considerable
distance, great care should be taken in pack-
ing it, which should not be in baskets, as they

486 GEORCICAL ESSAYS.

are liable to be bruised among heavy luggage,
and the fruit of course will be injured. I would
therefore, recommend boxes made of strong
deal, of different sizes, according to the
quantity of fruit to be packed. The follow-
ing are the dimensions of the boxes in which
we send fmit by the coach to AVindsor and
Weymouth, for the use of his Majesty and the
Royal Family: viz. the larger box is two feet
long, fourteen inches broad, and the same in
depth ; the smaller box is one foot nine inches
long, one foot broad, and the same deep. —
These boxes are made of inch deal, and well
secured with three iron clamps at each corner^
they have two small iron handles, one at each
end, by which they are fastened to the roof
of the coach : in these boxes we send melons,
currants, pears, peaches, nectarines, plums,
and grapes, packed so as always to have the
heaviest fruit at bottem. The melons arc
wrapped up in soft paper; the pears, peaches,
nectarines, plums, and grapes, are first wrap-
ped up in vine-leaves, and then in paper ; the
cherries and currants are packed in a flat tin
Dox one foot four inches long, two inches broad,
and four deep.

In packing, proceed thus : — First put a

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 487

layer of fine long dry mofs in the bottom of
the tin box, then a layer of currants, or cher-
ries, then another layer of mofs; and so oa
alternately, fruit and mofs, until the box is so
full, that when the lid is hasped down, the
fruit may be so firmly packed as to preserve
them from friction.

Make a layer of fine mofs and short soft dry
grafs, well mixed, in the bottom of the deal
box; then pack in the melons with some of
the same, packing it tight in between all the
rows, and also between the melons in the same
row, till you have finished the layer ; choosing
the fruit as nearly of a size as pofsible, filling
up every interstice with the mofs and grafs.
When the melons are packed, lay a thin layer
of mofs and grafs over them, upon which
place the tin box with the currants, packing
it firmly all round with mofs to prevent it from
shaking ; then put a thin layer of mofs over
the box, and pack the pears firmly ^but so as
not to bruise them) on that layer, in the same
manner as the melons ; and so on with the
peaches, nectarines, plums, and lastly, the
grapes, filling up the box with mofs, that the
lid may shut down so tight as to prevent any
friction among the fruit. Tlie boxes should

488 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

have locks and two keys which may serve fof
them all ; each of the persons who pack and
unpack the fruit having a key.

The mofs and grafs should always be re-
turned in the boxes, which, with a little ad-
dition, will serve the whole season, being
shaken up and well aired after each journey,
and keeping it sweet and clean. After the
wooden box is locked, it will be necefsary to
cord it firmly.

My reason for being so particular on pack-
ing of fruit is, that I have known instances
of its being totally spoiled in the carriage
from improper packing.

By pursuing the above method we have never
failed of succefs ; and if fruit be packed ac-
cording to the foregoing directions, it may be
sent to the farthest parts of the kingdom, by
coaches, or waggons, with perfect safety.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

489

ESSAY XXIIl,

On the Natural History of Fishes.

No branch of natural history is lefs known
than that which respects the instincts, habitudes
and pecuh-arities of fishes: nor is this much to'
be wondered at; for, the element which they
inhabit IS so circumstanced, as to prevent man
Irom bemg able to follow them in their secret
haunts, and there to observe their modes of
procedure with regard to the ordinary func-
tions of animal life. Even birds, which are
much more palpable to our senses in movin..
through their natural element, the air, cannot
on many occasions, have the progrefs in their
larger migrations distinctly traced; but fishes
can, not only in this respect, but many others
so easily withdraw themselves beyond the in-
iiuence of human power, that it is no wonder
.f we should be but imperfectly acquainted
with the circumstances that effect them.

We know enough of them, however, to be
sensible, that in regard to their natural in-
stincts and habitudes, the different kinds of

yolamc II. t •

1 1

490 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

fishes vary very much from each other ; perhaps
as much as the various classes of terrestrial ani-
mals. Some kinds, like man, seem to be dis-
persed prcttv equally throughout all part^ of the
world : while others are solely confined to par-
ticular regions : some may be said to be of a
solitary nature, like the heron among birds,,
which is seldom seen to afsociate with others
of its kind in great numbers ; while others are
never to be found but in multitudes : some
continue nearly stationary in one place at all
times; while others seem to be wandering
perpetually from place to place, and never fix
in any one station for a continuance of time:
some, though they continually frequent the
same haunts, and never depart far from their
native spot, yet change their stations within
these limits, at certain fixed seasons, with the
most steady regularity ; while others, though
they shovv' a similar predilection for a certam
spot for a number ot years, where they make
their appearnr.ce with tolerable regularity at
certain seasons, will afterwards abandon these
haunts, sc as never afterwards to be seen there
for many years together. With regard to the
causes of some oi these phi^nomena we can
form plausible conjectures; while in respect
to others^ we are totally unable to give the

iGEORGlCAL ESSAYS. 491

sliglitest gucfs at the circumstances that should
produce these variations. AVe are nearly as
much at a lofs with regard to many other par-
ticulars affecting this clafs of animals.

Respecting the longevity of fishes, from rea-
soning we might be induced to conjecture that
it was not intended by nature that the dura-
tion of their lives should be fixed to such a
short space of time, nor the expansion of size
to such narrow limits, as that of terrestrial
animals ; for the bones of fishes are so much
of a cartilaginous nature, as to admit of being
expanded by a natural increment for a much
greater number of years than the harder bones
of land animals, which soon attain a con-
sistence that does not admit of any expansion ;
and there are a few facts, pretty well ascer-
tained, which seem to confirm this conjecture.
In the royal ponds at Marli, in France, there
are some fishes that have been preserved tame
since the time, I believe, of Francis the First,
and which have been individually known to
the persons who have had charge of them
ever since that time ; these have now attained
a size much beyond the common bulk of fishes
of the same kind ; and, though there are cer-
tain peculiarities that distinguish them from
5 li 2

49^2 ' GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

younger fishes, yet they give no indication of
that decrepitude and disease which are the in-
evitable accompaniments of a life protracted
much beyond the usual period among quadru-
peds. It is well known also, that fishermen
sometimes catch an individual fish of more than
double the size of what is reckoned a full-sized
fish of that species, especially in those situations
where they have been more strictly guarded
from danger than is common. Carp and eels
of immense size are sometimes caught in
ponds that have been carefully secured from
common depredators, and at the same time
neglected by the owners, for a great number
of years; which great size may be justly
ascribed to the great age of the individuals :
nor is there danger that the old fishes in. such
situations will be starved by the multitude of
younger ones increasing so much as to deprive
them of food ; for, on whatever food the small
try may subsist, it seems to have been intend-
ed by Providence, that the larger should never
want food while the smaller are beside them ;
for fishes in general, are observed to preyupon
other fishes of any kind that are of a size to be
swallowed by them ; so that, for the most part,
the small fry, even of the same species, be-
come the food of those of larger size.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 493

It has been long a disideralum among na-
turalists, to determine what is the food of
plants? This question becomes peculiarly in-
teresting, because it seemed at the same time
to indicate, that if that could be ascertained,
it would discover what uas the food of
animals; for all the animals that live upon the
earth or in the air, are known, in general, to
derive their subsistence eidier from vegetable
food directly, by consuming vegetable sub-
stances themselves, or indirectly, by using
the flesh of other animals which have ulti-
mately derived their subsistence from vege-
tables. Hence it is, that we have invariably
inferred, that even those animals which we
call carnivorous, even those which are so
purely such as never to taste any kind of vege-
table food whatever, ae still ultimately sup-
ported by vegetables ; so that the substance,
whatever it be, which constitutes the food of
plants, must ultimately constitute the food of
terrestrial animals also: Of course, the number
of animals that can be subsisted on thi:, o-Iobe
can never exceed the quantity of vegetable
matter that the earth can be made to produce
for their subsistence, if the sea, and the food
that can be drawn from thence, be put out of
view.

■' 1 I o

494 GEOHGICAL ESSAYS.

But when we come to consider the sea, and
other bodies of water that are accumulated on
this earth, tlie same question occurs, though it
afsumes a very different shape. That there
are vegetables in the sea, and in fresh waters
every where, there can be no doubt j and that
these vegetables may furnish food for particu-
lar animals, will not be denied ; but it will be
at the same time admitted, that the number of
fishes, properly so called, that live chiefly upon
vegetable matter are very few ; and if there be
any that live entirely upon it, they are not
known by me. Fishes, by most naturalists,
are conceived to be usually carnivorous,
though many of them are not so entirely such,
as not to consume certain kinds of vegetable
matters when they come within their reach ;
and, although most fishes eat flies and terres-
trial worms when they come in their way ; yet
the quantities of fishes that swarm in the im-
measurable waste of waters that surround this
globe are so immense, that the subsistence
which they could derive from these sources
appears to be so small as to be altogether dis-
proportioned to their wants.. In short, fishes
of a smaller size seem to constitute the princi-
pal food of nearly all the fishes that we know.
But the question still recurs here, as in regard

GEORGICAL ESSAYS-. 495

to vegetables, what is it that constitutes the
food of these small fry on which the larger
subsist? For, if these are in the continual
"act of being consumed, as vegetables are by
animals, they themselves must draw their sub-
sistence from something that is not of an or-
ganised nature, as vegetables do. What then
is this?

That vegetables extract from water the un-
organised matter, whatever it may be, that by
the vegetative procefs is converted into vege-
table substances, is universally admitted by all
whohave adverted to this subject , andthatfishes,
under certain circumstances at least, extract
from water also an unorganised matter, v\'hich
by an animal procefs, equally unknown to us
as the vegetable procefs above- alluded to,
is converted into an animal substance, it
seems scarcely pofsible to deny. This may in-
deed, appear at first sight, to those who have
not adverted to subjects of this sort, a very un-
tenable position ; but why ? Merely because
such persons have been accustomed to believe,
that nothing but palpably solid substances can
furnish a suitable subsistence for animals of
any kind. They have been accustomed to
see the creatures with Vv'hich they are ac-

1 i 4

496 GEORGICAL ESSAYS,

quainted invariably stand in need of solid sub-
stances for food ; and they thence conclude,
that nothing else can yield this subsistence. — ^
But if vegetable solids derive their origin from
unorganised fluids by the vegetative procefs,
what greater wonder would it be if an unor-
ganised body, in a state of fluidity, should be
converted into an animal substance by the
animal procefs? Indeed, we can as little
conceive an idea of the manner in which an
organised vegetable should, by the animal
procefs, be converted into an animal sub-
stance, as we can conceive the other j we only
know that the last is so, because we see it
done every day of our liv^es. ^Ve see more:
we see that the very same vegetable is not
ci.ly converted into animal substance in ge-
neral, but in.o a variety of particular animal
substances, each extremely different in forin
and other qualities, without our being able to
to form the most distant conjecture how these
things should be. The same kind of grafs
for example, given to a pig, a calf, a lamb, a
foal, and a gosling, will be capable of fur-
nishing alone subsistence to them all, till each
of them attains a state of maturity j and it is
now found, that it has been, by the animal
procefs, changed from grafs into the various

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 497

substances of flesh, skin, hair, wool, feathers,
excrements, &c. which constitute the distinct
animals of a boar, bull, ram, horse, and goose,
each perfectly distinct from the other in all
its peculiarities, and capable of continuing its
kind distinct for ever, though they should all
be subsisted upon the very same food to the
end of time. That these things are so, we
know; but why they are so, we know not,
any more than the animals themselves do,
whose natural organs perform, unknown to
them, the functions that are necefsary for pro-
ducing these- changes.

Let us, then, be no longer disposed to de-
ny that fishes may be naturally endowed with
the faculty of converting unorganised matter,
that may at this moment. subsist under a fluid
form, into solid animal substances, because
we cannot tell how this should be. We, in
fact, know nothing of the economy of nature ;
we are only capable of observing a few of the
visible eiTects of that economy, and the phae-
nomena that result from these in certain cir-
cumstances. We know well, that a leech
may be preserved alive and in heaUh for a
great length of time in common water, and
^hat it will increase in size, and be capable of

498 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

exercising all its animal functions in that
state. It wou'd be hard to deny that the
leech had in this instance derived nourishment
from the fluid alone, in which^it lives, though
it is at the same time well known that it
greedily sucks up another fluid of animal
origin when it can have accefs to that, from
which Ave cannot doubt but it derives nourish-
ment. In like manner the gold and silver
fishes from China, may be kept in a vefsel of
pure water for an indefinite length of time,
without any other food than what they derive
from that element; and during this period
augment in size, and develope all their natural
peculiarities ; though they will greedily de-
vour crumbs of bread, or various other kinds
of food, if these chance to be thrown to them.

From these, and many other similar facts
that might be stated, I can see no reason to
doubt that fishes in general are endowed, by
the economy of their natural organization,
with the faculty of deriving sustenance from
mere water, in the same manner as terrestrial
animals are endowed with the faculty ot de-
riving sustenance from vegetables; and though,
in both cases, there may be some kinds which
cannot be at all subsisted upon this original

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 499

pabiihm in its native state (those that are
purely carnivorous), and many that admit of
taking that pabulum partly in its native and
partly in its prepared state (as man), yet tha^
in both cases this original pabulum must be
considered as constituthig, cither directly or
indirectly, the food of the whole ; so that the
jflesh of all terrestrial animals may be consi-
dered as being produced from vegetable mat-
mer changed by the animal procefs into its
present state. In like manner the flesh of all
fishes may be considered as being water (or
some diaphanous matter administered through
the medium of water) converted by the ani-
mal economy into the flesh of fishes; and also
that vegetable substances derive their nourish-
ment from something administered to them in
a similar manner through the medium of
water.

To such persons as have never turned their
minds towards disquisitions of this sort, it may
appear, perhaps, a little difficult to admit that
it is pofsible for a thin diaphanous fluid to be
by any procefs of nature converted into an
opaque solid body of any kind, whether of a
vegetable or animal nature ; but their wonder
in this case arises merely from their not having

500 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

been in the habit of observing the phaenomena
of nature with a sufficient degree of attention;
for such changes of fluid into solid bodies are
extremely (^ommon. Ice, no one will deny,
is a solid body, that we all know was a fluid
in the usual state of our atmosphere. Both
the solid and the fluid are in this case, it is
true, diaphanous ; so that we think the
change is very inconsiderable. Tallow, when
melted, is also a fluid, that is, in a great mea-'
sure, diaphanous; but when it is allowed to
cool it becomes a solid opaque body. Those
substances called metals are solid in the usual
temperature in which we live, but may be
converted into fluids by a mere change of
temperature. Even all these substances may
be rendered elastic fluids, so as under certain
circumstances to become invisible, and elude
our senses.

In the above instances we see, that by na-
tural procefses, which are every moment
pafsing around us, diaphanous, elastic, imper-
ceptable fluids are undergoing changes which
render them solid, opaque, and ponderous
bodies; and which as being common, appear
to us in no respect surprising. Why, then,
should similar changes, by the ministration of

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 501

other natural operations, appear in our eyes
surprising? Merely because we have not
been in the habit of adverting to them.

Fluids arc converted into solids by many
other procefses with which we are familiar,
without any change of temperature, as hap-
pens to be the case in all the instances above
adduced. All saline crystals contain water,
not in a frozen state congealed by cold, but as
a body, in the producing of which heat is of-
ten employed as a powerful agent. Common
salt, and nitre are of this number j water,
in both cases, constituting a very consider-
able portion of the whole mafs. These salts
are transparent, though a considerable portion
of the constituent matter of which they con-
sist, is a solid opaque substance. Green vitriol
(copperas) is in like manner a salt whose
basis is iron, and alum a chrystal whose basis
is clay, both opaque substances, as every one
knows, along wdth which a great proportion
of water is combined, the whole constituting
a solid diaphanous body.

In these instances we see that opaque solid
bodies become divested of their opacity,
though they still retain their solid states but

502 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

the instances in which bodies Jose at the
same time their opacity and solidity, and be*
come transparent fluids, are numerous, and
so familiar to us, that we take no notice of
them. Sugar, a solid opaque body, we
every day difsolve in water, when it disap-
pears without disturbing the transparency of
the fluid. Metals are, in like manner, dis-
solved in acids; and chalk, by a similar pro-
cefs, loses its earthy form, and is changed
into a fluid of crystalline purity. Into this
transparent fluid let fall a drop of another
fluid equally transparent (sulphuric acid), and
the chalk instantly afsumes its solid form, fall-
ing to the bottom in a white opaque mafs.
Thus are solids and fluids, opacity and trans-
parency, mutually convertible into each other
by procefses that are quite common.

These are familiar illustrations merely cal-
culated to free from ridicule, in the minds of
such of my readers as have not been in the
habit of reflecting on things of this nature, the
proposition announced. In none of these in-
stances are permanenlli) elastic fluids^ which
only of late have been suspected to enter as
constituent parts into the composition of solid
bodies, taken into the account. Tl'ic modifl-

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 503

cations of which these light and invisible sub-
stances arti susceptible, and the changes which
they can be made to undergo by their variou<>
combinations with each other, are such as to
appear altogether inconceivable by men who
have been accustomed to overlook all sub-
stances that are not visible or tangible, or per-
ceptible by the common application of our
senses. In consequence of late discoveries,
however,, nothing is now lefs surprising than to
see a solid weighty body produced, as it were,
from nothing 3 that is, from the combination
of two or more fluids that are, perhaps, not at
all cognisable by our senses. Water itself is
known to be a combination of that sort, which
may be either made or destroyed at pleasure.
That inanimate objects extract from the at-
mosphere alone, in some cases, an elastic in-
visible fluid which becomes fixed, and furnishes
a considerable portion of the solid body itself,
was proved above thirty years ago by a set of
judicious experiments conducted by the in-
genious Eh-. Black, late of Edinburgh, which
showed, by the most incontestibJe evidence,
that nearly one-third part of marble or chalk,
in their natural state, consists of such an elastic
fluid thus fixed, to which at that time he gave
the name of Jixed air. The same substance.

504 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

now called carbonic arid gas, is known at this
time to enter as a constituent part into the
composition of many other substances, and to
be an active agent both in the animal and
vegetable procefses. From a multiplicity of
experiments upon this and a variety of other
aeriform fluids, there is no reason to doubt that
most of the substances with which we are ac-
quainted, consists of nothing else than these
aeriform fluids fixed by certain procefses of
nature, (which can, indeed, on some occasions,
be imitated by us) and variously combined, so
as to afsume the appearances which they now
exhibit to our senses.

Since, then, we And, that by the agency of
the elements alone, mere aeriform fluids, which,
in the eyes of the multitude are deemed nothing,
can be converted into solid substances of a
rariety of kinds, why should we be startled at
believing, that by the vegetable and animal
procefses, the same imperceptible substances
should be capable of being converted into the
animal and vegetable matters that we see ?
This gives a striking view of the wonderful
simplicity of that economy of nature which,
the more we know of it, the more it must ex-
cite our admiration of the supreme First Cause

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 505

whose fiat alone could constitute a Universe,
whichj under an infinity of never-ceasing
changes, continues for ever the same. All
animal and vegetable substances are ultimately
resolved into aeriform fluids, which, when
thus disengaged, become anew the source of
new existences of the same sort.

Although I conclude then that fishes, per-
haps of every sort, derive some part of their
sustenance from water itself, yet there seems
to be no reason to doubt that some sorts de-
rive a much greater proportion of their food
from it than others do. Of all the swimmimr
fishes known to man as an article of food, I
conceive that no one subsists so entirely on
water as the herring. There is little reason,
indeed, as I think, to doubt, but that herrings
derive their subsistence from water, nearly as
much so as vegetables in general do. The
herring, it is known, is a fish of such a strong
gregarious tendency, that it is always found in
shoals ; and on manv occasions the herrings
in these shoals are crowded so close together
as to fill the whole sea from top to bottom, or
at least so far as our implements can reach, so
as to thicken the water with their bodies.
Ships are said to have been retarded in their

Volume IL K k

506 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

course in pafsing through these shoals ; and
on many occasions the herrings may be laded
up in buckets in great quantities : frequent
instances have also been known, where these
little fishes have been left by the ebbing of the
tide in heaps three feet deep upon the shores
for many miles in extent at one time. Nor is
it only upon rare occasions that such quan-
tities of these fishes are collected together;
they are seldom seen but in compacted shoals
of this kind; and it is universally believed
among those who are vcrsant in this kind of
fishery, that no other kind will voluntarily go
into the middle of such a shoal. The whale,
who preys upon them as his favourite food,
and who will lick up, perhaps, a thousand at
a mouthful, never allows himself to get into
the shoal, but hovers about the skirts of it only,
following their course wherever they go. The
same thing is remarkable of the dog-fish, a
species of shark of a voracious kind, which in
great multitudes follow the herrings afsidu-
ously, but carefully keep aloof from the main
body of them : so it is with regard to the cod
and ling, all of which delight in the herring as
a prey, but seem to dread their multitudes as
a body.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. SOt

Tliat herrings derive the whole of their sub-
sistence directly from water, in which they
swim, seems to be confirmed by a multitude
of facts respecting the habifrs and economy of
that singular and deservedly celebrated little
animal. Though they always swim in shoals
of immense magnitude, which cannot be
likened to any other phiEnomenon in nature
with which we are acquainted, unlefs it be
those destructive swarms of locusts which have
been sometimes known to fill the air in certain
regions of the globe, so as even to obscure the
sight of the sun, and cover with their bodies
every terrestrial object they meet with in their
course ; yet, unlefs it be wnth respect to num-
berSy we car; find no other resemblance between
the shoals of herrings and the locusts. —
These insects proceed in their course evidently
in search of food alone. The foremost of this
multitude sei2e upon the first vegetables that
com^ in their way, and devour it, leaving those
that follow to perish, for want of food. Their
course is marked by destruction ; nothing is
left behind to support animal existence. If
the wind should chance then to shift, so as to
drive them back in the same track through
which they came, their subsistence being ex-
hausted, they all perish-: they are therefore in

Kk2

508 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

a continued state of progrefsion; and to test
in one place for a few days, or to return in
their former path, are alike inevitable destruc-
tion to them : not so with the herrings. They
advance sometimes with great rapidity, and
sometimes more slowly: at times they recede,
then perhaps advance in their former course >
often they remain stationary in one place for
whole months together. Neither do these
imotions appear to be in any degree influenced
by the nature of their food; nor have any
symptoms ever been discovered that their food
has been diminished in consequence of their
long continuance in one place. No circum-
stance respecting their migrations has ever
been observed to have the smallest connexion
with their condition in regard to fatnefs, or the
reverse. When they are in a progrefs, let it be
continued ever so long, the foremost fishes in
the shoal have not been observed to be in a
better condition than those in the rear, which
must have been the case had they preyed on
small fry, or drawn their subsistence from any
other solid substances that floated in the
water ; neither has it been observed that they
generally get leaner after they have remained
long in one place ; which must have been the
case had they subsisted on the solid substances

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 509

xx)ntained in the water, which in that case
must have been ciuickly devoured. That a
body of herrings., however, is sometimes found,
the individuals of which are in general much
fatter or leaner, larger or smaller than others-

't>

is certain ; but if these two different sorts are
found in the same place, it as often happens
that the fat iiih follow the lean, as the reverse.
There is, in short, no connexion observable
between these two circumstances ; so that no
known fact seems to give the smallest indi-
cation that ever the quantity of food has been,
in any respect, exhausted, or even diminished
by the numbers or long continuance of this fish
in one station. All these facts seem decisively
to indicate, that this creature is capable of
drawing its subsistence from the water itself
by an inherent power of its animal functions,
of converting sea water, or the elements of
which it consists, into its own substance,
which nutrimentitious matter it would seem
always to find in abundance wherever that
water exists.

This reasoning is strongly confirmed by
the facts observable respecting its condition
when the body of this little fish is examined.
"^Vherever a herring has been caught, or under

Kk 3

510 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

whatever circumstances it has been killed, if it
be in good health, and consequently fat and in
good condition, nothing is ever found in its
Stomach that gives the smallest indication that
it has been either of vegetable or animal origin.
The only contents of the stomach is a very
small quantity of a mucous matter of a slimy
-nRture sui generis, that has no parallel that I
know of in the world. Under the influence
of one peculiar disease indeed, when the fish
is in a state of exhaustion that renders it totally
unfit for any of the purposes for which the
herring is ever caught by man, some vestiges
of small fishes are found in its stomach, as is
usual with other fish j but this false appetite
has evidently been the consequence of disease,
as it is never observed but under these circum-
stances. It seems to be produced in the same
manner as the desire to eat pieces of mortar or
lime rubbish is found irresistibly to prevail
among some children, when they are distrefsed
by that disease v/hich is occasioned by worms
in the body.

From all these facts combined, it would
seem that it had been intended by nature, that
the herring should be endowed with the faculty
of deriving its nourishment directly from water,

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 511

nearly in the same manner as vegetables derive
their subsistence from the same element in the
soil, in order that an abundant sustenance
might thus be furnished to other fishes that
are of a nature more strictly carnivorous than
it is. That other fishes, especially those which
multiply very fast, may be endowed with a
similar faculty in a greater or lefser degree,
seems to be extremely probable ; by means of
which the water becomes capable of nourishing
immense multitudes of fishes, which, were we
able to examine it at all depths, might pro-
bably be found to support a much greater pro-
portion of animal matter, than the land itself,
with all the plants that grow upon it, are
capable of subsisting.

That fishes migrate on some occasions, as
birds do, we well know; but with the causes
of these migrations we are in a great measure
unacquainted. We are too much strangers to
the economy of these creatures even to guefs,
on most occasions, at the circumstances that
may influence their conduct. In general we
are disposed to believe, that the movements of
animals are chiefly influenced by the want of
food, in quest of which their lives are chiefly
employed; but that this is not always, at least,

Kk4

512 GEORGICAL ESSAYS,

the reason why fishes change their place of
abode we know, from what we have been
enabled to observe with respect to the salmon,
which, being more within our reach than most
other fishes, has had the circumstances affecting
it more particularly investigated.

The salmon is one of the few fishes which,
though it can live equally well in salt or in
fresh water for a time, cannot exist without a
frequent change from the one to the other ;
hence it happens that salmon are found in the
sea only in the neighbourhood of some river :
nor do they abide long in any river without
going into the sea, from which they soon re-
turn, and again re-mount the river. Their
progrefs in these peregrinations has been re-
marked by fishermen ; and all the devices of
the latter are calculated to arrest them in that
progrefs. Beside those irregular movements
which seem to aflfect individuals only through-
out the greatest part of the season, the follow-
ing changes in their progrefs have been re-
marked as regular and periodical.

About the month of October, the salmon,
then in full roe, when the season of spawning
approaches, directed by an invariable instinct.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 513

leaving the deeper waters where they usually
subsist, push forward into rills and shoals,
where they deposit their spawn, over which
the attendant male sheds his milt. They then
afsist each other in returning the sand and
gravel into the part that they had hollowed out
for the reception of the spawn. After this
they return, in a feeble and exhausted con-
dition, to their former haunts, where they gra-
dually attain greater strength, and in time
come into better condition, so as in due season
to become proper food for man, when he
again resumes his suspended labours in search
of them for food.

The spawn, fostered by the influence of the
season, is in due time brought into life, and the
young fry after a while begin, like their pa-,
rents, to direct their progrefs towards the sea,
near to which they usually arrive about the
month of May, and towards which they then
hasten. At this period of time they are from
four to six inches in length only, being in some
places called s?iwults. After a time the smouUs
totally disappear from the rivers. They are at
this time gone into the sea, from whence they
return in the month of June or July. They
are then prodigiously augmented in size, being

514 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

from sixteen to twenty inches, or more, in
length, and of proportionate bulk ; so that they
weigh six or ten times more than before.
Their flesh has by this time acquired the red-
dish hue and peculiar taste of the salmon,
which it had not before, and they are then
called grilses. The augmentation of size in
such a short period of time, and the other
changes that have taken place, are so great,
that it is no wonder that many persons should
doubt whether these are the same kind of fish ;
but their identity has been ascertained by ex-
periments often repeated. Many gentlemen,
who live upon the banks of rivers where sal-
mon abound, have amused themselves by catch-
ing smoults in their descent, and marking
numbers of them by cutting their fins in a par-
ticular manner, or fastening brafs rings in
them in such a way as not to admit of being
easily disentangled, and then putting them
into the water : many of which fishes have been
again caught, at the distance of five or six
weeks from that time, in the state of grilses ;
so that no doubt of their identity could be
entertained.

It will be unnecefsary, and indeed impofsible
in our present state of knowledge, to trace the

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 515

future progrefs of the salmon minutely. Like
other fishes, they continue to increase in size,
probably, as long as they live ; insomuch that
there are instances of some individuals having
been caught that haye weighed a hundred
pounds weight ; at least top times the size at
which they are in a state to produce young.
These are, no doubt, individuals which have
fortunately escaped, far longer than their
brethren, the perils that continually await
them.

One circumstance only affecting this fish has
been noticed, which seems to account for the
necefsity that they feel themselves under, so
frequently to change their place of abode be-
tween the fresh and the salt water (for they
never seem to experience a want of provisions
in either;) it is this : when a salmon has con-
tinued for a considerable time in fresh water,
a particular insect, or louse, is observed to fix
upon it, especially about the, gills ; where they
increase very fast, so as to become extremely
numerous and distrcfsful to it. There appears
to be no other remedy for this disease, but the
going into salt water, where this insect cannot
subsist ; so that the fish becomes perfectly
^lean and healthy in a short time after it has

516 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

entered into that element : but it has not been
there long before it becomes infested with
another species of louse, which cannot exist in
fresh water ; so that the salmon is forced to
return once more into the river, in order to get
rid of it. In this way the poor creature is im-
pelled by necefsity frequently to change be-
tween these two elements ; but these changes
take place respecting the fishes individually,
and do not affect the whole aggregate body at
one time ; so that it does not occur peri-
odically at regular seasons.

The above explanation is given, not in coar
sequence of my own observations (for I have
had no opportunity of making them,) but on
the authority of a gentleman of veracity who
has long attended to this subject himself, and
has had the best opportunities of ascertaining
facts from the information of many fishermen
who have been engaged in that businefs for
twenty or thirty years, and on whose joint
tesimony, corroborating his own observations,
he relies. Be this, however, as it may, the
certainty is, that the salmon is so much under
the necefsity of pafsing frequently from salt to
fresh w^ater, and the reverse, that it has been
found, that in whatever river salmon have been

4

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 517

bred, these identical salmon are observed
never to desert that river, and enter into
another, unlefs when the mouths of the two
rivers are extremely near to each other; and
it thus happens that in many cases the salmon
of one river have qualities and peculiarities that
cJearly distinguish them from those of the
other ; which separate qualities, the salmon of
each river may pofsefs perhaps for ages with-
out alteration. The practical inferences that
may be drawn from these facts are obvious,
and of great importance. There is, every sea-
son, the difference of more than a month be-
tween the time that the fisheries begin in the
rivers Don and Ythan, both in Aberdeenshire,
though the mouths of these two rivers are not
more than twelve miles distant from each
other.

There is one other peculiarity respecting thr
salmon, which, as it seems to be in some mea-
sure connected with its migrations, deserves to
be taken notice of here. It is observed, that
those salmon which are caught in the great
fresh water lake called Loch-ntfs are never out
of season ; so that they may be caught and
used at that time of the year when the killing
of salmon is by law prohibited in most other

5l8 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

places. May not this peculiarity be occasioned
by the following circumstance? Nature directs
those fishes that are in roe, and about to spawn,
(when they are always lean and out of con-
dition) to leave the deep waters and search for
shallow places, in which their spawn may be
safely deposited. But it is probable, that it is
such fish only as are in that condition, which
feel the influence of that instinct. It is, by no
means, improbable, that among fishes, as
among other animals, some individuals may
mifs having young at the usual season. If so,
these individuals will not feel the instinctive
impulse that makes them leave the deep water ;
they may, therefore, choose to continue there
"when the others abandon it for shallow streams ;
they ought then also to be in good condition j
and, as they are then abandoned by the whole
of their sickly companions, all that can be
caught at that season there should be in good
condition. If so, other lakes may certainly be
found that are similarly circumstanced, in
which the salmon are also good at that season
of the year ; and I know, in fatt, that there
are other places v/here salmon continue good
at the prohibited season ; but not knowing the
very places I cannot examine particulars. If
my conjecture be well founded, the salmon

5

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 519

caught there at the prohibited season should
never be in roe, or at least not near spawning.
Is it so ? Neither ought healthy fish to be at
that season obtained without an intermixture
of sickly ones, unlefs it be in large bodies of
deep water, for where shallow water can be
found near the edges, some of the sickly fish
may remain there to deposit their spawn ; so
that they cannot be separated from the others :
of course the general law could admit of no
exception in regard to such places, should it
even happen that. a considerable number of
sound fish should be there at the time.

There is one other fish, nearly as common
as the salmon in this country, that is migratory
also, when in a situation to admit of it j but
to which the necefsity of these migrations is
not such as to be indispensable ; this is the eel.
Eels, we know, can live and breed in stagnant
ponds from which there is no outlet, as carp
and tench, and several other fishes do; but
whether they ever there attain the same per-
fection as under other circumstances, may
perhaps admit of a doubt. In what place the
eel deposits its young in preference to others,
when it is at perfect freedom, I know not : or
whether the young fry make a progrefsion

525 GfiOR6lCAL ESSAYS,

towards the sea, as the salmon does at a certain
period of its growth, I cannot tell. But this
I know, from my own observation in one par-
ticular case, and I know that it has been ob-
served by others in similar circumstances, that
in the month of June in each year, immense
swarms of young eels make a progrefs from the
lower part of the river towards the higher, with
a quicknefs and unremitted afsiduity that is
very surprising. I had occasion to remark this
phtEnomenon in the river Dee in Aberdeen-
shire, where local circumstances, perhaps, con-
tributed to render that peculiarity perceptible
there, which may very easily be unobserved
■while it is pafsing with equal regularity in
other places. The eel is a fish that seems
(unlike the trout) to dislike running streams,
and therefore avoids that part of the river
where the current is strong. It had, probably,
been this circumstance that induced them, in
the rapid river Dee, totally to abandon the
middle channel, and to direct their progrefs
only along the edges of the river close to
the banks: and it was probably the trans-
parency of the water, and its shallownefs at
the edge, that enabled me to mark this phse-
nomenon, which seemed to me not a little
curious.

dEOtlGlCAL ESSAYS. 521

Having occasion at one time to walk fre-
quently upon the banks of that river for seve-
ral days together, I could not help observing
a black kind of mark that ran along the edge
of the river in an uninterrupted line wherever
I went, very like the dark mark left by water
on many occasions along the margin of pools
where the bottom is gravel ; which line fol-
lowed the bends and windings of the river,
being often suddenly turned aside by stones or
other interruptions without any breach of its
continuity; This line had frequently caught
my eye, without attracting particular notice ;
till one time that 1 came to a projecting point
round which the current was brisker than
usual ; at this place I perceived a kind of vibra-
tory motion in the line ; and on looking closer,
I observed something like the wriggling of an
animal, making efforts to stem the current. ^ I
stooped down, and put my hand into the water
to touch the line, with a view to examine what
it was : the line became discontinued when my
hand approached it, and I could touch nothing
of it ; but it united again as soon as my hand
was withdrawn. This induced me to examine
it very nearly ; and I then perceived, to my
no small astonishment, that this line was
formed by an uninterrupted series of small eels,

Volume IL L 1

522 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

moving forward with great celerity, exactly in
the same manner as a long file of soldiers
might march without interruption. These eels
did not (as nearly as I. can recollect) exceed
half an inch in length, but were in ail respects
perfectly formed like the common eel. The
line might perhaps, on an average, consist of
from twenty to thirty in breadth^, and the indi-
viduals being in different degrees of forward-
nefs, and close to each other, made the line
uniform without any thing like links or breaks
of any sort. I observed them with great at-
tention for a long time j and am convinced
that they advanced with a progrefs of not lefs
than four miles an hour. This progrefs con-
tinued, without interruption night or day, for
eight days together that I remained at that
place : how much longer it continued, I had
no opportunity of learning 5 but there was no
apparent diminution of it W'hen I left the place.
I crofsed the river on purpose to observe
■whether there was a similar line there, and
found it in all respects the same. The water
in which they floated at the place where I ob-
served them was in general about tw^o or three
inches deep. I did not then think of going to
a still deeper part of the river, which I might
have found at a-few miles distance j and I now
3

GEORfelCAL essays; 523

' in ueh regret that I did not ; as I think it pro-
bable that I should there have lost sight of
them ; for there they might have been dispersed
more equally through the whole body of the
river, and could not, of courbe, have been ob»
served, especially if the V7ater was deep, with
a dark muddy bottom. It is probable, that in
this manner the migration of eels, which I am
satisfied must take place to a much greater
extent in many other rivers, has been so little
observed.

From the data above stated, it is easy to
compute that the numbers whicl^ must have
thus pafsed, amounted to many myriads. What
becomes of such multitudes of fishes we may
conjecture, but never perhaps shall be able to
ascertain.

The above observations respect the spon-
taneous movem. nts of eels upwards in rivers ;
those that follow give indications of a similar
progrefs downivards at one season of the year
by the same species of fishi^s. There is in
Scotland, in the neighbourhood of 1 jnlithgow,
a pretty considerable lake, commonly called in
that country Linlifhgozv-loch in which great
quantities of eels are caught. These may be

H2

534 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

taken by hooks and lines during any of t\\6
summer months ; but the principal fishing is in
the month of October ; at which time it is
found, that the eels, directed by natural in-
stinct, discover an irresistible propensity to
ifsue from the loch by the pafsage through
tvhich the water flows from it to the sea. At
that season of the year, then, the person who
rents the fisheries of the loch, puts into that
pafsage a kind of box, or chest, that is so
formed as to allow free pafsage to the water,
while it stops those eels that exceed a certain
size. This kind of chest is every morning
emptied of its fish, which are there found in
such abundance as to require sometimes to be
carried off in carts. The fishing season con-
tinues about a month ; before or after which
time few or none can be taken in that way ;
so that the chest is then removed, and the paf-
^ge left free.

In "Wiltshire aJso a similar practice prevails,
by which great quantities of eels are taken
every year. About Warminster, where the
rivers are small, and more rapid in their course
than in many other parts of England, the mills
placed on the streams arc pretty numerous, and
the water is carefully directed into one chan-

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 52i

nel. Tlie persons pofsefsing these mills
having found by long experience, that a great
number of fine eels go down the river during
every flood that happens about the beginning
of October each year, have devised a kind
of box, or chest, similar to the above, which
they call an eel-grate ; this they then place in
a convenient part of the river, and thus great
quantities of eels are caught, which they dis-
pose of to very good account. But they find
also, that po eels worth mentioning can be
taken in this Wtiy at any other season of the
year.

Whether the eels that are thus caught in
descending the river are near the breeding
time, as the salmon are which ascend the
small streams, has not been ascertained^ pro-
bably they are : but if so, they are not like the
salmon, then lean and out of condition, but
fat and full, as haddocks are in January, when
they are in full roe. It is probable, that
these eels deposit their young somewhere
near the mouths of the rivers. That these
large eels ascend the rivers a^ain at another
season of the year till they regain their former
haunts, there is room, from reason and ana-
}ogy, to suppose ; but their progrcfs in this re-

LI 3

52^ GEORGICAL ASSAYS.

spect has not, that 1 know of, been remarked
by any one. This circumstance appears to
me in no respect surprising; because the same
facilities do not take place for discovering
them in their progrefs upward, were it even
certain, as for that in their descent. In the
latter case, they are precipitated by the current
into situations where they cannot so easily
make there escape, and thus elude the atten-
tion of (->bsf rvers, as niiiy happen in their as-
cending progrefs. They may have been at
first entangled in their descent in baskets or
nets whose mouths were placed towards the
current. This could not be done in their as-
cending progrefs; and although devices called
cruives have been invented for catching sal-
mon in ascending the rivers ; yet, the pro-
grefs of eels in that direction having not been
remarked, no contrivance that I have heard of
for thus catching them has been devised. It
ought also to be remernbered, that the cur-
rent, when the rivers are swelled, must force
"them forward at those periods in which they
are now observed in much greater numbers
than at any other, so as to render them then con-
spicuous 3 whereas, in mounting the river, their
progrefs, by being jnore equally divided
through a longer period of time, must be Icl^
perceptible.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 527

In confirmation of the opinion, tliat this
progrefs may hitherto have escaped notice
merely from our not having adverted to it, I
inay be allowed to remark, that, although
there is reason to believe that there is not
a river in the kingdom, especially such as
derive their origin from marshes or extensive
lakes, in which the eels at the regular season
do not descend the river; yet unlefs it be in
the two cases above designed, which arc so
similar in kind, though separated at such a
distance as to leave no room to suspect that
the practices there adopted have been commu-
nicated from the one to the other, a similar
progrefs of this fish has never been remarked.
For my own part, I have not a doubtj from
the above stated facts, that a similar progrefs
in all cases must take place under similar cir-
cumstances; and I am firmly convinced, that by
attending to these facts with care, and adopt-
ing the arrangements that reason will suggest
on such occasions, many beneficial fisheries of
this sort may be established in situations where
hitherto nothing of the kind has ever been
deemed pofsible.

It is perhaps unnecefsary to remark, that if
the large eels do indeed return, it might be

LI 4

528 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

pofsible, by watching the time of their pro-
grefs, to devise contrivances for stopping them
in their ascent somev^'hat similar to the con-
struction of cruizes for salmon, which might
be done at a very trijfling expense, upon
those small rills especially that communicate
with swamps or lakes j for though the banks
were overflowed during floods, yet if these
eel-traps occupied the full width of the rill,
when in its usual state, no lofs could be sus-
tained during floods j as the strength of the
current would at that time interrupt their pro-
grefs upwards. It is very probable also, that
if the large eels do indeed return, they may do
jt more leisurely than they descend, especially
where the water runs dead. It is therefore,
in brisk running streams that we shall most
]ikely be able to discover the circumstances
that affect these rnigrations.

It may be proper also to remark, that if my
conjecture respecting the periodical migration^
of this kind of fish be well founded, and general^
it ought to follow, that fewer eels should be
found in those lakes where the water as it ifsues
from them falls over a steep roek, forming
a deep cascade, than in others where the
communication with the sea is more frecj

CEORGICAL ESSAYS. 539

because, though the eels might be precipi-
tated over it in their descent, the young fry
would be there interrupted in their attempts
to ascend over it. Exactly such is the case
with Loch-schin, a large fresh water lake
in the shire of Sutherland in Scotland. Can
any of my readers inform me whether eels
abound in that lake or not, and whether those
that are there found are in any respects distin-
guishable from others? I ask not if there be
any eels in it ; for that there will be some^ I
have no doubt; but the question is, are there
as many as in similar lakes, below which there
is no steep cascade ? '

The migrations of herrings, though the know-
ledge of them would be of much greater con-
sequence to man than that of either of the
former, are still lefs understood than those are.
With regard to the fishes already noticed,
though our information be but small, our
judgme- t in respect to them has not been mis-
led by false intelligence; so that, a'though we
have much to learn, we have nothing to un-
learn, not so with regard to herrings; for
though our knowledge respecting them be
indeed extremely limited, yet every person
who has but glanced at the subject, believes

"530 GEORGICAL ESSAYS,

that he has a thorough knowledge of every
particular respecting the migration of this in-
teresting little fish, however imperfect his in-
formation may be respecting other particulars
affecting it. Yet I am not, in fact, aware of
any circumstance respecting the natural
history of the herring that is involved in such
obscurity as that of its emigrations; so that we
have much to unlearn before we can begin out
search after useful information : and riothino:
afsuredly can tend so much to retard our pro-
grefs in any research as the necefsity of this
kind of retrograde motion, which is so un-
pleasing to the feelings of man in general,
that many persons will rather choose to con-
tinue in delusion than make the necefsary
efforts to free themselves from its influence.

What renders the case particularly hopelefs
in the present instance is, the beautiful simpli-
city of the system that has been invented re-
specting this matter, the length of time that
it has been received by all the literary world
as an acknowledged truth, and the high au-
thorities (if great names shall be admitted as
such) that may be adduced in support of it.
Yet, in spite of all these authorities, it will
iiot be' difficult, I imagine, to show, that well

.GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 531

ascertained facts so evidently contradict that
system, as of neccfsity to compel the attentive
inquirer, whatever reluctance he may fee\ on
the occasion, entirely to abandon the hypo-
thesis as untenable, whatever difiicuity he may
find in divising another that shall prove satis-
factory : but as error, he knows, must at all
events be abandoned, before truth can be dis-
covered, he has no other alternative than to
follow that course.

Who the person was that first pubhshed the
popular account of the migration of herrings,
I have not yet been able to learn 3 but that it
was admitted as a true account before the
year 1550, when Guicciardini wrote his De-
scrittione depaesi bq/si, is certain ^ for he there
distinctly details it as such in nearly the same
terms in which it is now described ; and it has
been copied from him, or his authorities, by
all the writers that have since treated of the
herring fishery, with scarcely a single ex-
ception, and without the smallest indication of
doubt as to any particular respecting it being
giving by any of them, llie outlines of this
system are as follow :

The great receptacle of herrings, according

532 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

to this account the officina gentium, or gran^
5tore-house, from which the whole world is
supplied with herrings, is the great Northern
Ocean. In this unexplored retreat, they are
jaid to be accumulated in immense multitudes
during the early part of each year; from
whence there ifsues forth annually about the
end of May, or beginning of June (much as it
would seem, after the same manner as a
swarm of bees ifsue from the parent hive), an
immense swarm of herrings, which, proceed-
ing in a compacted body in ;i southern di-
rection, gradually fill all the southern seas
that lie in the course of their progrcfs. This
immense swarm or shoal of herrings (as it is
technically called) have, according to this ac-
count, proceeded so far in their course as to
reach the islands of Shetland toward or before
the middle of June. Here these islands, op-
posing their progrefs, compel the herrings to
separate ; one body of the fish proceeds for-
ward along the eastern shores of these islands,
which in their progrefs fill all the lochs [loch
means here a narrow arm of the sea breaking
into the land, such are Loch-urn, Loch-duich,
and all the other lochs in the west Highlands]
and bays on the western coasts of the con-
jinent, the Baltic being included among thq

CEORGICAL ESSAYS. 563

tjumbei'. Part of these still go forward, from-
which are detached small shoals which ap-
pear in the bays on the eastern coast of Scot-
land. Still proceeding forward, they at length
reach ' the coast of Norfolk about the begin-
ning of October, where the fishers of Yar-
mouth then find them ; but, what is singularly
remarkable, none have ever been found on
the opposite coasts of Holland. The great
body of the fish being by this time much di-
vided, they proceed only in small numbers to
the southward j and coasting round the
southern shores of Britain, they finally unite
with their brethren, which had separated from
them at Shetland, about the Lands End of
Cornwall, near the beginning of winter.

Part of the shoal which went alon? the
western coasts of Shetland, soon meeting the
Orkney islands, there fill all the bays on these
coasts that they encounter: the chief body,
still proceeding to the west of these islands,
at last meet the northern parts of Scotland
and the western isles, and are thus forced once
more to divide, one part continuing their pro-
grefs between the main land and the western
islands, the other going along to the westward
of these islands, filling the bays of these coasts in
their progrefs. They thus pafs on between the

534 GEORGICAL JESSAYS.

main land and the Isle of Man, a detachment
proceeding at the same time along the west
coasts of Ireland ; till, finally, the remains of
these two divisions join their long-lost com-
panions about the coasts of Cornwall, where
they disappear, and return as well as they can,
but nobody knows how, to their original habi-
tation in the Northern Ocean, to be ready at
the appointed time to set out anew in their
annual progrefs.

Such, in few words, are th6 outlines of the
tale that has been told, and gravely repeated,
as undeniable facts, by all our writers for three
hundred years past. No doubt, such a tale is
well calculated to catch the minds of the mul-
titude 5 for it has so much of the wonderful as
cannot fail to operate powerfully on their
imaginations J but one would conceive that
this very circumstance should have induced
philosophers to suspect that there might be
some fallacy in it, and thus have induced them
to compare and examine the facts on which .
it is said to rest, and thus to establish, without
doubt, either its truth or its fallacy. I cannot,
however, find that this has been done by any
one ; so that the task, thus late, has at last
fallen to my share .

&EORGlCAt. ESSAYSv 535

I myself, like most of those, I presume,,
who shall read this, for a great many years of
my life relied with the most unsuspecting con-
fidence upon the truth of this tale in all its.
parts j conceiving that so many men of the
most respectable talents, could not have pro-
pagated it w^ithsuch steadinefs without having
examined it with attention. In this state of
mind I entered upon a survey of the fisheries
on the coast of Scotland in the year 1784. —
But my embarrafsment was great, when on
conversing with actual fishermen, who had
long followed that employment as a businefs,
instead of meeting with that beautiful arrange-
ment that I expected, I found myself involved
in a chaos of contradictory facts, which could
in no way be brought to quadrate with the
above hypothesis j and the ineffectual efforts
I made to reconcile these, involved my mind
for a time in the utmost perplexi<:y and con-
fusion. To free myself from thi;i embarrafsing
situation, I resolved to set aside all idea of
hypothesis or system of any kind, and to at-
tend to facts only as they occured ; and^
having carefully ascertained them, enter them
in my minutes with the most scrupulous fideli-
ty. Even the fishermen themselves, I found,,
had been embarrafsed in the same way as I

5i6 GEOilGICAL ESSAYS.

was; so that when they attempted to give a
connected view of the procedure which they
ought to follow, it would in general have led
to a conduct extremely different from that
which they found themselves under the neces-
sity of adhering to in practice ; thus it required
a steady attention to discriminate between the
direction they gave as a rule of conduct, and
the procedure they actually did adopt in the
prosecution of their businefs ; the last of
which I marked with care, and the first was
with equal caution totally neglected : nor was
it till after a very careful collation of the facts
thus obtained, that the fallacy of this Jong-
lived hypothesis became clearly apparent.
These facts I threw together in an Appendix
to the report that I presented to the Com-
mittee of Parliament, on the Northern Fish-
eries, anno 1785, that has been since published
in the account of the Hebrides, Appendix,
Ko. 2, to which the curious reader, who
wants full information on this subject, is re-
ferred. The few facts that follow will be suffi-
cient, on the present occasion, to show the
fallacy of that hypothesis.

If the hypothesis above stated had been
w«Jl founded, the fishing for herrings in all the

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 5S7

European seas ought to begin first in the most
northerly parts, and gradually extend to the
southward ; but how do facts in this respect
stand ? Although much irregularity prevails
with respect to the time when the fishery com-
mences on different parts of the coast; yet
there is in some cases a sort of order observ-
able, which, though not invariably steady, is
neverthelefs, on an average of years, pretty
uniform. In this sense then it may be said,
that the earliest herring fisheries on the coasts
of Britain, are those on the coast of the Isle
of Man, and in Loch-fine. Herrings on an
average of seasons, are caught in these two
places two months (often three months) be-
fore a single herring can be observed on any
of the coasts of Scotland, or the Isles from
Cape Wrath to the Mull of Cantyre ; though
it is obvious, by inspection of the map, that,
had the hypothesis been just, the fishes could
not have got to either of these places without
having first pafsed Cape Wrath, and all the
other places between that and the AIull of
Cantyre. How then, it may be asked, should
it so happen, that nine years out of ten they
are first seen in these two southern stations ?

Again : few herrings are in general to be
Volume IL M m

558 &EORGICAL ESSAYS.

found on the Orkney coast, where they should,
by the hypothesis, abound in immense mul-
titudes in the month of June ; yet, instead of
this, it is seldom that a single herring can be
there caught at that season of the year 5 and
the few herrings that can be there caught are
taken only during the winter months, long
after they shouldhave deserted those seas.

Again : by the hypothesis we should expect
that the herrings in their progrefs southward,
in the month of June, when the north coast of
Scotland, from Cape Wrath to Thurso, opposed
their progrefs, could not fail to be then pushed
in immense multitudes into all the creeks and
bays on this coast. The fact, however, is, that
scarcely any herrings can be there caught -, and
the few that are there found are chiefly caught
in winter. The same observations apply to
the Murray Firth, in which, toward Invernefs,
a few herrings sometimes may be found, and
still more during late years on the east coast
of Caithnefs ; but here also the principal fish-
ing season is winter, when they ought long to
have abandoned that coast. It deserves also
to be remarked, that, although the Dutch, from
the conveniency and safety of Brafsay sound
in Shetland, have established that station as a
5

GEORdlCAL ESSAYS. 539

general rendezvous for their bufses, from
whence they are to take their departure on the
26th of June, to prosecute the fisheries during
the ensuing season wherever they shall find it
most convenient ; yet the herring fishery that
the natives occasionally follow on that coast, is
not in the summer, but in the winter season.
It deserves farther to be remarked, that on the
coast of Svi^eden, not much to the southward
of Shetland, the herring fishery never com-
mences till toward the month of December,

It has been already stated, that the supposed
progrefs of the herrings southward is at such a
rate as that they reach Yarmouth about the
month of October ^ and this fact has been
deemed the most undeniable proof of the truth
of the hypothesis. But though it be admitted,
that the herring fishery begins with as much
regularity at Yarmouth in the month of Octo-
ber, as it does at the Isle of Man and Loch-fine
in the month of June ; yet these two facts, so
clearly contradicting each other, only tend to
show the groundlefsnefs of that hypothesis:
more especially when connected with those that
have been already stated; to which I beg leave
to add the following. About eight or nine
years ago, a large body of herrings was dis-

M m 2

540 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

covered in the Frith of Forth above Leith in
the month of November, where they continued
in great numbers till the month of February.
They have made their appearance in the same
place, and nearly at the same season, every
year since that time, though they have never
been discovered there till more than a month
after the Yarmouth fisheries, so much south of
them, were at the best, and had begun to de-
cline.

Finally, to conclude this branch of our sub-
ject : the herring fisheries on the coasts of
Hampshire, in the south of England, usually
take place in the month of October, at the very
same time with that at Yarmouth, both which
fishings are ended some time in November ;
whereas in the narrow seas, within reach of
the London market, it is well known, that
herrings are caught occasionally, and sold in
the streets of London, in the months of Novem-
ber, December, January, February, March,
April, and May ; but chiefly in this last month,
when there is scarcely a year occurs in which
thev are not to be found there in abundance ;
at which time, according to the hypothesis,
they should be all far to the northward of Shet-
land.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 541

From these facts, to which might be added
many more were it deemed necefsary, it is evi-
dent, that the account of the migrations of her-
rings above quoted is entirely hypothetical,
and is clearly contradicted by the most unde-
niable evidence ; so that it ought to be aban-
doned as erroneous and chimerical.

That herrings, however, do shift from place
to place occasionally, and keep together for the
most part in great bodies called shoals, is an
undeniable fact ; but what the causes of these
migrations are, or whither they go when they
withdraw from our sight, remains yet to be dis-
covered. The following facts and obser-
vations, tending to lead to an elucidation of
this circumstance, deserves consideration, be-
cause, whatever tends to devclope the truth,
must at the same time augment the knowledge
and extend the powers of man.

The above stated facts, and all others known
respecting herrings, tend not to give the
smallest indication of any large and regular
progrefs of the whole body in any one direc-
tion whatever at regular periods of the year.
AVe find them at the same season of the year
at Dronthein and the Isle of Man, at Caithnefs

Mm 3

h'4-2 OEORGICAL ESSAYS.

and the Isle of Wight, at Stockholm and at
London. This might naturally lead us to sus-
pect, that the herrings, when they retired from
our view, went to much shorter distances than
has been supposed j and that those which appear
occasionally on different coasts are not in fact
the same body of fish, but distinct and separate
shoals that have no necefsary connexion with
each other, but may retain their station nearly
throughout the whole year. Haddocks, we
know, are caught upon many coasts ; yet no
one ever took it into his head to believe that
the haddocks which are caught on the Norfolk
coast are the same body of fish, or ever inter-
mixed with those that are caught on the shores
of Aberdeen. Why then should we suppose
that the herrings on the Norfolk coast are the
idpnticd fish that are seen in Shetland ?

That haddocks as well as herrings do some--
times, from causes unknown to us, leave their
usual haunt, and retire we know not whither,
is made evident by the following fact, which
is in the recollection of thousands of persons
who may read this. About ten or twelve
years ago, haddocks disappeared all along the
south-east coasts of Scotland, insomuch that
©ne fish of this sort could not be there caught

CE0Rt5ICAL ESSAYS. 54S

where hundreds used to be taken. This scar-
city continued there for the space of six or
seven years nearly, when that kind of fish again
unexpectedly returned to those shores in as
great abundance as formerly : and, what is not
a little remarkable, it was observed that those
which did return were of a much larger size
than those that went away. Whither these
haddocks retired during the time they were
absent, no one knows. It only seems probable
that they had merely withdrawn themselves
from the coast till they were beyond the reach
of the fishermen ; for had they gone to another
parti of the coast it must have been observed
by the increased numbers there, which was in
no case perceptible.

It- seems to me extremely probable, that her-
rings, as well as haddocks, do not in general
depart far from their native place, and that
they never, at any season of the year, abandon
entirely any of those seas on the shores, of
V^hich they have been usually- discovered in
great quantities ; but that, impelled, by. some
instinct or natural want, they at certain seasons
approach the shore, or rise near to the surface
of the water, so as to come within the reach of
man, from whence they occasionally withdraw

Mm 4

544 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

themselves into deep water, where they lie
concealed from us. Upon this supposition all
the facts above stated, and every other fact re-
specting the herring that has come to my
knowledge, perfectly harmonize.

We have it in our power to adduce some
facts in support of this hypothesis even stronger
than any of those already mentioned. There
are many and strong indications that there are
different breeds of herrings, as well as of cattle,
sheep, and other domestic animals, which may
be distinguished from each other by charac-
teristical marks plainly perceptible; and which,
from the strong gregarious nature of this fish,
can be traced distinctly for a greater length of
time, and through a greater variety of circum-
stances, than perhaps any other kind of fish
whatever.

The first hint of any thing of this sort I ever
met with, was among the practical fishermen,
who had in no sort generalized their notions
on this subject, but who spoke as decisively of
the Loch-fine or Isle of Man herrings, and
others, and seemed to have as clear an idea of
the distinctions between them, as a grazier in
England would speak of the Leicester, Lin^

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 545

colnshire, and South-down sheep. From these
persons, however, I could draw no decisive in-
forqiation, for their descriptions were so vague
that they conveyed no precise idea; and my
mind had not yet got into the track to enable
me to make any clear arrangements. It was
not till 1 fell in with Mr. Macdonell of Bar-
rasdale, a man of strong understanding, whose,
employment [bailiff of the herring fisheries, a
kind of local superintendant to preserve order
among the fishermen on the coasts of Scotland]
obliged him to attend particularly to the her-
ring fishery, and the circumstances affecting it
throughout his whole life. It is to him that I am
indebted for the facts that enabled me at last
to perceive a ray of light that gave some indi-
cations that the impenetrable gloom in which
this subject has been hitherto enveloped, may
be at last difsipated.

Mr. Macdonell discriminated the different
breeds of herrings that were in his own neigh-
bourhood with much greater accuracy than any
of the others I had conversed with, insomuch
that he could not only point them out at once
when showed to him, but could even mention
their distinctive marks, which he gave me in
writing to the following effect, " The h^r-

545 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

rings of this loch (Loch-urn) and Loch-duich^
[in its vicinity to the northward] I mean the
home-bred ones, are short, their bellies pro-
minent, their backs thick and rather hollow, or
bending inwards about the middle of it, than
straight j and, as the herrings of both bays
seem to be the same, when they leave Loch-
duich [during the season they frequent the
shores] they generally cast up here. Those
of Loch-nevish [to the southward] have more
of the i.^anon shape, are stronger, and have
large biack and full eyes. Those of Loch-na-
nuach [farther southward still] have something
that distinguish them from both." How often
do we find that a skilful eye can mark a per?
ceptible difference where no words can be in-
vented to convey an idea of it ? The jeweller
can thus distinguish a false from a true brilliant,
where another person could recognise no dif»
ference : nor could he give any idea to another
how this can be done.

My. Macdonell, taking it for granted that
the shoal of fish which frequented the same
haunts for years together had been bred there,
always denominates them home-bred fish, when
he wants to distinguish them from any foreign
shoal of herrings that may accidently intermix

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 547

with them, which frequently is the case, and
which is to be expected; for no boundaries
can be there fixed to confine them. " Some-
times, he observes, these foreign fish come
into the bay that does not belong to them, and
the native herrings themselves sometimes make
a turn elsewhere, but usually return again ;"
though there are no doubt occasions in which
they may go so far as to lose their path, and
never return anymore ; these wanderers taking
up their residence at last in some suitable situa-
tion, where perhaps no herrings before were
known, which they make their home, and leave
it not for years, perhaps for ages. What fol-
lows is a slight sketch of some progrefsions of
this sort that had been remarked by the same
gentleman. He thus proceeds :

" About eleven years ago [this was written
anno 1784] says he, a very large shoal of
foreign fish appeared at Gare-loch [east from
the north point of the Isle of Slcye] about the
beginning^ of August. Their course was from
the north southward, and in their progrefs
filled all the lochs [bays] as far southward as
Loch-duich [about 40 miles.] A small branch
of it came into this loch, [Loch-urn, about 8
miles more] continued in it five days, and then

548 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

disappeared, carrying with them a small body
of home-bred fish they found in the loch.
They continued, however, longer in the bays
to the northward, then retired to the offing,
when they returned to these bays ; I mean, to
the northern ones, and to those on the north
and east of Skye, where they remained until
the beginning of January. In this way they
continued to make their appearance, early and
late, for five years, or until the whole body of
them were perhaps destroyed ^ nor did I heaVy
nor do I think that this shoal ever removed far-
ther to the southward or westward. It is re-
markable, that the home-bred Jish were all along
distinguishable from them. Since that time
no considerable shoal oi foreign fish appeared
in my district ; though now and then a few,
probably the remains of the great shoal, were
distinguishable among the home-bred fish.

" In the year 1753, he proceeds, a very
large shoal of foreign fish came into Loch-
broom, and the bays in its neighbourhood, in
winter. They continued their visits for three
or four years j then slackened. Soon after they
appeared in Barra, in winter likewise. They
continued a year or two, and then made off.
The winter following they came into the bays

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 549

on the west side of Skye in immense quan-
tities, and continued to return regularly every
October or November till the year 1765, and
afterwards in smaller bodies till 1768, when
they entirely vanished."

From these facts combined I can see no rea-
son to doubt that, instead of the whole mafs of
herrings that are any where found in our seas
being one individual shoal, which, being all
bred in one place, and proceeding in a regu-
lar course, only separate for a time as circum-
stances direct, and afterwards unite at one
season, that they may set out anew in their
annual circuit, and therefore must, of course,
be all of one individual kind, they are in
reality a variety of kinds of fish of the same
species, which have been originally bred in
different parts of the sea 3 and, being of a na-
ture strongly gregarious, they continue to fre-
quent nearly the same original haunts to which
they have from their infancy been habituated,
and only accidentally at times intermingle
with other sorts : that although they choose in
general to abide near their native shores,
yet they are impelled by some natural propen-
sity, of the cause of w^uch we arc ignorant, to
make occasional transitions from place to

650 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

place: that in regard to these transitions,
though they are confined to no particular sea-
son of the year if the herrings in general be
considered, yet if the particular breeds or
shoals only be adverted to, a certain sort of
regularity is observable in this respect, so that
they return to the same 'place nearly at the
same season one year as at another; and that
when any great body of them Irave once
fixed on a station, they usually continue to fre-
quent it for a great many years. It often hap-
pens, however, that, after having continued
for a great length of time to frequent one
station, they sometimes abandon it entirely,
even for ages together, Vvithout being seen
there at all; but whither they retire when
they make their short disappearance, or where
they go when they withdraw entirely from a
particular station, is not known, but remains
for future investigation. That the particulars
above stated accord better with well-known
facts respecting the herring fishery than any
other hypothesis that has ever been offered to
the public, will, I think, be easy to prove:
and, if it be so, certain practical corollaries
may be deduced from it that may be of con-
siderable utility in the prosecution of that

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 551

fishery in future, so that it well desenxs to be
particularly investigated.

Enough has been already said to invalidate
the notion of the great annual migration of
herrings, and of their retiring to the polar re-
gions in winter to breed. That they do breed
in all the seas in which they hare ever been
found, admits of the most decisive evidence ;
for there is scarcely a take of herrings any
where in which there are not to be found indi-
vidual fishes in all their stages of gestation ;
some in full roe, some lately delivered only,
or shotten as they are called, and others having
a roe only beginning to be formed. This is
so evidently the case, that the Dutch, who
have bestowed more attention on the herring
fishery than any other nation, and attained to
the greatest perfection yet known in curing
that kind offish, have considered it as an ob-
ject worthy of legislative regulation. Accord-
ingly we find, that in all their placarts for
this purpose, it is exprefsly ordained, that all
the herrings caught shall be carefully ex-
amined and separated into three sorts, viz. the
prime herrings, those of an inferior quality,
and the shotten herrings (which are the worst,
and cannot be offered for sale without a mark

552 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

to distinguish them as such) ; nor can there
be a doubt that the superior excellence of the
Dutch herrings is in a great measure to be
attributed to this sorting, which is neglected
by other nations. Every fisherman where
herrings are caught recognises, it is true, the
same distinction, and readily admits the fact,
that shotten herrings are to be found every
where, and at every season of the year, where-
ever herrings are caught, though they are also
a"ware that there are at some times a much
greater proportion of them in this state than at
others. It is therefore an undeniable fact, that
herrings are bred in all the seas in which this fish
is to be found, and at every season of the year.

It Is, however, at the same time admitted (as
has been just stated) that a much greater pro-
portion of them are in that state atone particular
season In certain districts than at other seasons.
At some times nine out of ten nearly will be
found in this state, and sometimes not one In a
scores and which deserves to be particularly re-
marked, this does not occur always at the same
time of the year. Sometimes a body of herrings
will be found, alike at an early or late season,
which are almost entirely in this debilitated
state j while at the very same time another

GEORGICAL ESSAY^. 553

body of herrings will be found at no great
distance from them, that have very few shotten
among them : but, if the same body of tish
have Continued in one haUnt very long, it may
be observed, that in regard to these fish, a
much greater number of thein may be found
to be in that state (shotten) generally at one
season than at others. For instance, I have
been afsured, by a petson who has paid a good
deal of attention to the hefring fishery on the
coast of Hampshire, that before the end of
October few shotten herrings are taken there;
but if the fishing continue after that season,
many more are found in that state, on which
account the fishing there is then usually dis-
continued ; whereas on the coast of Sweden,
in the Frith of Forth of late years, on the
coast of Caithnefs, and in many other of the
lochs on the west coasts of Scotland and Ire-
land, the fisheries are usually only beginning
in November or Decembef, and continue
through the months of January and February.
Nay, it sometimes happens, that in these
lochs, a body of fish which are most of them in
a lean foul state (shotten) will desert it, and
be succeeded by another shoal, which is in
the most perfectly sound state. This affords to
me a most decisive proof that there are
Volume J I, Nn

554 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

distinct and separate breeds of herrings, as
there are of anv other animals.

That the herring, however, has a natural
propensity to withdraw itself from the shores,
or to retire from the surface of the water to-
wards the bottom, about the tfme of spawn-
ing, seems to me probable from the circum-
stance of its being found by experience, that
the greatest proportion of the fish that are
caught in our seas are in their sound state,
unlefs it be perhaps in some particular cases
where they are forcibly detained longer than
they might be naturally inclined to remain ;
such as on the coast of Sweden, where it is
the custom to surround a whole body of fisli
with a very long net, having the two ends of
the net joined to the shore, and then taking
them out with smaller nets within this kind
of inclosure. In such situations they may be
forcibly retained a long while, so that many
of them may be caught in that state. What
the fact is with regard to this particular in
Sweden, I have had no opportunity of being
informed.

That herrings continue all the winter in the
sea near those coa€ts where they are usually
5

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 555

caught, is rendered probable from the expe-
rience of the fishermen at Drontheim in Nor-
way, who can catch them, and actually do catch
them as bait, at all seasons j and by the fisher-
men in Loch-fine in Scotland^ who invariably
afsert that they are in that sea at all times,
though they are too deep at Certain seasons to
be within reach of their iictsj and, as it is
well known, that the herring never takes any
bait, they never can be caught by lines. But
the fishermen in Loch-fine positively afsert,
that their lines for catching other fish are
often covered with the spawn of the herrings.
A probable way of discovering whether the
herrings do actually continue in our seas
might be, to examine the stomachs of the
larger fish that are caught, such as codling,
hake, &c. though this cannot afford a certain
criterion, as these kinds of fish are well
known only to frequent shallow banks in the
sea J whereas the herrings, when they are
about to bre,ed, may seek the deepest waters
only for the purpose of depositing their spawn,
or for other reasons. Cod are found on banks
from 10 to 40 fathoms deepj ling from 20 to
200 fathoms^ but seldom are they looked for at
these great depths. If future observations
shall prove it to be a truth, that the herring

Nb 2

556 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

naturally retires to deep water to deposit its
spawn, and only approaches the surface, or
draws near to the shores, when the greatest
part of the shoal are in their soundest state
of health, we shall indeed have reason to ad-
mire the bounty of Providence, which hath
implanted that propensity, which brings this
little fish so opportunely within the reach of
human power; nor will the remark of Guicciar-
dini on this subject appear to be extravagant :
*' Ma par' veramente," says he, " ehe questi
pesci, per pascer' Tliuomo dalla natura sieno
mandati : perche se ne vengono propinqui al
litto del mare, a presentarsi, et principaJmente
corrono a musare, dove elle veggono- fuoco,
o lume,.o creature humane, quasi dicendo pig-
liami, pigliami." That isL" But it would in*
deed seem, that this fish had been ordained by
nature as food for man ; because it comes near
to the shore to recreate itself wherever it sees
fire, or light, or human beings ; saying, as it
were, * Take me, take me.' " If it be con-
sidered, that this fish lives chiefly, if not wholly,
on the element of water, and thus furnishes
food to innumerable other fishes, which minis-
ter so abundantly to human nourishment, and
which require food of a substantial nature,
it will not then be denied that the herring has

GEOR'GICAL ESSAYS. 557

been destined to perform a very important
part in the economy of the universe: and may
not the law of nature, by which it is induced
to retire to great depths to depo.it its spawn
(if it be really so) where the young fry, by
being beyond the depth that suits its most
voracious devourers, may live in comparative
safety till they have attained the age that
makes them feel the impulse which induces
them to rise to the surface, be a principal
cause of the in^imensity of those multitudes
which then Sil the seas near tiieir native
haunts, and furnish such an abundant repast
tor myriads of creatures who are then continu-
ally in pursuit -of them ! Among these ene-
mies, the whale is the most conspicuous, and
the cod fish, perhaps, the most numerous ; nor
do I think it unreasonable to suppose, that
where these voracious creatures are found in
great numbers, some variety of the herring
tribe may be looked for : but enough has been
said on this branch of the subject. Ihese
hints are merely suggested as subjects for fu-
ture investigation.

The locality of the herring, if this phrase
shall be admitted, may be also considered as
a collateral proof that the different shoals

Nn 3

55S GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

which appear at different stations with great
regularity for many years together, are each of
them a distinct body of fish, that have no re-
gular communication or connexion with each
other, and therefore may be distinct varieties
of fish that have peculiarities which, if care-r
fully investigated, might serve to discriminate
them from each other. "We know, from the
evidence of undoubted historical records, that
many centuries ago herrings were caught
every vear in great abundance in the Baltic j
and that for a long period of time, this was
deemed one of the best stations for the herring
fisheries. It can scarcely be supposed, that at
that period these herrings went regularly to the
northern ocean at one season of the year, from
whence they invariably returned to the Baltic;
for more than two hundred years not a single
herring has been caught in that sea. Is it
not, therefore, very probable, that thrs body of
herrings, which had for so many years remain-
ed at all seasons in that narrow sea, having by
by some accidental cause found their way out
of the strait, had gone somewhere else; never
having been able to find their yi'ay back again?
In like manner we know, that of late years
immense quantities of herrings have been
caught on the Swedish coast near Gothen-

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 559

burg, where no fish of that sort \vere ever
seen in ancient times. How long they will
continue on that station, the records of future
times must show. Thus also it is known,
that Loch-broom was the nrost distinguished
station for the herring fishery on the we.jt
coasts of Scotland, and continued so for many
years, though of late it has been scarcely dis-
tinguishable from other stations on that coast.
The Yarmouth herring fishery has continued
for a great period of years, as also those near
the Isle of Man, and in Loch-fine j though at
no period, so far as I can learn, were these fish-
ings ever so abundant as some others. AVhiie
the herrings have continued to be caught in
these places for a great number of years with
a comparative degree of steadinefs, the her-
ring fisheries on other parts of the coasts have
been subjected to great variations. A very
■considerable herring fishery was carried on
with great steadinefs, about the month of
August annually, for the space of fifty years
or more, before and after the year 1700, on
the south-east coast of Fife, where scarcely
a single fish of that sort has been seen for
upwards of fi^ years pastj and it has
been already remarked, that for about ten
years past an abundant herring fishery has been

N n 4

56Q GEpRGICAL ESSAYS.

carried on every year from the montli of
November to February or March, in the Frith
of Forth, higher up than Edinburgh, where
no herrings were ever known to have been
seen before that time. I might enumerate
many other facts of the same kind; but this
would only prove tiresome ; these, I hope, will
be deemed enough to show that it is highly
probable, that each particular shoal or great
body of herrings that are discoverable any
where, is a distinct breed of fish that has pe-
culiar qualities and habits which distinguish it
from others : that among these peculiarities a
disposition to retain the same station, and
make its appearance at a particular season of
the year, is one of the most distinguish-
able ; and that when these peculiarities are
once ascertained, a recurrence of the same
phenomena may be looked for with some de-
gree of certainty for several years ; but that
no absolute dependence can ever be had on
its continuing for any fixed period of time, far
lefs that they will never abandon those haunts
in which they have long delighted. In-
fluenced by these considerations, I ventured to
advise the fishermen on the Frith of Forth,
when the herrings first so unexpectedly made
their appearance there in a large body, and

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 561

when these fishermen were in great doubt
\yhethcr they should make any preparations
for their return the ensuing season, by all
means to avail themselves of the opportunity
that their departure afforded, to make prepara-
tions for their return; as the probability wa^
very great that they would return not only the
nex.t year, but for many succeeding years with
much regularity about the same season of the
year. The fact has since proved that my rea-
soning wa? right, and they have been benefited
by the advice. No man, therefore, ought to
look upon disquisitions of this sort as idle specu-
lations : were they more carefully investigated
than they have been, they might lead to very
useful conclusions.

I hope this will be admitted as a sufficient
apology for my adding one farther hint on this
subject before I leave it, and which I suggest
merely with a view to stimulate to more accu-
rate investigation ; it is this: Since it seems
probable, that different shoals of herrings are
distinct breeds which propagate their kind
with a certain degree of regularity, as breeds
of other animals do, is it not reasonable to
suppose, that distinct breeds mav pofsefs
pe.culiar qualities which may render them

562 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

more valuable than others, or the reverse, for
particular purposes ? And, if so, may not
this peculiarity be the cause of certain dis-
tinctions in the marketable qualities of this
fish that may have been attributed to other
causes ? I have often eaten herrings that
were caught upon the coast of Wales, and
have iDeen at all times satisfied when I ate
them that they had a flavour very different
from those which I have eaten in Scotland;
and in Scotland, the Loch-fine herrings have
been in general reckoned far superior to those
taken on the east coast. Nor are herrings pe-
culiar to the European seas; they are, or might
be, also caught in great abundance at certain
seasons of the year on all the northern shores
of the American States ; but these herrings are
so much inferior in quality to those in Europe,
that no one ever attempts to catch them as
food for man. This shows that they must be
at least a distinct variety. I regret, however,
that I have not been able to learn whether
they constitute a distinct species.

One other singularity respecting the natural
history of the herring, that is connected with
its migrations, deserves to be here noticed,
as it is a circumstance that, so far as I know.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 563

has not a parallel. On account of this singu-
larity however, though I deem it deserving of
notice, it is proper I should at the same time
sp'.'cify that I do not mention it on my
ovi^n proper authority, for I never saw it ; but
upon the invariabk report of all the persons
that I ever conrersed with, who have lived on
the coasts which herrings frequent, as well as
tho5e who have prosecuted the herring fishery
as a businefs; who unanimously agree in
afserting it as an undeniable fact, that when
the herrings, after appearing in any arm of the
sea in great numbers, and remaining there for
some time, are about to leave it, as a pre-
liminary to their departure a signal is given,
which th.e people who speak of it denominate
the .cracking of the herrvig.<f. By this phrase
they "mean to denote, that a loud sound is
heard, resembling the crack of a pistol when
it is fired off, which generally takes place in
the evening; and it is invariably the case, they
say, that after such sound has been heard, the
herrings will wholly disappear from that place
before the next morning.

Such is the unvarying report of those peo-
pie ; nor did I find one, even among the
higher clafses, who did not concur in, and

564 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

firmly believe it ; yet I am by no means satis-
fied that this opinion may not originate in
some accidental unobserved circumstance,
which would appear nothing extraordinary if
clearly explained. No one pretends to con-
jecture in what way this sound can be pro-
duced. That opinions, which were as gene-
rally adopted in former times as this i^, once
prevailed respecting the herring, which are
now proved to be erroneous, is clearly demon-
strable. Among the vulgar, who have only
/zcarrf of herrings, it is a very prevailing notion
to this day, that the herrings have a king j and
this opinion must have been once entertained
even among well-informed people in the days
of Guicciardini, otherwise that well-informed
author could not have adopted it. The fol-
lowing is a literal translation of what he says
on this subject. " They have among them,
without any doubt, some kings, in the same
manner as the bees have ; only these are of the
same size and form with the other herrings,
and not larger, as is the case with the king of
the bees; [the sex was not then discovered]
but they have, in truth, a mark on the head
which appears like a crown, and they are of
reddish colour, especially the head. This
king going before, is followed by the whole

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 56»

body; and because they have shining eyes
like fire, they appear at night like lightning,
which is vulgarly called the lightning of the
sea." This idea has long been entirely ex-
ploded, and the flashes of the sea are well
known to owe their origin to another cause.

As herrings eat no known solid food, they
are never to be taken by means of bait of any
kind. The usual mode of fishing for them is
with nets, which are not hauled on shore
like those for catching salmon and many other
sorts of fish; these nets are merely suspended
in the water in a perpendicular position by
means of leaden weights fastened to one of
the edges by way of sinkers, and buoys on the
other edge to keep it afloat. These nets being
let down among the body of the herrings, indi-
vidual fish are entangled in the meshes as they
attempt to pafs through them, and thus are
hauled into the boats in immense quantities.
In consequence of this mode of fishing having
been long pursued', several peculiarities re-
specting this interesting creature have been
brought to light that deserve to be specified.

In the first place, as it has never been ob*
served, that the nets catch more in general

566 6E0RG1GAL ESSAYS.

when they are placed in one direction than
another, fishermen observe no sort of regu-
larity in this respect, but lay their nets indiffer-
ently in whatever direction accident may sug-
gest. This affords a strong corroborative evi-
dence, that the supposed regular progrefs of
the herrings from north to south is merely hy-
pothetical; for, had the theory been just, more
must have invariably been caught when the
nets were stretched from east to west, and
thus placed directly to thwart their progrefs,
than when placed from north to south, which
by being parallel to their rout, could have
intenupted few or none.

Secondly, it has been thus ascertained, thatr
at times the whole body of the fish are nearly
of one size, so that they can be caught only
by nets of one size of mesh ; insomuch that
one boat, which has nets of the proper size,
will catch vast abundance of fish, while another
boat along-side of it, with nets of a different
size of mesh, shall not be able to catch a
single herring. At other times, however, the
fishing will be nearly equally abundant with
the nets of a large, of a small, or of a middle-
sized mesh J which indicates, that they are

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 567.

sometimes of one sort only, and at other times
of various sorts or sizes intermixed.

Thirdly, it has been thus also ascertained,
that the herring not only keep together in a
compact body, whose limits, when viewed
horizontally, are pretty distinctly defined, ^^ ^s
far as respects their progrefs towards any point
of the compafs, but that the limits of this body
are equally defined in respect to the depth at
which they swim. At some times the upper
p^rts of the nets must be kept nearly level with
the surface of the water, or few will be taken ;
at other times the buoy ropes must be length-
ened to several fathoms, or no fish will be
caught. In the first case, the whole body of
the fish rise near to the surface of the water ;
in the last, they as carefully avoid it ; but keep
neverthelefs nearly at the same depth for a
time. This renders it extremely probable,
that they may sometimes choose to take their
station so deep as to be wholly beyond the
reach of human power, though still in the same-
seas, where they might be caught iu great
abundance could we reach them. It is only
when they are near the surface that they can
be discovered by gannets and other sea fowl,
who then hover over them, and, by darting

568 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

from a great height, dive amongthem, and catch
many, exhibiting a singular spectacle to those
who behold it for the first time. It is then
alone also, as I suspect, that they are followed
by whales, who prey upon them as a favourite
food.

When they rise quite near the surface of the
water, these little fish exhibit a phaenomenon
at times that is very amusing, and that is among
the vulgar called the play of the herring. Ihis
is most frequently observed towards the even-
ing, when the weather is warm and still. It
produces, to one who listens, a sound that
bears a near resemblance to the patter made
by large drops of rain falling on water ; nor
does it much differ from this appearance when
looked at. It seems to me that the herring'
rises then to the surface, which it just pene-
trates with its nose^ or some other part of its
bodv, but never rises so far as to be seen. It
bears no sort of resemblance to the leaping of
other fishes after flies, or other insects, unlefs it
be that of a sly old trout, which sometimes
merely dimples the surface, but is afraid to
venture farther. This kind of play J hare often,
witnefsed myself

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 569

My limits preventing mc from proceeding'
farther in this investigation of the nature and
habitudes of fishes, I must here conclude this
disquisition j but not before I have mentioned
an ingenious contrivance adopted by a very
worthy man, Mr. Arbuthnot at Peterhead,
North Britain, which promises to afford faci-
lities in regard to the study of this branch of
natural history, that it never hitherto has en-
joyed. Tliis gentleman has contrived to ex-
cavate many large basons out of the solid
granite rock in the neighbourhood of Peter-
head. These basons he can fill at pleasure
with salt water at high tide time, and empty
at low water. Several of these large reservoirs
he appropriates for the purpose of sea bathing,
which offer facilities and elegances in this re-
spect that have been hitherto deemed unat-
tainable. Into the other reservoirs he means
to put sea fishes of various sorts alive, when re-
cently taken by the fishermen, of which great
abundance can be there caught ; and there he
purposes to preserve and feed them occasionally
for the London market. As the water is clear
and still in these reservoirs, the fishes can be
seen with great ease in all their movements and
practices ; and there, of course, the naturalist
may prosecute his observations with pleasure.

Volume II. O o

570 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

The undertaking is as yet in its infancy, so
that no time has been allowed to ascertain facts
with accuracy. One fact only that has been
thus ascertained has come to my knowledge ;
M'hich is, the remarkable docility and quick-
nefs of comprehension of the common haddock
when compared with others. This little fish
is so acute in its perceptions, as to be tamed
almost in an instant ; so that, if it be fed, it
begins to know its benefactor in a day or two,
flies towards him the moment he appears, and
follov/s him as far as the element that it in-
habits will permit wherever he goes, nearly
after the manner of a dog. The remarkable
voracity of the cod fish is here also proved in
the most decisive manner; and many other
curious facts may thus be ascertained ; on
which account I beg leave to recommend this
invention to the notice of the curious.

This pleasing history of the herring being
brought to a conclusion, the Editor of these
Efsays flatters himself that an account of the
manner of conducting the herring fishery upon
the w^est coast of Scotland, will be an ac-
ceptable addition to it. And as the in-
formation comes from respectable authority, it
;s here given in the words of the Collector and

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 571

Comptroller of the Customs at Port Glasgow,
as transmitted by them to the Commifsioners
of the Customs at Edinburgh,

" When the bufses are at the fishery, they are
constantly plying froin loch to loch in search
of herrings; when they appear on the coast,
the bufses come to anchor in the nearest har-
bours to the fishing ground, from whence they
send their boats to fish. Each boat requires
four men, and are in number according to the
proportion of tonnage. They leave a man or
two on board the bufs to take care of her. In
a scarce fishing, each boat has two trains of
nets, 288 yards long, and from 11 to 12 yards
deep. When herrings are^ plenty, half this
quantity is sufficient. ;fThe nets are set begin-
ning with the first end to windward, and
stretching the train right to leeward. If in
deep water, (which is generally the case before
the herrings set into the lochs) both trains arc
tied together by the back rope and sole or
skonke, which will stretch 57^ yards in length ;
and in this case the boat is tied to the leeward
end of the train, and allowed to drive with the
nets to the leeward, the fishermen every half
hour or oftener trying if there are any herrings
in their nets. This they do by warping along

Op 2 '■

Bl2 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

the back rope, and here and there raising a
piece of the netting. By this means they not
only find when they are upon good fishing
ground, but they see when the herrings swim
high or low, and they raise or sink their nets
accordingly, by shortening or lengthening the
ropes that are fastened to the buoys which
sustain the nets.

" When the night happens not to be very
dark, they fix a large buoy to the leeward end
of their train, and go with their boat to some
distance from their nets, trying as they go
along if there be any herrings in their neigh-
bours nets : whenever they find herrings
plentier in their neighbours nets than in their
own, they immediately return to, and raise
their train ; and after shaking out their her-
rings (if any) into their boat, they set their
train as near the place where they found the
herrings as pofsible.

" Thus they are employed without inter-
ruption'the whole night, 16 or 18 hours at a
time when herrings are scarce, insomuch that
in that time they will traverse from place to
place some nights not under 20 nTiles, and set
their nets 10 or 12 times in different places.

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 57$

and in the morning when day-light comes in,
they repair to their respective bufses.

*< "\Vhcn the herrings are plenty, they are
generally in the lochs and in the shallow water.
In this case, they get but little toil at night,
having nothing to do but to set their nets in the
evening, with a stone or small anchor to each
end of their train, and they do not raise or
hawl them till the next morning. In this case
they set their trains separately, and near to
the bufses, on board of which they sleep all
pight.

" The crews of the bufses are for the most
part engaged by the month ; their wages,
vpon an average, is 27s. per month each, be-
sides two barrels of herrings to each man by
way of portage, in case of a full cargo, and in.
that proportion for a smaller quantity.

^' Five-sixths of the men employed in the
fishery are green, and there is not above one or
two thorough-bred seamen in each bufs.
These green men seldom continue at the
fishing above two or three years, when they go
Pli bo^rd ships ii^ the foreign trade.

Oo 15

574 GEORGICAL ESSAYS.

" The present practice differs in many re-
spects from what was formerly followed ; but
in none so materially as in the method of curing
the herrings, — near double the quantity of
salt being now expended more than formerly,
it being found absolutely necefsary for the
preservation, especially to the West-India
market, where their character is now esta-
blished.

" The materials for fishing, and the bufses
themselves, are much better adepted than for-
merly ; but the manner of settiog the nets is
nearly the same.

" These improvements, the extensive scale
upon which this fishery is now carried on, and
the high degree of credit at which it has ar-
rived, can only be attributed to the bounties.
They have been the happy means of thousands
of industrious poor being employed in all the
various branches of this fishery, and of trans-
forming an indolent people, formerly unac-
customed to any sort of labour, into active,
hardy, useful members of society. It has
opened the first nursery for seamen in Great
Britain, insomuch that almost all the ships in
Clyde, and, as we are informed, many in the

GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 573

ports of Whitehaven, Bristol, Liverpool, and
other sea ports in England, are manned partly
with seamen bred in the fishery ; nay, it is
generally beHeved, that almost one-half of the
Scots seamen employed in his Majesty's navy,
have received their education in that school.

END OF VOLUME SECOND.

CONTENTS
OF VOLUME SECOND,

ESSAY I. By John Thompson, D. D. PAGE,
Qn the benefcial Effects of a spirited y4gricuUure , I

E S S A Y II. By A. Elunter, M, D.
Pn the Pine TveCy . , , . 20

ESSAY III. By Mr. Henry.

On the Action of Lime and Marl as Manures ;
aiid making of Artificial Marl for the pur-
poses of Agriculture, , . 4t

ESSAY IV. By Mr. Speechly.
On Raising the Pine-Apple h\) Oak Leaves, in-
stead of Tanner s Bark, , . 63

ESSAY V. By Mr. De Sails.
On Buck Wheat J . , , - 65

ESSAY VI. By A. Hunter, M. D.

Experiments, and concise Agricultural
Observations.
J . On the Ripening t and Filling of the Ears of
Corn, . . .83

57S CONTENTS*

PAGE.

2. On the Ptirificatidn of Sea Salff . .85

3. On a Preparation of Carrots , for the use of
Seamen in long Voyages^ . . 90

4. On Bones as a Manure f . .92

5. On the Action of different Manures, " . 97

6. Ow Potatoes^ . . . 9^

7. Tb OTfl^e Potatoe Yeast j . .101—

8. On the Round Winter Red Potatoe, and the
Long Winter ditto with many Eyes, . IQl

9. Oil Potatoes, as a Food for Dogs, . J Q2r

10. On Potatoes, as a Food for Fowls, . 102

11. On Ground Cisterns, . . 103

12. On Paring and Burning i . .105

13. On Teasles, . . .107

14. On Sainfoin, . . .108

15. On the Use of Clay as a Manure, . . 109 '

16. On the Advantages of Raising Potatoes on
Fallows, for the Use of the Cottager, . 110

17. On the Course to be observed after Marling, 113
IS. On Vetches, . , . 113

19. On the Saving of Hay, , .114

20. On Early Potatoes, . . .115

21. On the loj's of Weight in Grain, . . 117

ESSAY VII. By the Earl of Winchelsea.
1. An illustrious example of attention to the Cot-
tager, . . Ig2

CONTEKTS. 5*7^

PAGE.

2. An account of a Provision fo)^ Cottagers keep-
ing CowSf . . .129
Z. A,n Account of a Cottager's Familif J . 134'

4. A 7mritorious example of Parochial attention

to the Condition of the Cottager, , . 133

5. On the situation of the Mining Poor, . 14$

€. A Charge to the Overseers of the Poor J • 169

7. On the Situation of Cottages, with a Plan for

enabliiig Cottagers to build them y , 1S2

S. On the larger sort of Cottages, and the mode

of erecting them, . , , . 18S

ESSAY VIII. By the Rev. Mr. Holmes.
On Meteorology, as applicable to Husbandly, . I9i

ESSAY IX. By Mr. John Brown, one of the
Conductors of the Farmer's Magazine, a work
of considerable merit.

On the size of Farms, . . .201*

ESSAY X. By the same.

On Fallowing, . . . 20? «

ESSAY XI. By Mr. Curtis.
On Grafses, . • • .220

ESSAY XII. By Mr. Soraerville, and Mr. Fairle3\
On Mufiures, - • • 240

ESSAY XIII. By A. Hunter, M. D.

On Cottages with Gardens, . .305

iso

CONTENTS,

ESSAY XIV. By A. Hunter, M. D.
Experiments, and concise Agriculturai,
Observations.

1. On the Direction of Ridges f , .333

2. On Sand used as Litter, , .333

3. To wicover Turnips buried under Snouif . 383

4. On the Management of Seed Barley in a diy
Season, , , , SS^

5. On Barn Floors, . , . 336

C. On Buck Wheat, . , .336

1. On Steeping Seed Barley in Dung Water, 337

S. To prevent Buttei' from being tainted by

Cabbages or Turnips, , .338

9. On Salting Hay, , . .338

10. To eradicate Coltsfoot, , ,339

11. On Jerusalem Artichokes, . . 340

12. J Table for Manuring Land, . . 341

13. To destroy Ant-hills ^ . . 343

14. On Chopping Stubbles, . . 342

15. On Weeds, . . .343

16. On the Inutility of Fallcxing , . . 344

17. On Sea-Weed, . . , , 346

18. On Turnips, . . .346

19. On Carrot Hay, , . .347
sex. To destroy Mofs, . • - 348

CONTENTS. 5^1

2\ . To prese^-ve Carrots from Frost J . .348

22. On Capons, . . . 34«

23. 0« Paring and Burning for Gi'afs, . 341?

24. 0« iSiWr or Pond-Weedj . . 350

25. 0?i Carrbts, . « .352

26. On Dibbling Wheat, , . .354

ESSAY XV. By T. Percival, IVI. D.

On the Preparation, Culture, ancb Use of the

Orchis Boot, . . . 35<?

ESSAY XVI. By Mr. John Brown, one of
the Conductors of the Farmer's Magazine, a
Mork of considerable merit.

On the Thrashing Machine, I . 35*

ESSAY XVII. By the Rev. Edmund Cartwright.

On the Means of extending the Cultivation of Corn
on Strong Lands, without diminishing their
Value, or lefsening the Production of Ani-
mal Food, , . « 38?

ESSAY XVIII. By A. Hunter, M.D.
On Raising Wheat for a series of Years on the

same Land, • . . . 4J4-

ESSAY XIX; By Mr. T. Wright.
On Floatifig Land, . . , 4S2

fS2 COKTENTS.

PAGE.

ESSAY XX. By AVilliam White, M. D.
On the Rise and J scent of Vapours f . . 4n

ESSAY XXI. By Mr. Smith.
On the Improvement of Mofs Land, . . 463

ESSAY XXir. By Mr. Wm, Forsyth.

On Gathering Jpples a?id Pears, and Preserjing

them, .... 475

ESSAY XXIII. By James Anderson, LL. D.
On the Natural History of Fishesy • , 4S9

Prmtcd as the Offlce of
r, WILSON »nd R. SPENCE,
Ui£b-Ou{a|ate, York.

tr

iii

iiiii

11*

'.'":' '.: ■ ;.it.'