if found to answer the purpose, that it may be published for the benefit of the public; as a great quantity of milk may be thus fpared for the purpose of making cheese and butter, in order to reduce these two articles of our provifions to a more moderate price than they have hitherto been. Before I leave this fubject, give me leave, Sir, to communicate to the Society another cheap method employed in Pruffia for rearing black cattle. After the expreffion of the linfeed-oil from linfeed, the remaining hufks, or drofs, are made up into round balls of the fize of a fift, and afterwards dried. Two or three of these balls are infufed and diffolved in hot water; and a third or fourth part of fresh milk is added in the beginning; but afterwards, when the calves are grown, the farmers employ only the fkimmed-milk, which they mix with the infufion. If this method fhould deferve the attention of the Society, it would at once spare great quantities of milk towards making cheese and butter, and afford a good ufe for the drofs left after the expreffion of the linfeed-oil. As an ardent wish to be of some fervice to mankind by every little addition in faving husbandry, and a view to reduce the exorbitant price of provifions to the poorer and manufacturing part of my fellow-creatures in this country, prompted me chiefly to draw up this account, I hope it will meet with approbation from the Society, if not on account of its real merit and usefulness, at least for the intention, and like endeavours to fulfil in fome measure thofe great and noble purposes of humanity and patriotifm, which the Society itself purposes in all its tranfactions. I am, with due regard, Your moft obedient J. R. FORSTER. Extract of a Letter from Mr. Carr, refpecting the Rearing of Calves in fuch a Manner as to fave the Milk. IT is well known by fome of the old housewives of Norfolk to this day, the manner of rearing calves is with fleeted milk-and-water, warmed; which, being too lean and thin, turns four within them, and fometimes kills them; but in general they are pot-bellied, with their hair flaring; and fometimes they turn loufy, which feldom is cured till young grafs purges the bad humours off: which effect is cuftomary also with refpect to hogs. In large dairies they always put their fleeted milk into a ciftern from day to day, in order to turn four, and curdle before they give it them; and even they put an equal quantity of water to it, otherwise it heats and binds them: wherefore they will not take enough to fatten them. But, from the cooling quality of the water, they will drink twice as much when thus mixed; and we find from experience, they do much better in this way. The beft method I ever found of rearing calves, and which I have purfued for thirty years, is to take them off the cows in three weeks or a month; and to give nothing different parts of the kingdom; but it never did, I believe, enter the thoughts of any one till of late years, that the damage could be nearly fo great as it is now found to be; fince unufual quantities of flints and other ftones have been repeatedly gathered for the ufe of the turnpike-roads. Indeed the damage done by this practice to many kinds of land, efpecially to fuch as are mentioned above, is found to be fo great, as to be almost incredible to any one who has not particularly observed for a number of years the progrefs of this destruction. I shall, therefore, here give a few intances out of a great many that have come to my knowledge, from which it will appear how exceedingly great the damage must be throughout the extent of the kingdom. In the parish of Stevenage, in Hertfordshire, there is a field of land well known in that neighbourhood by the name of Chalkdell Field, containing about two hundred acres. The land in this field was formerly equal, if not fuperior, to moff lands in that county in a word, it was good to a proverb. But lying conveniently for the furveyors of the roads, they have picked it fo often, and ftripped it of the flint and small ftones to fuch a degree, that it is now inferior to lands that were formerly reckoned not worth above one half its value, acre for acre: I mean fuch lands as, lying at a good diftance from the roads, have for that reafon either not been picked at all, or not nearly fo much as this field. All the farmers and other perfons who have known the field for a I good good number of years, and have obferved the management and produce of it, do unanimoufly declare, that the crops of grain from Chalkdell Field have not for thefe laft fourteen years been much, if any, above half what they were the fourteen years immediately preceding, notwithftanding the late improvements in bufbandry; and this is entirely owing, as they all agree, to ftripping the land of the ftones. Nor is it Chalkdell Field alone that has materially fuffered in that county by the above-mentioned practice; on the contrary, the oldeft and moft experienced farmers in the parishes of Gravely, Stevenage, &c. fome of whom have been well acquainted with farming for upwards of thirty or forty years, and have in general lived always on the spot, do declare and fay, they are ready to atteft it upon oath if called upon, that feveral thoufand acres bordering on the turnpike-road from Welwyn to Baldock, in Herts, have been fo much impoverished by having the flones frequently taken away, that they are not now fo good as they would have been had the ftones been left upon the land, fome by one-fourth, fome by one-fifth, fome more, fome lefs, of their whole prefent value. But that all in general have been materially damaged, fo that the lofs to the inheritance for ever in the aforefaid lands, muft be computed at a great many thousand pounds; to fay nothing of what the public has fuffered in the deficiency of the crops of grain. But it may be asked, If the damage by taking away the ftones be fo great as I reprefent, how comes it to país that the farmers who hold the aforementioned lands, have not either broke, thrown up their farms, or got their rents lowered? - none of which has generally happened. This I grant; but then let the very high price of grain for numbers of years paft, and the famine of thousands of starving poor anfwer thefe questions. I am thoroughly convinced that the high price of grain has been the principal reafon, and a dreadful reafon it is, why none of these has generally happened; and any one who knows the progress of trade for thirty or forty years paft, and the different value of money in that period, may form to himself other concurrent circumstances. What puts it beyond doubt that this prodigious impoverishing of the land is owing to no other caufe whatsoever, but picking and carrying away the ftones, is, that thofe lands have generally been most impoverished which have been moft frequently picked; and fo on in proportion. Nay, I know a field, part of which was picked, and the other part plowed up before they had time to pick it: the part that was picked loft feven or eight parts in ten of two fucceeding crops of grain, though the whole field was manured and managed in all refpects alike.What proves inconteftibly that this almoft incredible damage was owing folely to picking the ftones, is, it went to an inch as far as they were picked, and no further. Ifhall mention but one inftance more at prefent. A gentleman in the neighbourhood of Poulton, in Lancashire, who farmed a part his eftate, ordered the ftones, which lay very thick on fome grounds, to be carefully picked up and carried away. He did this from an imagination that they prevented the grain from growing out of the earth. Thofe grounds had always before produced very good crops; but he now found, to his aftonishment, that he could hardly get any crops at all. He afked the neighbouring farmers what they thought might be the reafon of it: they were of opinion it must be his cleaning the land of the ftones, and advised him to carry them back and spread them again all over the land; which he did at a great expence. He had excellent crops immediately fuch as the land had produced before the ftones had been cleared away. Many perfons have been ready to imagine, because nothing can grow upon a bare ftone, that therefore it can be of no manner of fervice to the corn, but rather the reverse, in preventing it from growing freely out of the ground. But this conclufion is by far too precipitate; fince ftones are of furprifing and manifold ufes. For inftance, they greatly affift the plough in working the land :-they alfo prevent land of a binding quality from running together, and hardening like mortar in a wall: they screen the tender blade from blafts and blights they prevent the crop, where the staple is thin, from being fcorched up by the heat in fummer; and they prevent the exudations of the earth from evaporating; and by that means greatly promote vegetation. : Should a doubt arife whether the turnpike roads, which are now mended chiefly with mate rials gathered from plowed lands, may be kept in as good repair as they are at prefent, without any confiderable additional expence, if the power of gathering materials from plowed lands be taken away,-let it be confidered that the beft turnpike-roads in England are thofe which are entirely made with round pebbles, and fuch other materials as are dug from under ground; and, on the contrary, that those which are made chiefly with materials gathered from lands, are, generally fpeaking, the very worst. This is a circumftance any perfon may be fatisfied in with very little inquiry. The turnpike road from London to two or three miles beyond Hatfield, and thofe from thence to Hitchin, if compared together, will furnish a striking inftance of the truth of this obfervation. Therefore, fhould there in fuch a cafe be at first an additional expence, there can be no doubt but that it will be more than compenfated for in the excellence and duration of the roads. At the fame time I make this obfervation, I am not clear that, upon the whole, there would be even at first an additional expence of any great confequence. In fome places, I believe the reverfe would be the cafe. The above instances and obfervations are fubmitted, and earnestly recommended to the ferious confideration of the Honourable Society of Arts, &c. By their most humble and most obedient fervant, Knelworth, Herts, Mr: Mr. Gullett's Letter on Blights. SIR, EVERY member of the community, however diftant from the metropolis or private his ftation, who knows any thing of your laudable inftitution, which not only takes under conficeration, but encourages the propagation of every thing ufeful, from the cedar of Libanus to the Hyffop of the wall, muft, if he be a friend to mankind, or a lover of his country, not only with it well, but with alfo to contribute fomewhat towards the general good. It is that which occafions my giving you this trouble; and at the fame time, makes me hope you will pardon my prefumption in fending you the following obfervations on fo feemingly trivial a fubject. -Viz. the preventing cabbage plants from being eaten by caterpillars; together with fome reafons why the fame means feem capable of pre venting blights, and their effects on fruit-trees or others.-Thefe thoughts I have likewife extended in idea, to the prefervation of crops of turnips from the fly; as alfo of crops of wheat from the yellows, and other deftructive infects. If thefe latter experiments fhould fucceed on trial, as I am ftrongly inclined to think they will, then the fame means which produced these effects, may be extended to an almost infinite variety of cafes for the prefervation of the vegetable kingdom. But rifum teneatis amici, how will you think you are infulted when I tell you, all this is to be performed with a bush of flinking elder! Great effects are frequentJy produced from feemingly trivial causes. Why may they not in the prefent cafe Of the virtues of elder in preferving cabbages from being deftroyed by caterpillars, I can already fay probatum eft. We all know how very offenfive to the olfactory nerves a bush of green elder-leaves is. No body wishes to smell to it, because it is fo difagreeable; and for that reafon every one avoids touching it. I confider the olfactory organs of a butterfly as much fuperior to ours in delicacy and nicety as their bodies are to ours. If fo, why fhould not what is fo offenfive to our fmell, be much more fo to theirs? We often fee them alight, and remain on cabbageplants; but who ever faw them on a bufh of green elder? Laughable as this experiment feems to be, I last year determined to try it. Accordingly, I took fome young elder-bufhes, the ftems of which I held inclofed in a paper that my hands might not ftink of it, and whipped the cabbage-plants wel with it (but fo gently as not to hurt the plants) juft as the butterfles firft appeared. After this I never faw a butterfly come on them; nor was there, I believe, a fingle caterpillar blown on any of the plants fo whipped, during the refidue of the feafon. I could often obferve the butterflies fluttering and hovering round the plants (like gnomes or fylphs) but never alight on them; although another bed of cabbage - plants in the fame garden which had not been whipped, was infested and eat by the caterpillars, as this has ufually been. I have tried the fame experiment again this year, doubting not but to have the fame fuccefs and |