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ftick, and let the packet of fulphur bę squeezed, so as to make it yield to the water all its power and colour. The effect of the water is not rendered more powerful by increafing the quantity of ingredients. The water, when taken off the fire, is to be poured into the barrel, where it is to be stirred for a fhort time with a stick; this ftirring muit be repeated every day until the mixture becomes fetid in the highest degree. Experience fhews that the older, and the more fetid, the compofition is, the more quick is its action. It is necessary to take care to flop the barrel well every time

the mixture is stirred.

When we wish to make nfe of this water, we need only sprinkle it, or pour it upon the plants, or plunge their branches into it; but the best manner of ufing it is to inject it upon them with a common fyringe, to which is adapted a pipe. of the ufual conftruction, except that its extremity fhould terminate in a head of an inch and a half in diameter, pierced in the flat part with fmall holes, like pin-holes, for tender plants; but, for trees, a head pierced with larger holes may be made ufe of.

Caterpillars, beetles, bed-bugs, aphides, and many other infects, are killed by a fingle injection of this water. Infects which live under ground, thofe which have a hard hell, hornets, wafps, ants, &c. require to be gently and continually injected, till the water has penetrated to the bottom of their abode. Ant-hills, particularly, require two, four, fix, or eight quarts of water, according to the size and extent of the ant-hill, which fhould not be disturbed till twenty-four hours after, the operation. If the ants which

happen to be abfent fhould affemble and form another hill, it muft be treated in the way before mertioned, In this manner we shall at laft deftroy them, but they must not be too much difturbed with a stick; on the contrary, the injection should be continued till, by their not ap pearing upon the furface of the earth they are fuppofed to be a destroyed.

We may advantageously add to the mixture two ounces of vomica, which fhould be boiled wit the fulphur; the water, by th means, will acquire more power, particularly if used for deftroying

ants.

When all the water has been made ufe of, the fediment fhocki be thrown into a hole dug in the ground, left the poultry, or other domestic animals, thould eat it.

Specification of the Patent granted to Mr. John Tucker, of Wickham, iz the County of Southampton, T ner; for his method of Tanning, and making Leather of a fuper Quality, and in a much horr Period of Time, than hath hitheri been done. Dated May 12, 179,

Tall to whom to know

ye, that I, the faid John Tucker, compliance with the faid prov..., do hereby declare, that the natur of my faid invention, and the ma ner in which the fame is to be performed, is particularly defcribe and afcertained as follows; that to fay, the vat or pit may be mad or compofed either of wooden, earthen, metallic, or other fubftare fit for the purpofe, and conftruct in any form, or fize, that may b

necellar

neceffary or convenient. The oozes fhould be kept in a regular kind degree of heat, by means of a flue, connected with them by an inclofure of brick, wood, ftone, or any kind of metal, or other fubftance fit for the purpofe; but the beft

method is to make the vats of beech, (with the top-plank of oak, about two inches thick,) four feet and a half deep, fix feet long, and four feet wide; the fides to be per

forated with holes, about one inch

and a half in diameter, and two inches in diftance from each other. The vat or pit fhould be inclosed in a metallic coating, and fo completely foldered as to prevent the efcape of any of the fluid. There muft be an eye made in the vat, with a hole in it, for the ooze to difcharge itfelf through when exhaufted. The vat fhould be placed on bricks, and inclofed with a cafe of brick-work, leaving an interftice of a few inches for the heat to circulate in; which heat fhould be kind and gentle, and received from a fire placed near the bottom of the vat, fo as to be either increased or extinguished at pleasure as neceflity or convenience may require. A fmall hole, or holes, muft be left in the upper part of the brick-work, which is neceffary for the warm air to afcend through. The old way of cold infufion for the extracts, as to the taps and spenders, will not be affected by this procefs, and the hides may be brought into the yard as ufual; but it will be proper to handle them very frequently for fome time, otherwife, as the action of the bark is very confiderably increafed by the warmth it has received, it will, if the hides be not often moved, operate partially, fo as to defeat the production of per

feet leather. But, if this process of tanning be strictly attended to, it will produce leather, not only in a much thorter period of time than has hitherto been done, but of very fuperior quality, and durability. In witnefs whereof, &c.

Rice Bread.-by Arthur Young, Efq. from Annals of Agriculture.

made on different mixtures by MONGST the many trials the Board of Agriculture, I was rather furprized to find that rice ground to flour did not make any figure equal to my expectations. This led me to try it boiled, inftead of ground, and the refult was fo favourable, that it deferves being communicated to the public. I tried it in various proportions, but the moft fuccefsful was, threefourths wheaten flour, and onefourth rice, weighed before boiling. It fhould be very well boiled, and the water fqueezed out (which water may be used as ftarch for linen, and there is no better) and then mixed with the flour: it is made as common bread; none equals it, being more pleafant to the palate than any baker's bread. That it is highly nourishing, there can be no doubt, as rice is admitted to be of all grain the moft fo. It is likewife a great advantage, that it has a reftringent quality, all breads that induce laxity being pernicious to hard labouring people.

Tho' rice by the pound is dearez than wheaten flour, it is not so in bread; I tried ten repeated experiments, on mixing one pound and a half of flour with half a pound of rice, and the loaves weighed cold, gave from three pounds to three

pounds

pounds two ounces, which is a greater gain than in baking bread of wheat flour only.

A circumftance attending rice, which renders it a great object, is the poffibility of procuring it in almost any quantities; for, not to mention the United States of America, it is to be had .furprisingly cheap from India. It is feldom higher, at Calcutta, than two ficca rupees the bag of 168lb; and for cargo rice 3 rupees; it has been bought in the diftricts, five mauns for the rupee, which is 400lb. for 28. 4d. The average price, at

Subftance of Sir John Sinclair's Ad-
drefs to the Board of Agriculture,
on Tuesday the 14th of July, 1795;
faling the Progrefs that had been
made in carrying on the Measures
undertaken by the Board, for pro-
moting the Improvement of the
Country, during the fecond Seffions
fince its Eftablishment.

Ye generous Britons venerate the Plough;
-So with fuperior boon may your rich foil,
Exuberant, Nature's better bleffings pour
O'er every land, the naked nations clothe,
And be th' exhaustlefs granary of a world!
THOMSON'S SPRING.

which it could be bought in larger feparating for the fum

which he could not think of

quantities, is 5s. 3d per cwt. To this is to be added the freight to London in fhips, Lafcar ones of the country, 123. per cwt.; in all, landed in England, 17s. 3d. per cwt, inftead of 44s. the price at prefent fold for at London. Thus imported, it must be apparent to every one how much cheaper the bread would be.

I have tried it, in the fame proportion with barley, and it makes good bread for labouring people, but heavy, like all mixtures of barley, and the gain in baking not nearly equal to that by mixing with wheat.

So excellent a fort of bread being thus attainable, it is to be hoped that its ufe will fpread into every part of the kingdom, and that thofe perfons, who affift their poor neighbours by donations of bread, will adopt this mode of making it, fince it is not fo much the price of the hread, as faving the confumption of wheat, which feems at prefent the object.

their

mer, without laying before the board, according to the practice of last year, an abftract of their proceedings, at the conclufion of what ought properly to be accounted their fecond feffion, only one meeting having been held in 1793, when the board was originally constituted.

That nothing could give him greater fatisfaction, than to obferve the progrefs which the board was making towards completing the great meafure which it had at firft undertaken, namely, that of afeertaining the prefent state of the agriculture of thefe Kingdoms, and the means of its improvement. That not only the rough draught of the furvey of each county, with hardly any exceptions (and thofe would foon be fupplied) had been printed, but that the reprinting of the reports had alfo commenced, from which it would appear what progrefs had been made in collecting additional information. The reprinted report of Lancashire, which was now ready for publication, would fully explain the plan according to which those reports were

in future to be drawn up. From an examination of that report, the public would fee to what a pitch of perfection agricultural knowledge was likely to be brought, by the accumulation of fo many valuable materials. That, next to collecting information, the board was naturally anxious to excite a fpirit of improvement; a fpirit which could beft be roufed by pointing out to the legislature thofe obftacles which prevented agricultural induftry, and by endeavouring to prevail upon parliament to remove them. When the reports were completed, it might be expedient for that purpofe to draw up an abstract of the whole, adhering to the divifion by counties, but restricting the information to thofe points which were of general importance. That report, which it would be proper to lay before his majefty and both houfes of parliament, would ftate fuch measures as feemed to be the most likely to roufe a fpirit of agricultural exertion. He hoped that important work would be completed before the enfuing feffion of parliament was brought to a conclufion.

The third object, that of draw ing up a general report, in which each fubject connected with agriculture thould be diftinctly treated, had alfo made confiderable progrefs. Several of the chapters were al ready drawn up; and the fifteenth chapter, on the great fubject of manures, was printed and in circulation. That chapter fully explained the nature of the propofed report, and the manner in which it was intended to be executed.

Among the duties of the board of agriculture there was none of more real importance, than that of bringing under the confideration of parliament fuch measures as were likely to promote the interefts of every defcription of perfons connected with husbandry, more efpecially thofe of the lower orders of fociety. With that view a bill was brought into parliament, on the recommendation of the board, which had paffed into a law, and was likely to prove of much confequence to that valua ble clafs, the common labourers, who were entitled to the peculiar attention of the legislature, and to the protection of the board, in enabling them to lay out their little pittance to the beft advantage, and without the risk of impofition.*

That a most important, but at the fame time a very delicate branch of duty, incumbent upon the board, is that of fubmitting to the confideration of parliament, the claims of thofe who merited to be rewarded, on account of discoveries advantageous to agriculture. That any attempt of that fort, it might easily be fuppofed, was liable to many dif ficulties. That the board had fucceeded in its first application, in behalf of a very deferving individual, Mr. Jofeph Elkington, who had carried the art of draining land to a perfection hitherto unknown, and which, if fpread over the whole kingdom, muft neceffarily prove the fource of infinite public benefit. That fum, being the first ever granted by parliament for any discovery of importance to husbandry, rendered

This Act, which was recommended to the attention of the board by Sir Christopher Willoughby, one of its members, and was introduced into parliament by Mr. Powys, is intitled, "An Act for the more effectual Prevention of the Ufe of defective Weights, and of falfe and unequal Balances."*

VOL. XXXVII.

[*G]

it

it more valuable to the perfon who received it, and more creditable to the board, in confequence of whofe recommendation it had been obtained. That the board had this day appointed a committee for the purpofe of attending to that fubject during the recefs; by whofe exertions, he had no doubt confiderable progrefs would be made, in the courfe even of this year, in having thofe individuals taught who might be fent with that view to Mr. Elkington.

That there is no duty more incumbent on a board of agriculture, than that of recommending fuch measures as are the most likely to provide a fufficient quantity of food for the people: recommendation, it is well known, is all that a board poffeffed of fuch limited powers can attempt; but in that refpect it fortunately feems to be poflefied of confiderable influence. The deficiency of the laft crop becoming too apparent at the commencement, of this year, an extraordinary meeting was held to take the fubject into confideration, when the board refolved to recommend the culture of potatoes as in every point of view the resource the eafieft to be obtained, and the moft to be depended on. By accounts received from various parts of the island it appears, that the recommendation had been attended with the beft confequences. There is eve reafon to believe that perhaps 50,000 additional acres of potatoes have been planted in confequence of that recommendation.

As each acre of potatoes will feed, at an average, from eight to ten people for twelve months, it is probable that the board have been the means of raifing as great a quantity of that food as will maintain nearly

1

a million of people' for fix months, and confequently it will have been the happy inftrument of preventing the risk of fcarcity or famine during the enfuing feafon. For the purpofe of increafing that culture in future, and of afcertaining the principles on which it could beft be conducted, a report has been drawn up and printed, which contains all the information that could be collec ted in Great Britain and Ireland, or from foreign publications, on the fubject of potatoes.

That for many years paft conftant complaints have been made of the increafing price of provitions. Many caufes have been afligned for fuch a circumftance, and many remedies fuggefted; but the most effectual one undoubtedly is that ofcultivating the many millions of acres now lying wafte and unproductive. That to that point he should take the liberty of calling the attention of the board early in the courfe of the entuing feflion; and in the interim he trufied that the members of the board would pay every poffible attention to the fubject.

Let us cut off those legal bars, "Which crush the culture of our fruitful "Ife;

"Were they remov'd, unbounded wealth "would flow;

Our waftes would then with varied pro"duce fmile, "And England foon a fecond Eden prove."

The laft, and perhaps the mot important object to which the attention of the board can be directed, is that of attending to the fituation and circumftances of the lower orders of the people. That important branch of our duty had not been neglected during the courfe of the prefent feffion. In addition to the specific measures above alluded to, à fpecial committee was ap

pointed

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