4 stick, and let the packet of fulphur be 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 increasing 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 short time with a stick; this stirring must be repeated every day until the mixture becomes fetid in the highest degree. Experience shews that the older, and the more fetid, the composition is, the more quick is its action. It is necessary to take care to stop the barrel well every time the mixture is ftirred. When we wish to make use 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 using it is to inject it upon them with a common fyringe, to which is adapted a pipe of the usual construction, except that its extremity should terminate in a head of an inch and a half in diameter, pierced in the flat part with small holes, like pin-holes, for tender plants; but, for trees, a head pierced with larger holes may be made use of. happen to be absent should affemble and form another hill, it must be treated in the way before mentioned. In this manner we shall at laft destroy them, but they must not be too much disturbed with a stick: on the contrary, the injection shoels be continued till, by their not appearing upon the furface of the earth they are supposed to be all destroyed. We may advantageously add to the mixture two ounces of comica, which should be boiled wi the fulphur; the water, by th means, will acquire more power, particularly if used for destroying ants. When all the water has been made use of, the fediment should be thrown into a hole dug in the ground, left the poultry, or other domestic animals, should eat it. Specification of the Patent granted Mr. John Tucker, of Wickham, in the County of Southampton, T ner; for his method of Tannir and making Leather of a fuperi Quality, and in a much ther Period of Time, than hath hithe been done. Dated May 12, 1797 T all to whom these prefer! fhall come, &c. Now know ye, that I, the faid John Tucker, compliance with the faid prov do hereby declare, that the natar of my faid invention, and the ma ner in which the fame is to be pe formed, is particularly defcribe and ascertained as follows; that to say, the vat or pit may be mad Caterpillars, beetles, bed-bugs, aphides, and many other infects, are killed by a fingle injection of this water. Infects which live under ground, those which have a hard shell, 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 or compofed either of wooden the ant-hill, 'which should not be earthen, metallic, or other fubftant disturbed till twenty-four hours after, fit for the purpose, and conftruct the operation. If the ants which in any form, or fize, that may t necefliary neceffary or convenient. The oozes should 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 substance fit for the purpose; but the best 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 perforated with holes, about one inch and a half in diameter, and two inches in distance from each other. The vat or pit should be inclosed in a metallic coating, and so completely foldered as to prevent the escape of any of the fluid. There must be an eye made in the vat, with a hole in it, for the ooze to difcharge itself through when exhausted. The vat should 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 should be kind and gentle, and received from a fire placed near the bottom of the vat, so as to be either increased or extinguished at pleasure as necessity or convenience may require. A fmall hole, or holes, must 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 process, and the hides may be brought into the yard as usual; but it will be proper to handle them very frequently for fome time, otherwise, as the action of the bark is very confiderably increased 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 fect leather. But, if this process of tanning be strictly attended to, it will produce leather, not only in a much shorter period of time than has hitherto been done, but of very fuperior quality, and durability. In witness whereof, &c. Rice Bread. by Arthur Young, Esq. from Annals of Agriculture. A MONGST the many trials made on different mixtures by 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, instead of ground, and the result was fo favourable, that it deserves being communicated to the public. I tried it in various proportions, but the most successful was, threefourths wheaten flour, and onefourth rice, weighed before boiling. It should be very well boiled, and the water squeezed out (which water may be used as starch for linen, and there is no better) and then mixed with the flour: it is made as common bread; none equals it, being more pleasant 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 most so. 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 dearer than wheaten flour, it is not fo 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 circumstance 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 surprisingly 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 districts, five mauns for the rupee, which is 400lb. for 2s. 4d. The average price, at which it could be bought in large quantities, is 5s. 3d per cwt. To this is to be added the freight to London in ships, Lascar ones of the country, 12s. per cwt.; in all, landed in England, 17s. 3d. per cwt. instead 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 those 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 bread, as faving the confumption of wheat, which feems at present the object. Substance of Sir John Sinclair's Address to the Board of Agriculture, on Tuesday the 14th of July, 1795; flating the Progress that had been made in carrying on the Measures undertaken by the Board; for promoting the Improvement of the Country, during the fecond Seffions fince its Establishment. Ye generous Britons venerate the Plough; -So with fuperior boon may your rich foil, Exuberant, Nature's better bleffings pour every land, the naked nations clothe, And be th' exhaustless granary of a world! THOMSON'S SPRING. THAT he could not think of their feparating for the fummer, without laying before the board, according to the practice of last year, an abstract 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 observe the progress which the board was making towards completing the great measure which it had at firit undertaken, namely, that of afcertaining the present state of the agriculture of these Kingdoms, and the means of its improvement. That not only the rough draught of the survey of each county, with hardly any exceptions (and those would foon be fupplied) had been printed, but that the reprinting of the reports had also commenced, from which it would appear what progress 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 spirit of improvement; a fpirit which could best be roused by pointing out to the legiflature those obstacles which prevented agricultural industry, and by endeavouring to prevail upon parliament to remove them. When the reports were completed, it might be expedient for that purpose to draw up an abstract of the whole, adhering to the division by counties, but restricting the information to those points which were of general importance. That report, which it would be proper to lay before his majesty and both houses of parliament, would state fuch measures as seemed 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 drawing upa general report, in which each fubject connected with agriculture should be diftinctly treated, had alfo made confiderable progress. Several of the chapters were al ready drawn up; and the fifteenth chapter, on the great subject of manures, was printed and in circulation. That chapter fully explained the nature of the proposed 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 such meafures as were likely to promote the interests of every description of persons connected with husbandry, more especially those 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 consequence to that valua ble class, 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 little pittance to the best advantage, and without the risk of impofition.* their 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 those who merited to be rewarded, on account of discoveries advantageous to agriculture. That any attempt of that fort, it might eafily be supposed, was liable to many difficulties. That the board had fucceeded in its first application, in behalf of a very deserving individual, Mr. Jofeph Elkington, who had carried the art of draining land to a perfection hitherto unknown, and which, if spread over the whole kingdom, must necessarily prove the fource of infinite public benefit. That sum, 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 Chriftopher 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 false and unequal Balances." VOL. XXXVII. 1 it more valuable to the person who received it, and more creditable to the board, in confequence of whofe recommendation it had been obtained. That the boord had this day appointed a committee for the purpose of attending to that fubject during the recefs; by whose exertions, he had no doubt confiderable progress would be made, in the course even of this year, in having those 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 sufficient 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 respect it fortunately feems to be pofleffed 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 refource the easiest to be obtained, and the most to be depended on. By accounts received from various parts of the island it appears, that the recommendation had been attended with the best 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 instrument of preventing the risk of scarcity or famine during the ensuing season. For the purpose of increasing that culture in future, and of afcertaining the principles on which it could beft be conducted, a report has been drawa up and printed, which contains all the information that could be collected 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 increasing price of provitions. Many causes have been affigned for fuch a circumstance, and many remedies suggested; but the most effectual one undoubtedly is that ofcultivating the many millions of acres now lying waste and unproductive. That to that point he should take the liberty of calling the attention of the board early in the course of the enfuing feffion; and in the interim he truffed that the members of the board would pay every possible attention to the fubject. "Let us cut off those legal bars, "Which crush the culture of our fruitful " Ine; "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 last, and perhaps the most 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 course of the present session. In addition to the specific measures above alluded to, a special committee was appointed |