barded Baftia 1745, and the malcontents feized the town, it was foon recovered from them. May 15, 1768, the Genoefe gave up Corfica to the king of France, as a compenfation for the expences that crown had been and was to be at for the reduction of the ifland. April 9, 1769, comte de Vaux arrived at Corfica, and made a progrefs. May 13, Paoli and his friends embarked at Port Vecchio, on board a vessel carrying English colours. July 18, France ceded it to the king of Sardinia; and the duke de Chablais, the king's brother, prepared to take poffeílion of it. The clergy are very numerous, and there are fixty-eight convents of Cordeliers, Capuchins, and Servites. The revenues of the island were applied by the Genoefe, in time of peace, to maintain governors, officers, and foldiers: the furplus has never exceeded 40,000 Genoefe livres. The chain of mountains divides the island into two unequal parts, and thefe are again fubdivided into diftricts or provinces of different tribunals and fiefs, and thefe again into pieves, parifies, and paczes. Mr. Bofwell makes the length of the island 150 miles, the breadth from 40 to 53 miles, and the circumference 322 miles. It is charmingly fituated in the Mediterranean, whence continual breezes fan and cool it in fummer, and the fur founding body of water keeps it warm in winter; fo that it is one of the most temperate countries in that quarter of Europe. The air is fresh and healthful, except in one or two places, It is remarkably well furnished with good harbours. The great divifion of it is into the country on this and on that fide of the mountains, reckoning from Baftia, into nine provinces, and into many pieves, containing each a certain number of parishes. Every paefe, or village, elects annually a podea, and two other magiftrates, called padri del commune; and once a year all the inhabitants of each village affemble and choose a precuratore, to represent them in the general confulta, or parliament of the nation, made up of feveral who have been formerly members of the fupreme council, or have loft near relations in the service of their country. The magistrates of each province fend alfo a procuratore; and two of thofe of the provinces, together with the procuratore of their magiftrátes, are chofen to elect the prefident to prefide in the general confulta, and an orator to read the papers fubjected to deliberation.— The general's office much resembles that of the stadtholder. The government exhibits a complete and well-ordered democracy. the known characters of the prefident and fecretary, the public are juftified in entertaining the moft fanguine expectations. I must confefs, I thould have beheld, with concern, fo deferving a veteran in the fervice of agriculture, retiring from the field, difregarded and unrewarded by that community, to whofe aggrandifement he has long devoted the labours of his pen, and the fweat of his brow. The gratitude of the ftate preferves comfort and independence to the veteran foldier, the vigour of whofe youth has been exhaufted in fighting her battles, and advancing her caufe. And although you have neither wielded the fword, nor pointed the cannon in her defence; the pillar of your fame, fimply ornamented with the plough and the fleece, fall prove more drable than one ftained with blood, and emblazoned with all the trophies of war. Having fent fome communications to fir John Sinclair, for the Hiftory of Middlefex Agriculture, which the ingenious Mr. Beard has incorporated into his accurate furvey; and having been requested, by the worthy prefident of the board, to continue my communicat'ons for the more complete inveftigation of the fubject; in fir John's abfence, I take the liberty of addreffing a few particulars to you, as fecretary to the board, which may be published in the Annals, or incorporated into fome future copy of the Survey of Middlefex, or both, as you may judge proper. In the laft paper which I had the honour of communicating to the Annals, I expreffed a wifh for the eftablishment of a national experimental farm; and although I am Vol. XXXVI. ftill of opinion, that the advantages attending fuch an inftitution would be great, and more than a counterbalance to the expence; yet, as many difficulties would occur refpetting the mode of conducting it; and the fum to be allowed by go verument, it appears to me, that a method of purfuing agricultural experiments might be adopted, without incurring any confiderable trouble or expence. Let a num ber of correfponding members be felected from the principal farmers and landholders, who might be willing to co-operate with the board of agriculture. They might be requefted annually to attend a public meeting of the board, when a lift of experiments for the enfuing year might be made out, and allotted to the landholders prefent, according to the nature of the foil they occupied, and the advantages for conducting the experiments, which their fituations might refpectively admit of. Correfponding members might be selected from situations which command the ufe of marl, chalk, and lime, for the complete inveftigation of thefe valuable manures. And in regard to live fock and the utenfils of husbandry, there can be no doubt, but that a fufficient number of farmers might be procured from the leading men in their profeffion, who could fa vour the board with fuch communications, as would tend greatly to afcertain the beit inftruments for the cultivation of different foils, and the moft profitable stock, that can engage the attention of the grazier. the Eflex farmers; yet, on the borders of Middlefex, there are a number of cows kept folely for fuckling. This to a gentleman may be confidered as the most profitable expenditure of after-grafs. Sheep purchafed folely to confume the after-grafs, where there are no turnips for winter food, are often fold again to a great difadvantage.Suckling being eafily managed by a man, requires no additional expence of a dairy-maid, and the eafy accefs to Smithfield-market, affords a certain fale, if no neighbouring butchers can be dealt with. It is generally reckoned, that calves fhould pay 5s. a week as fucklers, exclufive of the value of the calf when first dropped. Some value the faleable meat at 6d. per lb. allowing what is called the fifth quarter for the butcher's profit. In order to keep up a regular fupply, calves are purchafed as fucklers, from a week to three weeks old; the price varying from 16s. to 11. 10s. A wide difference is obfervable in the thriving nature of the calves; fome acquiring a proper degree of fatnefs for the butcher much fooner than others, though kept on the fame food. Could the caufes occafioning this difference be difcovered, they would be of great confequence to the farmer, in regulating the purchase of fucklers. When the food and treatment is in every refpe& the fame, the difference must be referred to fomething conftitutional in the calf, which it must be difficult to discover, unlefs connected with a particular breed. The butchers in general are averfe to the purchase of the black calves, though there is reafon to believe, that the colour of the fkin has no influence on the delicacy of the meat. The ball-faced fucklers are felected by fome, in preference to other colours. The calves are confined folely to the milk of the cow; of which they are allowed a full quantity, morning and evening.-Chalk is uniformly placed in lumps, in the corner of the calves pens, with a view to render the veal white; and though this effect thould not be clearly afcertained, ftill, however, the practice may be juftified, as contributing to the health of the calf, by correcting that ftrong acid, which, though common to the young of all animals, feems to be peculiarly powerful in the ftomach of the calf. It is cuftomary with the butchers to bleed their calves about two days before they kill them: fome bleed them frequently during the time of fattening. Though a new milched cow will give more milk than her calf will confume, yet, to render it completely fat, the affiftance of another cow is generally required. The calves are fold at different ages, from eight to ten weeks, the price varying from 21. 10s. to 31. 13s. 6d. It is of importance to the farmer, to afcertain the exact age at which the calf should be fold, in order to fecure the greateft profit. Some calves will grow, but not fatten; in this cafe, it is lofing money to keep them long, in expectation of their being fat for the butcher. It fometimes happens that a calf, uncommonly voracious, will confume a much larger quantity of milk than any of the others demand, without acquiring growth and fatnefs, correfponding to his proportion of food: fuch calves are unprofitable if kept to a large fize. Thefe obfervations are of import ance, as the butchers in general endeavour endeavour to perfuade the farmers, to defer the fale of their calves as late as poffible.. a London cow-keeper, who engaged to clear the crop time enough for wheat. The distance five miles from London. Potatoes. The chief advantage of fuckling in winter arifes from the great variety of green food, which the farmers may give the cows, without injuring the quality of the milk, Potatoes are cultivated in Midparticularly cabbages and turnips, dlefex on a large fcale. The latter which are fo well known to com- end of April, and beginning of municate a difagreeable tafte to May, are found to be the best feabutter. Grains, however, and other fons for planting this root, unlefs forcing food, which give a greater the very early forts are to be raised. quantity of milk, but of an inferior The fharp frofts, fo deftructive to quality, cannot be used fo freely, vegetation in the fpring, will freas where cows are kept folely for quently cut down the potatoe fhoots the pail. It is the quality, and not if the quantity of the milk which contributes to the nourishment of the calf. I have found, by experience, that cows kept almost entirely on potatoes, will produce too thin a milk to fupport a thriving fuckler. It may here be obferved, that cows kept folely for fuckling, are more apt to mifs taking the bull, than where they are confined to the dairy, after their own calves are weaned. Turnips. The advance of rent and taxes, obliges the Middlefex farmers to make the most of their land, by a quick fucceffion of crops. Turnipfeed is fometimes fown on the wheat ftubble, ploughed up immediately after harveft. This crop of ftubble turnips, will produce about 31. 3s. per acre, if fold in fpring to the London cow-keepers. The apple will be but fmall; yet the fcarcity of green food at that feafon renders the tops valuable. This autumn (1793), twelve acres of turnips have been fold for 100l. to planted early. The forts chiefly cultivated for the table are the red-nofe-kidney, the white-bloffom, and the champion. If wheat is to fucceed, the champions are preferred, as arriving fooner at maturity than the kidneys. Some ufe the general they are dug up with the plough in taking them up, but in pade. The frofts of October frequently cut down the leaves of the potatoe plant. The root however will continue to grow, fo long as the fap remains in the ftem, fo that in a backward feafon (as the prefent) the time of taking them up may be deferred to the middle or latter end of November. They are found not to keep well, if taken up too early, while the fkin is ftill foit and tender. The price of potatoes, when de livered to the London dealers, varies from two guineas to four guineas per ton, according to the quality of the root and the time of delivery. The market generally falls after a fupply from Yorkshire arrives in the river. Some of the ox-noble have been cultivated, and fold at a low price to the cow-keepers. general produce of the potatoe-crop The X 2 varies The following courfe of crops. will be found particularly advantageous in the vicinity of the London market; and the very confiderable returns they enfure, demonftrate the abfurdity of fuffering land in Middlefex to lie wafte and uncultivated. In feveral counties the manufactures are at a fiand, and the poor in want of the common neceffaries of life. Nothing more clearly proves the importance of encouraging agriculture, which, deriving its fupport from the more permanent wants of man, is not fubject to interruption from the viciflitudes of peace and war, or from the uncertain changes of the human fancy. 1. Green peafe on the clover ley, dunged, and followed by turnips the fame year, Carry forward, £. s. green, at After-grafs, £.6 6 7 7 A ftratum of marl has been difcovered in Enfield-Chace, which has been the means of enriching 10 fome of the pooreft parts of that diftrict. It has been particularly 10 10 applied with fuccefs, by Mr. Bing, 10 member |