In France, the political expedience of guarding against that scarcity, which, in time of war, either necessitatedthe yield ing to harsh terms from the enemy, or exposed to the miscries and horrors of famine, by continued hostilities, induced the government, in the late reins, to be stow on the subject of agriculture con siderable attention, and to hold out nu merous encouragements to it. The court was present at various experiments in husbandry. Prize questions were pro posed at Lyons, Bourdeaux, and Amiens, for its promotion, and no lessthan fifteen societies, for the express purpose of ad vancing- agriculture, were established, with the approbation, probably at the sug gestion, of the governing powers. But, notwithstanding all those efforts, which, however, can by no means he presumed to have been totally useless, French hus bandry continued in a very deplorable state, ascribable, in a great degree, to that tenure of lands, by which, through the greater part of.the kingdom, the land lord contributed the stock, and the occu pier the labour, dividing the profits in certain proportional shares. This eir ewnstance, with several others, operated to keep the cultivation of this country in an extremely low state, and a compara tive estimate of the produce of an Eng lish and of a French estate, of precisely similar natural advantages, at the period when this practice prevailed, would shew that, in consequence, principally, of so absurd and perverse a regulation, the su periority of the former to the latter was at least in the ratio of 36 to 25. But the revolution of France, changing every thing, has swept away, with many excel lent individuals, and some valuable insti tutions, a practice so impolitic and injuri ous; and although our intercourse with that country, since this event, has scarce ly- been such as to afford accurate and detailed information of the present state nf its husbandry, it cannot easily be doubted, that the repeated transfers of landed property, the annihilation of par tial burdens upon cultivation, the re searches of ingenious chemists, and the general view of government to the pro ductiveness of its territory, and to the promotion of its arts And sciences, must be connected with considemble improve ment in this most valuable of national concerns.
In Germany, lectures have for many years been given on this subject, in va rious states of it ; and several princes in the empire, particularly the present king of Bavaria, have directed to it their parti cular attention and patronage. In Rus sia, the late Empress gave it every facili ty which could be applied in the semi barbarous state of her dominions, and sent gentlemen into this and other coun tries, with a view to acquire information on niral economy, for the benefit of their own. In the Dutchy of Tuscany, the Archduke Leopold recently diffused the active spirit of improvement by which he was himself animated, and an academy was endowed for the promotion of agri culture. A society for the same purpose was instituted about the year 1759, at Berne, in Switzerland, consisting of men of great political influence, and also of great personal experience in rural econo mics. The Stockholm Memoirs suffi ciently et-ince that Sweden, under the influence of the great Linnmus, applied to this science with extraordinary- success and advantage. Even the indolence and pride of Spain were roused to exertion on this interesting subject, ancl the go vernment of that coi intry made overtures to the Swedish philosopher, for the su perintendence of a college directed to the advance of natural history, and the art of husbandry.
In our own country, how-ever, from a happy combination of circumstances, the exertions of individuals, societies, and government, have been directed, within the last thirty years, to the subject under consideration, with more energy and effect than have been displayed in any other part of Europe. The gentry and nobility
have liberally patronized, and many of them judiciously and successfully prac tised it. The Royal Society, the Society of Arts, and various others, have been of distinguished service in collecting and diffining information, and in promoting a spirit of emulation, with respect to the management and production& of their native soil. The names of Kaims and Ilunter, of Anderson and Marshall, of Sinclair and Voting, are celebrated by publications, exhibiting a union of philo sophical sagacity and patient experiment; the results of which have been of incal- culable advantage ; and to the efforts of these and other individuals it may be ascribed, that a hoard of agriculture was established by the government in 1793, whose exertions in procuring and pub lishing intelligence on the objects of its establishment have entitled it to the high est credit. By its agricultural surveys, by its diffusion of rewards for important dis coveries, and of premiums for valuable treatises, and by its exertions at critical periods of scarcity, its utility and merit may be considered not only as decided, but distinguished. It has the power of directing public attention to any topics particularly requiring practical research or illustration, and possesses the means of most advantageously diffusing its collec tions, circumstances of high importance to the utility of the establishment. It must be regarded as its privilege, as well as duty, to suggest, from time to time, to the legislature, means for removing va rious impediments, still existing, to the perfection of the art, for the promotion of which it is expressly instituted.
On Inclosing and Draining Inclosing of lands must be considered as the grand foundation of all improve ments. 11'hen reniaining open,litigations between neighbours arc perpetually oc curring, and the ingenuity of any indi proprietor is of little use to him, as he is obliged to follow the practice pursued by the ignorant and obstinate occupiers of the common property in which he shares. In connection with inclowires may he consudered the practice of draining lands, viva is the next step in rendering them productive. The su pee..Mundanee of water is no less injuri ous to vegetat:on than the alisohite want 01 t ; and, whether arising from rain stagnating on the surface, or from springs in tit? interior of the earth, it is one of Biz- !nor, important objee's of the farmer to 1,11-vent its pernicious consequences. For this purpose, open or visible drains are in many cases adopted; while in others, hollow ones, so called from their being concealed in covered trenches, are pre ferred, The width and depth of open drains must he regulated by the variety of soil and situation to which they are applied. To prevent, however, the sides from falling in. they must at top be three times the width they have at bottom ; while their direction must obviously, and of necessity, be descending. it simikl, at the same tune, not be steep, as this would form inequalities, and bear down their sides by the rapid rush of the water. All open drains should be cleared, at least, once in every year ; which regular re pairs may, in some cases, render them in the end more expensive than those de nominated hollow, which will sometimes last for several generations unimpaired, but demand originally a far greater sum for their completion.