These animals, with stomachs as voracious as possible, rush into the field, and instead of eating up the tares clean and all before them, trample and destroy more than they eat; it is just the same with clover, instead of which let a certain portion be cut across the field, as far as occasion may require, and you have hurdles and stock for the purpose. This first allotment should be mown, and carried clear off the field; either into a nice well littered yard, apart from the neat cattle, and put into low racks; these racks to be moved about the yard at every replenishing; and which, by the immense quantity of urine provoked by the tares, they will nearly saturate the yard. I prefer this mode to feeding them in a close; because dung, at any distance from a large town, is an article of so much value. A portion of the tares may be given de die in diem to the neat cattle and cart horses in the yard. After a sufficient space of ground is cleared, the chepherd must cut some fresh tares, which he will place in racks, and distribute over the ground that was first cut; moving the hurdles forward as often as necessary, until the whole field is fed off, and dressed alike. Between Morton on the Wold and Tewksbury in Gloucestershire, I have observed them using a hurdle, or what is more generally called a wattle, made of oak, leaving out the middle rail, for the purpose of dividing off the land, and enabling the sheep to put their heads through and feeding themselves. In order to keep the sheep separate and at the same time to give strength to the wattles, a certain number of upright laths are placed at equal distances, sometimes four, in others five, and these are well secured by pins to the cross rails. I do not however altogether approve this scheme; for in the eagerness with which sheep feed, and as by this mode the whole force, if not weight, of the animal is opposed to the hurdle or wattle, it is not an unusal thing to see them drop, and remain unable to move for a long time. These wattles also are very expensive, being at some places as high as six shillings each; the former mode has the advantage. If from the heat and dryness of the wea ther the tares cannot be fed off fast enough, that is before the blos soms begin to decay, they had better be mown and made into hay, which if well managed will produce the sweetest and most nutritious of any in the farm. I have grown from two, to two tons and a half on an acre; and sometimes more upon a smaller scale; and when cattle break into the rick yard, I have always found them leave good clover, meadow, or trefoil, hay, untouched, and feed upon the tare hay; a proof, this, beyond all the arguments or treatises in the world. In fattening off old ewes and weathers, and in improving of lean neat cattle, I know of no sort of provender so valuable.'

One paper occurs on the culture of Hemp; which, though that subject was not included in the inquiries of the Board, it has been thought proper to insert. It is written by Mr. John White of Wykeham, who truly represents the growth of this article as an useful branch of agriculture, which is greatly on the decline. As the communication is short we shall transcribe it:

In my neighbourhood, great quantities of hemp and flax used to be grown, but their culture is now dwindled to a mere nothing. A few weeks back I was conversing on the subject of hemp and flax, with a neighbour of mine, who two or three years ago was a considerable grower of those articles; and respecting the decline of their cultivation, I soon found that we were both of one opinion. His observation was, that in this neighbourhood so little land is allowed to be ploughed, and the price of corn is at the same time so exceed. ingly high, that people, especially the little farmers, who are not allowed to plough but a few acres, were obliged to cultivate their hemp-lands with corn for their domestic uses, the price being so exorbitant, that if a man did not grow it himself, he could not afford to buy it. The decline in this article (hemp) in my memory, and within these last thirty years, has been wonderful indeed; and it is but a very few days ago that I heard a very respectable man who is a rope-maker, say, that since the misunderstanding with the Court of Petersburgh had taken place, he did not know how to procure hemp at any price to carry on his trade; and I declare that within these last twenty years, I have seen as capital good hemp sold in market at three shillings per stone, as I this day saw sold in the same place at eleven shillings and sixpence. If the growth of hemp and flax are of any serious consequences to this country, as I think it must, then some immediate and effectual methods must be adopted for the restoration of it. The bounty which was formerly granted, of threepence and fourpence per stone upon the growth of it, though in fact very irregularly paid, would not be sufficient at this day to act as any kind of stimulation to the grower. It is not my business here to propose any plan to restore the cultivation of hemp and flax, though I am persuaded it may be done.'

Among the essays on Grasses, we find one in which the plantago lanceolata, or pointed leaved plantain, is reprobated as a pernicious weed which it is surprising that any man should attempt to cultivate. In another, the Carraway plant is recommended as beneficial-to sheep, and suited to all strong soils.

Whether fields recently laid down to grass should be first fed, or mowed, is a point on which agricultural doctors are not agreed. The opinions here advanced militate with each other.

We have been compelled to pass over numerous particulars in the first part of this volume, which consists of 148 articles; and we must take our leave of it by noticing the last paper, which dissuades from the use of Thatch on farm-houses and offices, on the ground of its robbing the dung-hill. Where cheap covering can be obtained, this hint should not be disregarded. On men of property, in particular, it should not

be lost.

The second part is intitled Miscellaneous Papers. The first is Lord Carrington's Speech, delivered at the Board, on quitting

quitting the Chair, March 15, 1833; in which he justifies the conduct of the Board during his presidency, and adverts with proper spirit to some unhandsome and groundless insinuations which were thrown out against it, in consequence of the mea sures which it pursued to obtain a general inclosure act, the want of which is a great obstacle to the internal improvement of the country. Lord C. explains the domestic concerns of the Board, and notices the impartiality with which the premiums were adjudged. This speech is intitled to the praise which it received.

No. 2. is an Essay on the Management of Forests, by M. Pannelier D'Annel, printed at the King's Printing Office in Paris, in 1784, and translated from the French original, by Sir John Talbot Dillon, Kut., Under Secretary to the Board of Agriculture. The object of this paper is to reprobate the prac tice of suffering forest trees to grow in masses, without proper thinning, to a great age; and to lay down rules for the regular felling of timber.

Three papers next occur, each claiming premiums offered for Irrigation. Plans of the lands irrigated are annexed. In one instance, (that of the Rev. R. B. Clough of Eriviart, near Denbigh, North Wales) a very considerable improvement of a farm was effected, as must be evident on a mere inspection of the maps representing its original and present state.

1

No. 6. consists of a list of seeds from Sumatra, &c. sent by Dr. Campbell, of Fort Marlbro', to Lord Carrington, for the purpose of being forwarded to our West India Islands, as additions to their vegetable productions; and a few, which are remarkable more for their beauty than their utility, are directed to be conveyed to Mr. Aiton, his Majesty's Botanical Superintendant at Kew. It is pleasing to observe the efforts that are made by philosophical men, to extend the blessings of Providence; and it is reasonable to hope that such endeavours, as those of Dr. C. and others, will be crowned with success. The reader will perceive by the following article, which we shall transcribe, that the valuable Teak-tree is already become an inhabitant of the West Indies:

On the Introduction of the Teak Tree into Barbadoes.-By NATH. LUCAS, Esq. of Lynxford Hall, Norfolk.

Tektona grandis, Linn. Suppl. p. 151.

Hort. Malabar, IV. 57. Tab. XXVII.

In May or June 1799, being in Barbadoes, I received sundry East India seeds from Langford Millington, Esq. a Member of this Board, requesting me, by desire of the Board, to distribute them in the Island. No time was lost in so doing but not a single seed of

:

any

any kind vegetated, except one of the teak wood; and that was at Sunbury, an estate belonging to John Henry Barrow, Esq. of Hill Park, in the county of Kent.

The soil in which this single seed vegetated is a very rich black mould, upon white clay, in the orchard, north of the dwelling

house.

Being again in the Island in July, 1802, I visited the tree, in company with Mr. Barrow, and was astonished to see what progress it had made in so short a period of time. From a memorandum in writing, taken on the spot under the tree itself, at that time, I found it upwards of twenty-five feet high, thriving most luxuriantly, and at least five inches in diameter six feet from the ground. Being an evergreen, the leaves very large, and the lateral branches very nu. merous and extensive, it was bowed down very considerably by their weight, and the force of the trade wind, though it was in a sheltered situation. On these accounts, Mr. Barrow was under the necessity of cutting off the lateral branches to keep it more upright: and one of these branches was sent to me, and is now offered to the inspection of the Board, through the favour of A. B. Lawtest, Esq. V. P. L. L. to whom I had given it.

The servant, to whose care its delivery to me was intrusted, most unfortunately barked it before I received it; and being under the necessity of leaving the island immediately, I had not time to procure another specimen.

The length of the branch was considerable; but it was cut short to enable me to convey it/with conveniency during the voyage, and my subsequent journey home into Norfolk.

The wood is very compact, small grained, and heavy, as will be noticed in the specimen. Its growth is very rapid, if we consider the texture of the wood: the tree had not flowered when I left the island.

It must prove a most valuable acquisition to the West Indies; particularly in those islands where lands are of little value, and can be suffered to remain encumbered with trees. But it must be valuable in all; for being an evergreen, with very large thick leaves, and a quick grower, it will be planted for ornament. Its use in building the small colony craft will be great indeed; for the property of this timber in resisting the worm renders it invaluable; and its duration in tropical countries is far greater than any other ship timber with which we are acquainted.

The cedar (Cedrela odorata of Brown, p. 158.) and the white wood (Bignonia pentaphylla of Brown, p. 263,) both of which resist the worm, are now becoming very scarce in Barbadoes, and were almost exclusively used in building the small vessels; even trees origi nally planted or left for ornament have been cut down.

European oak lasts but few years indeed there; and the termites are so fond of it as food, that they can hardly be kept from it by any precautions, if the vessels be laid ashore; and oak timbers laid partly in the water and partly ashore, have frequently been seen eaten by them to the very edge of the water.'

REV. DEC. 1806.

B b

Mr.

Mr. Curwen communicates the plans of Friendly Societies instituted among his colliers, and also an account of a machine for washing and steaming potatoes with which he feeds his horses. Two plates are subjoined.-This paper is followed by another, in which the baking of potatoes for feeding stock is recommended, with the plan of an oven, by Mr. Pierrepont: one short essay, however, intervenes, on feeding sheep, by Mr. Estcourt. These experiments decide in favour of feeding sheep with turnips and hay in a warm open shed.

Mr. Davy's essay on the Analysis of Soils, as connected with their Improvement, must be instructive and amusing to the agriculturist. It is divided into distinct sections, and is written with the greatest plainness. The component parts of soils are defined, the mode of separating them and of ascertaining their respective quantities is explained, and a description is given of the necessary apparatus. The young agricultural philosopher will be attracted by this discussion; and in order to give an idea of its utility, we shall quote one section, on the Improvement of Soils, as connected with the Principle of their Composition.

• In cases when a barren soil is examined with a view to its improvement, it ought in all cases, if possible, to be compared with an extremely fertile soil in the same neighbourhood, and in a similar situation: the difference given by their analyses would indicate the methods of cultivation; and thus the plan of improvement would be founded upon accurate scientific principles.

If the fertile soil contained a large quantity of sand, in proportion to the barren soil, the process of amelioration would depend simply upon a supply of this substance; and the method would be equally simple with regard to soils deficient in clay or calcareous

matter.

In the application of clay, sand, loam, marle, or chalk to lands, there are no particular chemical principles to be observed; but when quick lime is used, great care must be taken that it is not obtained from the magnesian limestone; for in this case, as has been shewn by Mr. Tennant, it is exceedingly injurious to land. The magnesian limestone may be distinguished from the common limestone by its greater hardness, and by the length of time that it requires for its solution in acids, and it may be analysed by the process for carbonate of lime and magnesia in Section IX.

When the analytical comparison indicates an excess of vegetable matter, as the cause of sterility, it may be destroyed by much pulverization and exposure to air, by paring and burning, or the agency of lately made quicklime. And the defect of animal and vegetable matter must be supplied by animal or vegetable manure.'

Of Dr. G. Pearson's paper, which follows, on the Use of Green Vitriol, &c. we have already given an account in our last Volume, p. 94. Mr. Dodgson affords useful hints on

burning