2 Meteorological Diaries for December, 1797, and January, 1798. [Days N 3. Goffamer floats. Infects fport.-4. kee froze dalt, night one inch one tenth 5. Wild Daify flowers.-6. A Hurricane from the NW for the space of about twelve hours.-13. Notwithstanding the leavy thowers A. M. not a cloud vifite in the afternoon; fun thines with uncommon loftre; intests sport. "Strong flathes of lightning in the evening.-30. Golfamer flods.Never was there fach a changeable variety of weather in fo thott a fpace; the ground is almoff deluged with wet. The nights in general exceffively dark, frequently enlivened with lighting, which appears partici larly awful and vivid through the gloom. Fall of rain 5.6 inches. J. HULT. METEOROLOGICAL TABLE for January, 1798. Height of Fahrenheit's Thermometer. Height of Fahrenheit's Thermometer, 47 70 tais, and ram 34 46 40 175 cloudy 38 84 fair 17 18 2 39 43 36.39 29 130,02 rain 40 49 40 30,00 cloudy 42 45 39 49,71 fair 42-6 ,71 Thowery ·353030,46|fair. 40 33 31 32 33 30 54. cloudy 34-381-35 23 cloudy 35 39,1 fair 45 4444 air. 34 43 44 ,50 rain at night 19 42 20 41 49-47 30,27 cloudy 21 47 547 930 fair 37 1,02 rain 22 47 450 fair 24 ,21 (cloudy 26 29 35 fair .36 W. CARY, Optician, No. 182, near Norfolk-Street, Sarand, A3 THE Gentleman's Magazine: For JANUARY, 1798. BEING THE FIRST NUMBER ' OF VOL. LXVIH., PART I. To Sir. JOHN SINCLAIR, Bart. President of the Board of Agriculture. iSIR *** W *** Fm. 1, 1798. ERE I not perfectly conflent of the patriotic spirit with which. you afcended the chair of the Board of Agris culture; of your ar dent zeal to carry the public views of that inftitution into effe, and of the libera! candour, with which you receive, and even in vite, the opinions of others, on the vas rious and extended branches of your enquiries; I should hold it vain to addrefs you on the fubje&, and to offer fentinients fo widely differing from the first principles of your undeuaking; bur, under defe impreffions of my mind, it would be but em. ty affecta. tion in me to make any apology to you for the following obfervations; which I therefore beg leave thus publicly, without farther preface, to lay before you. The object of your left year's com.. mitter, which I hear you mean to re vire, was that of inclofing waftes and commons:: I touch not on the different modes propofed, because I object to the abfolute inclufure of them in any raode, My reafons are as follow; and, perhaps, they will apply to all inclotures on the prefent lyftem, as well as 10, thole. of wastes and commons; for I think them conclutive again both, as they now are, or are propofed hereafter to be, conducted- The great principle of improving land for public advantage is, to leave a portion of i, lo improved, publici juris and on this principle is founded the custom, in open fields, of leaving one third, or fourth, every year, as of common right for all perfons, as well thole of Wmaller property in the com munity, and that not in land, as thofe fuperior rank or property, and that : in land, to turn their cattle, horfes, and, I call them ove grown, beaufe, hy oc cupation of valt extent of country under long leafes, they often bid defiance to their landlords, and fet at nought all thoughts of antient fubordination. But But will you prevent any man from improving and making the most of his proper By no means as far as it is confiftent with the general right of the community; but I would not allow any man to acquire a duplication of his feparate property, by taking from others their fhare in the right of pafture over all ands in rotation, only to enable him to lav heavier burdens on the public markets True it is, that the property of individuals lies moft inconveniently (cattered in various parts of open fields, that trefpaffes on each other's lands are daily made, and that commons are ove stocked and neglected; but all thefe difficulties and abufes would be feaually removed, by allowing, or even enforcing by law, a power in commiffioners to allot, and lay toge ther for each proprietor, a portion of land, (quantity and quality confidered), equivalent to that which before lay difperfed in the open fields; and even inclofing it, leaving one third, or other reasonable portion of it, open every year, to a general right of common, under new regulation and contoul, in which the proprietors of land would have their fhare, and keeping the other divifions in feveralty to them felves. The waffes and commons might be improved by banking, draining, and Various other ways, which local cir cumftances would point out, at the ex pence of every individual who had a right thereon, by parochial levy, to the ten-fold advantage of the poor Cottager and tr.defman, as well as of the rich; and to the permanent diminution of the price of provifions at market, wherein, though the lower and more numerous claffes of the com. munity would receive the most apparent daily bench and comfort, the rich, the great, and the powerful, who are not plagued with the double diforder of pride and covet ulness, muft fee that they will ultimately find the true and liberal advantage, that most properly comes to their hare, and in ibe manner in which it beft becomes them to accept it, by abundance of provifions in crowded markets, and the free purchate of them at eafy rates, And this right I would wish to fee extended to every householder, paying fcot and lot, and his due proportion to fuch levy. by the earnings of their induftrious and laborious dependents and neighbours, to the incredible diminution of the poor-rates, which, though in oue point of view they may be thought, an honour, are in fact both a heavy burden and difgrace to this country. I am aware that it will be faid, "unlefs you will hold out to land propriétors the great and exclufive advantages of the prefent plan of inclofure, they will not be at the expence or rifque of it; and your fields will never be improved, but for ever lie in the unpro ductive and diforderly ftate of former times." I am ready, Sir, to own, that the immediate oftenfible profit to the great proprietor (for the small land owner, it is well known, is often ruined by the unequal and intolerable preffure of first advances), will not be fo Battering to his eager expectation; but, from the collateral and permanent advantages of this partial inclosure, accompanied with the comforts that will arife to the middle and inferior orders of his fellow-fubjects, from the view of millions of them, who, by their little claims and exercife of their common rights, will not only rafe provifion for their own families, but by rearing and bringing to market, calves, pigs, poultry, eggs, and butter, wi largely contribute to the general economy, by the reduction of prices in those moft neceffary articles; I fay, Sir, from fuch a view, which ought to make the hearts of the opulent to leap for joy, the great and liberal proprietor will not only have his full meafure of delight, he will in fact, alfo, reap ample amends for the imagined difappointment of his fift cravings, by the cafier accefs to his dearelt fuperfluities, as well as to the means of providing for the maintenance of his neceffary houfe hold. The bieffings of the poor will meer him in the morning, and bid him farewell before he goes to reft; and the bleffiogs of a gracious Providence wil overfhadow and protect fuch a Nation. Thus have I, Sir, ingenuously thrown out my thoughts on this important fubject; which, if worthy of any confideration, I am fure you, and the Board at which you prefide, will reflect on with candour, and other gentlemen may en arge upon with more vigour of mind and frength of argument. This This one maxim I hold true and irrefragable; that, though the land of the whole kingdom should, under your aufpices and zealous exertions, be brought into the highest state of cultivation; yet, if it be all held in feveralty, and the antient claim and sight of common be extinguished or expreffed, in the mode and proportion of the prefent fyftem of inclofure, the publick can reap no benefit from it; but monopoly of property among the great, and combination among their principal and independent tenants, muft annually take place; the one a practice adverfe to a free conftitution; the other equally inimical to a commercial country. P. S. Allow me to add one general obfe.vatron, on the unaccountable negleet of the legislature in respect of timber. Notwitftanding the acknowledged and notorious decreale of forest-timber, fo clearly proved, and fo to cibly urged to public confideration, in the manly and patriotic reports of the commiffioners, appointed by parliament, many years ago, to enquire into the state of the crown-lands, &c. no care is taken, in any bill of inclofure, to lay down a principle, or enforce the practice, of planting; but we fee whole Counties, newly inciofed, as bare of tmber as the open fields: this is a fatal omiffion, wh ch I hope the House of Commons will immediately core, by fome standing order on that most important point. I have the honour to be, Sir, with true respect, Yours, &c. Mr. URBAN, AGRICOLA. Jan. 2. folar eclipfe, fome allowance ought to be made for the effect of refraction: it is not, however, considered by ei ther of thofe learned writers, nor in any other book which I have yet feen, although the eff of parallax is very minutely atrended to; and I therefore fuppofe, the Phafes are not at all affeed by refraction: but yet, I can hardly perfuade myself that it does not make fome alteration in the Moon's vifible or apparent place, fo as to accelerate or retard the beginning or end of the Eclipfe.. The late learned T. Mayer, in his method of finding the longitude, by the diftance of the Moon from a ftar, not only computes the effect of parallax upon the Moon's latitude and longitude, but alfo confiders the additional effect of the refraction, corre fponding with the Moon's altitude, and thereby reduces the visible place of the Moon to what he terms her apparent place t; yet I alfo obferve, that, in computing the immersion and emerfion of Aldebaran by the Moon, he takes no notice of the refraction ‡. Hlaving been a conftant reader of your valuable Magazine for more than 30 years, I know of no other means, by which the doubt I at prefent entertain can be removed, but by the affiftance or inftruction of fome of your learned correfpondents; who, I flatter myself, will have the goodness to inform me, whether it is, or is not, neceffary to allow for the effect of refraction, as well as of parallax, in order to compute the beginning and end of a folar Eclipfe-And if it is not neceffary, why the effect of refraction alters the Moon's apparent distance from a ftar, but does not affect her HV Gant part of the British apparent diftance from the Sun. I. B. dominions, where the means of amufement are but few, and the climate fuch as to make much exercife neither agreeable nor proper, I often país my leifure-hours in reading books upon Aftronomy, and making fuch calcula tions, as the little mathematica! knowtedge I poffefs will permit. Eclipfes of the Sun are not often vifible in this part of the world; but, when they are, I endeavour to compute their different Phafes in the best manner I can, having chily recourfe so the writings of Mr. De la Lande and The Abbé de la Caille. It has often occurred to me, that, in computing the beginning and end of a A TRIP TO PARIS. (Continued from vol. LXVII. p. 999.) heart be laid to diftinguish them F perfons of the Parifians, lite from the English: in general, they are not fo corpulent: this may be attributed to the thinness of their diet, compared to the fubftance of our beef and strong beer. The men are welllimbed, tall, and move with more eafe than the English: they drefs more *Methocus Longitudinum promota, p.15. + Locum vifum appello, qui parallaxi tantum afficitur, ad parentem vero, qui præterea refractione inquinatus. Ib. p. 4. + Ib, 16. than |