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REVIEW.

The fatifical account of Scotland, drawn up from the communications of the Minilers of the different parishes, by Sir John Sinclair Baronet: Volume first.

THE public are here prefented with the first volume of a work, that promifes to refcue great Britain from a reflection that has been throwit upon it by foreign nations, an inattention to its internal ftate, and the means that may tend to augment its profperity; for if effential political improvements are to be made at all, they must begin with an accurate knowledge of the state of the country. Without this preliminary step, every attempt at improvement can only be deemed a fort of quackery; nor can it ever be known with any degree of certainty, whether the measures that shall be purfued at any one period, prove hurtful or beneficial. We therefore congratulate the public on the appearance of this work, as we truft it will prove the fure balis of future inquiries, that cannot fail to prove highly beneficial to the community at large, and to this part of the country in particular; and it is our moft earneft wifh, that no crofs accident may intervene, to interrupt the progrefs of this highly bene ficial undertaking.

The public are made acquainted in this volume, in a very accurate manner, with the prefent ftate of fifty-three parifhes in various parts of Scotland; fo that an attentive reader may be able, even from this fpecimen, to form a tolerably adequate notion of the whole. But when the work fhall be concluded, if the remainder fhall be executed in the same masterly manner with the present volume, there will be no exaggeration in the faying of the worthy Mr. Demster," that no publication of equal information and curiofi"ty has appeared in great Britain fince doomfday book; and "that from the ample and authentic facts which it records, "it must be reforted to by every future flatefiman, philofopher and divine, as the best bafis that has ever yet appeared for political fpeculation."

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Too much praise cannot be bestowed upon the reverend and worthy members of the church who have fo liberally and judiciously furnished the materials for this work. Many perfons, on seeing the queries that were put to them, were apprehenfive, that fome might be induced, from a defire to display much reading or depth of research, to enter into long conjectural fpeculations on fubjects which had not come fully to their knowledge; and although Sir John took care to warn them against this, yet few perfons could have formed a priori, fuch an idea of the judicioufnels of this body of men, as not to be afraid that fome of them would run wild in the mazy road of fpeculative theory. The prefent volume however, gives an agreeable proof that thefe fears were groundless. The writers of thefe memoirs, have, with great judgment, in general, confined themselves ftrictly to the recording of fuch facts as fell under their own obfervation, leaving ideal hypothefes

on other fubjects to thofe who choose to engage in them; and if occafionally fome uncommon phenomena of nature are (ac counted for, it is done with an ingenuous modesty that isworthy of a high degree of applaufe; as we shall illuftrate on fome future occafion, by examples drawn from this volume.

It is to be regretted, that on account of the little attention that has hitherto been bestowed on fubjects of this nature, it was not poffible, on many occafions, to compare the past with the present state of this country: but in all cafes where it could be done, the compilers have made the best use for that purpose, of the few facts that have been preferved to them. Future obfervers will not have this difficulty to en counter, fo long as this work fhall be preserved, which will throw a ftill clearer light upon the future fpeculations of the patriotic politician, than we yet can boat of, notwithstanding the unequalled care and attention of the clergymen of the prefent day.

Hitherte, unfortunately for Britain, our attention has been almoft exclufively applied to the marking the progrefs and improvements of our external poffeffions, while the state of our domestic concerns has been entirely overlooked, as if they were unworthy of any regard. Some recent events VOL. III

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might have ferved to convince us, that in doing this, we were purtuing an ignus fatuus, that only tended to mislead to our undoing: Yet ftill we are running after this Will o' the wifp, and a small addition of useless territory is, even now, in danger of proving a bribe fufficient to draw off our attention from concerns of infinitely greater importance. The present work, by serving to bring under our notice many of thefe important objects, will, I trust, prove an ara in the history of the political state of this country: An aufpicious era indeed it will prove, if it fhall help to produce this effect...s

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Animated with these hopes, there feems to be no reafon to fear, that a work fo happily begun, will not be in a fhort time finally accomplished, by the joint endeavours of a set of men, who only wanted fuch an opportunity as the prefent to be brought forward to the notice of the public as a body, when taken in the aggregate, that can perhaps be equalled by none other on the globe. Hitherto they have been little known, farther than the bounds of their respective parishes. Now the names of every individual will be made known in an honourable manner through all the regions of the earth; for they may reft affured that there is no European language into which this book will not be tranflated, nor any country into which it will not find its way. If the clergy of any other country, particularly of England, think they are entitled to equal refpect, let them produce a work of equal merit. When that is done, a fair estimate of the merit and abilities of the officiating clergy in both countries may be made; but if they fhrink back from the trial, the Scottish clergy will be justly entitled to a priority of celebrity.

The ufes that may be made of this work are innumerable, not could any perfon at prefent point them all out. Some of thefe, together with a general abstract of this volume hall be given in our next.

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Further account of the Ruta Baga or Swedish Turnip.

N an early number of this work, the public were informed culence till a very late period of its growth, even after it had produced feed; and on account of that property, it was recommended to the notice of farmers, as an excel lent kind of fucculent food for domeftic animals in the fpring of the year, when common turnips, and most other winter crops have failed, and before grafs got up to furnish an abundant bite for feeding beafts. This peculiarity, however, seemed fo fingular, that it was not to be wondered at, if many men of found fenfe found themselves difpofed to doubt the fact and from that circumftance, I make no doubt but many of these have satisfied themselves by experiment as to this particular; this I myself have done, and I think it my duty now to communicate the refult of that experiment to the public, being under no apprehenfion that it will be contro verted by the experience of any other perfon: reasoning, in cafes of this kind, is entirely out of the queftion.

I find then, that the Ruto Baga, or Swedish turnip, begins to fend cut its flower-items in the fpring, nearly about the fame time with the common turnip, but that the root, in con fequence of that change of ftate, fuffers very little alteration. I continued to use these turnips at my table every day till towards the middle of May; and had I never gone into the garden myself, I fhould not even then have fufpected, from the taste or appearance of the bulb itself, that it had been shot at all. The ftems, however, at the season I gave over ufing them, were from four to five feet high, and in full flower. I fhould have continued the experiment longer, had not the quantity I had left for that purpose been exhaufted, and a few only left for feed.

This experiment, however, fully proves, that this kind of turnip may be employed as a fucculent food for cattle till the middle of May at leaft, in an ordinary year; and I have not the fmalleft doubt but it will continue perfectly good for that purpose till the end of May in any feafon; at which time grafs and other fpring crops can eafily be had for bringing beafts forward in fleth. I can therefore, without hesitation, recommend this plant to the farmer as a moft valuable spring feeding for cattle and fheep; and for this purpose, I think no wife farmer thould be without a proportion of this kind of turnip to fucceed the other forts after they fail. The profi

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