money in lieu of tithes, to be varied, from time to time, according to the difference of the value of the articles out of which the tithes arise. The commutation for the produce of arable and he proposes to settle by the 'average prices of wheat, barley, and oats, and that of the other titheable articles by the average price of milk-butter, taken from the London Gazette; and that this matter be regulated by the justices of the peace for each county, who should be obliged to make annual returns of the prices of grain and butter for this purpose. An Historical Account of the Marsh Lands in the County of Somerset. By Richard Locke, Esq.-Mr. L. tells us that these marsh-lands, which now let for 21. 5s., or more, per acre, were, in the reign of William I., or in the year 1086, valued at not more than ene farthing per acre per annum. He states the growing opulence of marsh farmers and proprietors: but we incline to the opinion that, though he may be a good judge of the nature of meadow and pasture land, he exceeds in the estimate of its value and of the value of estates in general. Art. 15. is an accurate Mode of buying and selling Wheat by Weight: illustrated by a Table. By J. Woods, Gent.; who proposes that wheat be not only measured, but weighed; that each bushel, of eight gallons, be expected to weigh fifty-nine pounds; that the farmer be made to abate in proportion to the deficiency, and be paid (over and above the price agreed) for any excess of weight, viz. to receive for the load of wheat (10 sacks) the value of one gallon and a quarter of flour, in addition to the stipulated price, for every pound of excess of weight in the sack; and to deduct in the same ratio if the bushel weighs under 59 lb. Mr. W. adds, in a note, I think the retail price of a gallon of flour at the mill ought always to be at the rate of one penny in the pound of the price of the load of wheat.' We have heard it hinted that the price of daily labour on the soil would be well regulated by the same ratio: but probably this would be found too low. Art. 16. (consisting of two pages) is intitled Brief Remarks on Practical Improvement. By J. F. Esq. Art. 17. Miscellaneous (and sensible) Remarks on National Improvements. Art. 18. relates an Experiment on the extraordinary Quality in Butter made after the Lancashire Manner. By Mr. H. Harper, of Bank-hall, near Liverpool. It appears by this report that the butter, on which the experiment was made, was kept in a mug covered with brine in a cool cellar two years and seven weeks, and, after having been washed from the salt, was sold along with fresh butter in Liverpool market. This surely speaks in favour of the Lancashire method of souring the milk previously 5 previously to the operation of churning, especially for butter to be taken on long voyages; or rather the experiment evinces. the excellence of the method of preparing the butter by working it well, so as to discharge all the butter-milk, and by adding to it a sufficient quantity of salt; then so covering it with brine as to exclude it from all contact with the common air. Butter is generally spoiled by avarice: to make it weigh heavier, the butter-milk is. not so carefully worked out as it ought to be, and hence it soon grows rancid. Art. 19. contains a Method of killing Garden Slugs, by Captain Shank: which is, by using water impregnated with coal .tar. Brief Observations on different Qualities of Wool, as produced by the Spanish Mixture in Breeding; by Mr. Thomas Davis; who remarks that it is more advantageous to cross the Spanish sheep with horned than with polled sheep, the wool being more improved by the one than by the other. Experiment in planting Potatoe Shoots. By R. Hill, Esq.The shoots produced a crop equal to that which arises from potatoe sets. An Account of a Crop of Wheat sown and managed in a peculiar Way. By a Member of the Society, residing in Cornwall.The wheat was sown among turnips in September, covered by hoeing, hurdled, and eaten off by sheep late in April; when the ground was sown with grass seeds, and harrowed in; the produce of wheat was nearly twenty bushels per acre. On the Folding of Hogs. This experiment is imperfectly related;-the name of the writer is concealed. Art. 24. contains Characters of sundry Apples known in the West of England for various Uses, Samples of which were communicated by Mr. Crocker, of Frome Art. 33. is a Report of thirty-six Kinds of Apples presented by Mr. Pugh, of Shaston. By the Committee. Art. 34. A characteristic Account of twenty-nine Sorts of Apples, from Mr. J. N. Morse, nursery man, of Newent. We have put these three articles together, as all respecting a most valuable fruit, the best sorts of which are said to be much degenerated, and some persons are apprehensive that the down-covered insect, by which the apple-tree is attacked, will at last annihilate this useful plant. However this may be, it is meritorious in the Society to give attention to the cultivation of the apple tree; and it may not be amiss to encourage trials of new sorts, as well as to adopt Mr. Morse's hint of getting a fresh supply of grafts from Normandy, and elsewhere. Art. 25. contains Remarks on the County Surveys, with a Letter to Sir John Sinclair en Draining: By Dr. Anderson.-Dr. A. asserts asserts his claim to the invention of the mode of draining for which Mr. Elkington received a premium of 1000l. This subject will be resumed when we notice Dr. A.'s publication, intitled A Practical Treatise on Draining Bogs and Swampy Grounds, &c. Art. 26. A simple and effectual Preparation of Seed Corn. By Mr. John Wagstaffe.-This preparation consists only in wellwashing the seed in pure water; Mr. W. being convinced, by several experiments, that the smut in wheat is propagated by the particles of the smut-balls adhering to the seed, and so impregnating it with the disease. This is not improbable; and yet, on this principle, how will Mr. W. account for finding smutt-balls and good perfect ears on one and the same plant? Col. Wood next proposes Queries respecting draining Lands, destroying Moss, and planting Coppices; and the Rev. W. B. Barter, in Art. 28. (it is marked 26, and the erroneous enumeration continues hence to the end of the volume,) replies to them. The second Art. 27. is on the Use of Lime mixed with Gunpowder in rending Rocks and Stones. By H. D. Griffith, Esq.To save expence, Mr. G. was induced to try a mixture of lime; and he found that one pound of well-dried and pulverized quick-lime, mixed with two pounds of gunpowder, exploded with as much force as three pounds of gunpowder; so that, in the blowing up of rocks, one-third of the expence of gunpowder may be saved by the admixture of lime. Art. 28. mentions a plan for making a return of all the inhabitants of a parish, with their descriptions, &c. and gives an account of the New Gaol of Dorchester, with plates. By W. M. Pitt, Esq. M. P.-This gaol is from a design of the late Mr. Blackburn, and appears well contrived: but we hope that the county of Dorset is not so very immoral as to require so large an edifice for a prison. If one gadl was sufficient for the whole kingdom in "Alfred's golden days," we are surely much degenerated if we now require such vast gaols and bridewells to be erected in every county. Receipt for preparing Canvas, o as to make flexible Tubes for conveying fresh Air into Coal Mines; and for other useful Purposes. By Mr. Lansdown. Mr. Bartley, in Art. 30. communicates some remarks on the Culture and Value of Potatoes. We think that this gentleman over-rates the value of this very useful root, when he estimates a sack of potatoes, as an article of food, to be equal to a bushel of the best wheat. We doubt their being so very nutritious, or that the flour and starch obtained from them is equal to that obtained from wheat. Potatoes, however, merit the the attention of the farmer; and the new Method of propagating them, (by the Rev. J. Barton, in Art. 35.) i. e. by transplantation from roots left in the ground through the winter, and which in the spring shoot up out of place, will be acceptable information; as will likewise the supplemental article affixed to the Introduction, On the Culture of Potatoes, by Mr. Broughton, in which the superiority of the method of planting by shoots is ascertained as far as one set of experiments can prove the fact. Art. 31. contains Queries proposed to the Society by an economical Committee of Parliamentary Gentlemen in London, during the high Prices of Corn, &c. in 1795, with (sensible) Answers, by the Secretary, Mr. Matthews. Full Directions for dibbling Wheat, as performed in the County of Norfolk in 1795, are communicated by David Barklay, Esq. Seven pecks are used per acre, and the expence of dibbling is from 9s. to 10s. 6d. per acre. Art. 36. is a short Letter from Thomas South, Esq. explaining his Reasons for delaying the Publication of an expected Treatise on Wall Fruit Trees. In an extract from a Letter on the Drill Husbandry, by Jos. Wimpey, Esq. this experienced farmer (who, we understand, paid the debt of nature in the 83d year of his age,) gave his opinion that the principal merit ascribed to this mode of sowing is due to the more perfect culture which the soil necessarily requires for this process. He adds, moreover, (and this dying admonition is worth regarding,) that in agriculture nothing is more common than to ascribe effects to causes which had no hand in their production.' Art. 39. records Experiments made with a View to ascertain the Truth and Importance of Dr. Hunter's Opinions respecting the Food of Plants. By Major Velley.-Dr. Hunter asserted that a mixture, composed of one drachm of Russia pot-ash dissolved in two ounces of water, with the addition of two spoonsfull of oil, is adapted to all the purposes of vegetation. Major Vel ley steeped wheat and oats in this mixture previously to sowing them, and poured some of the liquid into the holes made with a Norfolk dibble, where other seed not prepared had been sown, before the soil was closed on them: but he uniformly found the mixture unfriendly to vegetation; the seed unprepared, and without any composition, coming up sooner, stronger, and yielding a much larger produce. The last Article is intitled A practical Description of a parti cular Mode of improving certain Lands, and a Dissertation on the Improvement of Cattle. By John White Parsons, Esq.-The mode here recommended for improving strong land is that of pulverizing the soil by burning it. This practice is not new, as the the Society remark, but it wants to be more generally known. Respecting the improvement of cattle, Mr. P. follows up the doctrine of Dr. Anderson, delivered in the first paper of the volume. He is a great advocate for crosses, when made with judgment, and is persuaded that the breed of cattle and sheep is capable of being carried to much greater perfection. Thus have we noticed the miscellaneous contents of this volume; which, though some of the papers are of little consequence, is an interesting publication, and must be considered as a valuable addition to the agricultural library. It would have been more so, as a book of reference, had it a table of contents, besides the index which it now possesses. Mo-y. ART. VI. A Compendious System of Astronomy, in a Course of Fa- "IN former times, [says Dr. Johnson,] the pen, like the sex, * Αλλ' εἰς οἶχον ίδσα τα σαυτῆς ἔργα χέμιζε, Hasten |