animals, so that the farmer may in no cafe be in danger of confounding these together in practice or experiment. This relates to that fyllem of claffification, which I have already faid has hardly yet begun to be taken notice of in the fcience of agriculture.

The fourth clafs would confit of a fet of experiments not less effentially neceffary for the improvement of agriculture as an economical art than any of the former, although of a fecondary order to its advancement as a fcience, viz. thofe that relate to the facilitating any of the operations in agriculture by improvements in machinery, the proper diftribution of time and labour, with other circumftances of a fimilar nature, to which it highly imports the practical farmer minutely to attend.'

He now takes occafion to point out the peculiar advantages of an experimental farm, as under :

By an attentive confideration of thefe particulars it will appear that an experimental farm, although in fome refpects defective, would nevertheless be attended with the moft effential benefits to the Public; as there are fome experiments of the greatest utility which hardly admit of being perfectly afcertained unless it be by a public inflitution of this nature. Of this kind in a particular manner are all the experiments belonging to the first clafs above enumerated, which require fo much attention, accuracy, time, and expence to bring them to a proper conclufion, as gives no room to hope that ever they will be fully afcertained unless it be by the aid of fuch a public inftitution. That the reader may be convinced of this fact, I hall beg leave to produce one cafe by way of example.

Let it, then, be required "to afcertain the peculiar qualities of any one kind of natural grafs, confidered as a food for each va riety of animals that could be fed upon it; the most œconomical manner of rearing this grafs for any particular purpose, whether alone or mixed with other varieties of plants; the most advantageous method of confuming it, whether green or dry, by cutting or by pafturing for every particular purpofe to which it could be applied; and its comparative value in every point of view in which it can be confidered, when contrafted with every other kind of plant that could be reared by the farmer?"

When we contemplate the full import of this query, the field it opens appears to be fo immenfe, that the wearied mind, like a bewildered traveller in a boundless wafte, wanders over it without feeing any end of its labour, or knowing where it shall find repofe. It would be in vain for me here to attempt to delineate all the cire cumftances that would require to be elucidated; but it is neceflary that I should condescend upon* [enumerate] a few.

• The time that is required for obtaining abundance of feeds for the neceffary experiments is the firit circumftance that would probably baffle the efforts of a private individual. et as fuppofe that he obtains as many feeds the first year as are fuflicient to fow one fall of ground. A fecond year elapfes before he can reap any feeds from that. The third year he reaps the feeds. He fows them the fourth; which we will fuppofe are fufficient for five falls of ground. The fifth be fows other five falls with the produce of the first.

The

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fixth he fows five falls more with the produce of the first, and twentyfive with the produce of the fecond; in all thirty falls. The feventh year he fows with the first and fecond, as above, thirty falls, and with the third twenty-five more: in all fifty-five. The eighth, with the produce of the firt, fecond, and third, fifty-five; and with that of the fourth, a hundred and fifty: in all two hundred and five. It will be neceffary that he fave the feeds of this last one year more, before he can have enough for carrying on his experiments properly: fo that about the tenth year he may be in a condition to begin his experiments upon that particular kind of grafs, How few private experimenters would have patience for this?

The next difcouraging circumstance that would occur to a pri vate perfon in this walk, would be the unavoidable trouble and expence attending thefe experiments. For every one of thofe plots in which the grafs-feeds are fown, must be weeded with greater care than is neceffary for the borders of the best kept flower-garden; as the leaft ftalk of other graffes coming up among them would mar the experiment: nor is it poffible for a private perfon to obtain operators in almost any cafe, who will have accuracy for performing this talk, even if the expence should not be grudged.

But let us fuppofe all thefe difficulties overcome. It next becomes neceffary to inclofe, in the most perfect manner, the feveral plots of grafs intended for the particular experiments, fo as to make the experimenter quite certain that no animal he wishes to exclude from it can get access to it without his knowledge. This muft like wife be effected by means of wooden rails, or fome other fort of dead fence; because any hedge or tree near it would greatly affe&t the experiment.

This done, it would be neceffary to fet apart fome plots to be cut and confumed green by each kind of domestic animal: the num ber of thefe plots, therefore, must be proportioned to the number of claffes of animals that could be reared by the farmer in this country, and the extent of each plot fhould be fufficient to afford food for a whole feafon to a confiderable number of each clafs of animals, to guard against the errors that might arife from particular temperaments. Other plots require to be cut and made into hay, in fuch quantities as to admit of feeding a fufficient number of animals of each species for fuch a length of time as would give a certainty of the effects produced. Other plots must be allotted for pafturage to different claffes of animals to feed together, or fucceed one another in an infinite number of varied rotations. Others must be appropriated for trying the effects of mixing this kind of grafs-feed with other plants that can be employed as food to animals, through all the variations that these will admit of; while others must be fet apart for making a comparative trial of all thefe various experiments with each of the plants feparately that admits of being reared by the farmer. But I begin to lofe myfelf in the immenfity of objects that croud upon me. To conclude, therefore, I hope the reader, who reflects on these objects, will be fatisfied, that if, at the end of a hundred years continued attention and unwearied care, with a perfest command of money, and unlimited extent of foil, a fatisfactory anfwer could be given to the above query, as much would be doneas can ever be expected from any human power, even with all the advantages

advantages we have above fuppofed. How vain is it, then, to hope that ever this can be effected by the zeal or affiduity of any private experimenter?

For thefe reafons, although it is certain that a national experimental farm would not be capable of anfwering every purpose that may be required; yet it feems to be equally indifputable, that without fome public inflitution of this nature, either in Britain or fome other nation, it will be altogether impoffible ever to bring the art of agriculture to its ultimate degree of perfection. I cannot, therefore, too warmly recommend this matter to the attention of those in power. What glory would it be for Britain to be the first nation that had ever adopted a proper plan for giving certainty to this most ufeful of all arts: an advantage which it never hath yet attained! What lafting honour would it reflect upon the memory of that perfon who had put that plan in execution! And at how small an expence might this be effected! A fum of money not greater than might be neceffary to force a trifling påfs, or deftroy a paltry town, and reduce a few hundreds of innocent perfons to mifery, might be fufficient to accomplish this great work, which would promote the ease and felicity of millions who are yet unborn, and render Britain renowned among all nations to the latest ages of pofterity.'

The experiments of the fecond clafs, as well as thofe of the fourth, he obferves, naturally come within the sphere of private perfons; but those of the fecond, which are almoft the only experiments in agriculture that have been hitherto attended to, can be of little ufe, as had been before fhewn, until the mode of claffification which falls under the third general head shall be attended to with effect.

The experiments referable to this third head, he obferves, do not come within the fphere of an experimental farm, nor of private individuals confidered as detached from others. For,

As this fet of experiments, he proceeds, is merely intended to difcover the particulars by which different varieties of the fame clafs of bodies may be diftinguished from each other, and as these varieties are often met with at a great distance from other varieties of the fame clafs, it becomes impoffible for individuals to compare these with one another, or to have an opportunity of difcovering thofe peculiarities which might ferve to distinguish each from the others. Hence, therefore, it is only by collecting together and comparing the experiments of many farmers in different parts of the country, that a knowledge of thofe particulars referable to the third general clafs above named can ever be obtained. It therefore behoves uз now to enquire what is the moft proper method of obtaining the neceffary information from fo many individuals, who are at prefent fcattered through all the provinces of the kingdom, or even through all the kingdoms of the earth, and totally unconnected with and unknown to one another.

It will readily occur that no method can be fo proper for collecting detached obfervations, the refult of actual experience in many different parts of the country, and of communicating thefe to the public, as a periodical performance judiciously contrived, and exe

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cuted with becoming fpirit, caution, and fidelity. For, if fuch a work were written and could be afforded at a moderate price, fo as to come within the reach of farmers of every denomination, it would become the mean of uniting into one grand fociety all the farmers of every district of the country, or even of every country in Europe, if proper means were adopted for fecuring correfpondents, and esta. blishing an extenfive circulation.'

The benefits that would refult from fuch a periodical performance he describes in the following animated strain :

It is perhaps impoffible for the mind of man to contemplate any fublunary object that would be more agreeable than the prospect of fuch a fociety, compofed of innumerable multitudes of people of all fects, and nations, and languages, conferring together for the fole purpose of improving one another in ufeful knowledge; who, forgetting thofe little diftinctions of rank, opinion, and party prejudice, which fo inceffantly tend to tear from us thofe few enjoyments that might naturally have fallen to our share, fhould ftrive with the moft cordial fympathy and brotherly affedion to promote those peaceful arts which may contribute to the happinefs of millions yet unborn. For, in this grand republic of farmers, every individual might freely communicate the knowledge which he had acquired, and might propofe his doubts and receive inftructions concerning thofe things in which he found himself deficient, without difcioling either his rank in life, his country, or his party connections. If any erroneous opinion fhould be there advanced, without regard to extraneous circumftances, which have fuch a tendency to influence the mind in general, it would quickly be refuted. What was doubtful would be elucidated by the difcuffions that would naturally refult from contradictory opinions. Facts that seemed to oppose one another would not be hastily abandoned as fictions, but would be fifted to the bottom by inquifitive men. Judicious questions would be propofed to the oppofing experimenters, while both were alive and capable of anfwering every query that could be proposed; by which means thofe effential circumftances that had been omitted in any one experiment, and from which the variation had proceeded, might often be difcovered without waiting for a repetition of it. Or, if that could not in all cafes be done at once, a few experiments propofed for elucidating the fubject might perhaps be tried by thousands in one feafon; from which numerous experiments, when compared together, a degree of certainty would arife, which no fingle perfon would have obtained during the courfe of many years.

On the other hand, when any new experiment fhould be propofed for elucidating a doubtful point, and the benefits that would refult from it were clearly pointed out, many perfons would be induced to try it at once in different districts, and on a vast variety of foils; the refult of all which experiments could be laid before the Public about the fame time, without almost any trouble to the feve ral experimenters. Other perfons, who had formerly made fimilar experiments, would in the mean time communicate the refult of them to the Public; and the reafoning that would occur in confe quence of this would put the new experimenters on their guard, and

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make them attend to thofe particulars that are of capital importance. And when the whole of thefe experiments were produced and compared with one another, many important obfervations would be fuggefted, which would lead to ftill more useful enquiries. Thus, in the courfe of a few years, a greater number of decifive experiments might be obtained than could have been accumulated in many ages by folitary individuals.

Nor could any circumftance of importance be allowed to escape fuch a refpectable fociety unobferved. For, as the attention of thoufands would be directed towards each fingle experiment, it is not to be fuppofed that any matter of consequence would escape them all. The hints fuggested by some correfpondents would raise new ideas in the minds of others, and these in their turn would produce new reflections from others ftill. The omiffions of one would be fupplied by another even the errors of correfpondents would lead to important truths, by inducing others to refute them, who would also in their turn be corrected if they should fall into any mistakes.

A periodical performance of this nature would not only be better calculated for collecting the detached obfervations of practical farmers than any other mode of publication that could be devised, but it would also have a more powerful tendency to awaken a fpirit of ob fervation among all the inhabitants of the country. At prefent, farmers are in a great meafure excluded from the literary world. Few of them read much: and they fo feldom meet with inftruction in books of agriculture, that these are perhaps lefs read by practical farmers than books of any other kind whatever. From this caufe practical farmers feldom hear of the improvements that are from time to time mentioned in books. They lofe the taste for writing themselves. They even, for the most part, despise those who write on the fubject of their own profeflion as idle vifionaries. They thus lofe the habit of arranging their ideas with precifion, and their minds have no delight in investigation, and of courfe fall into a vacant kind of torpor; in which ftate few important difcoveries or vigorous exertions are to be expected.

But if they should be induced to become members of a Georgical Society on the liberal plan above alluded to, they would at once be introduced into a fociety of men like themselves, with whom they would freely communicate their ideas on fubjects that they mutually underflood, and would frequently find themfelves qualified to take an interefting part in the difcuffion. This would naturally beget an attachment to that fociety, and a fondness for thofe fubjects that were inveftigated in it: for man never deferts fociety, or lofes relish for converfation, but when he feels that he is an object of lefs importance in his own eyes when in company than when alone. Society expands the heart, and foftens the rougher affections. Emulation whets the talents. Oppofition roufes the faculties of the foul, and draws forth every latent fpark of genius. Sometimes they would be able to correct mistakes, to anfwer queries, or to folve doubts; and at other times they would listen in their turn to useful inftructions from others. By thefe means a habit of accurate obfervation would be established among farmers in general, which would enable them to difcriminate every important circumftance: and a fpirit of enter

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