applied to land deficient in vegetable and fibrous matter, will most assuredly prove injurious; without such matter, the lime will retain, for a long time, its caustic properties. It is this fibrous and vegetable matter which yields the carbonic acid, with which the quicklime combines and ultimately becomes mild, or carbonate of lime; and it is during the process of this combination that the greater part of this vegetable and fibrous matter which was insoluble is converted into soluble or fertile matter. Afterwards the mild or carbonate of lime operates, as a manure, in a directly contrary way to quicklime: quicklime, by rendering matter which was inert, nutritive; mild lime, by retarding the too rapid decomposition of those very substances which, in its conversion from quick to mild lime, it had decomposed.

If, then, it should appear that some judgment is necessary in the proper application of common lime to agricultural purposes, and every farmer will admit that he is frequently puzzled how to apply it; must not the difficulty be infinitely greater when he has to apply lime made from magnesian limestone, in which the affinity for carbonic acid is considerably less? Thus, in the application of lime made from this stone, while any, the least part, of the lime remains caustic, it attracts carbonic acid from the magnesia, consequently the magnesia must and does continue caustic and poisonous for an indefinite period; at least until peat or some other vegetable matter is applied to afford a proper supply of carbonic acid, by which alone it can be rendered beneficial or fertilising. It may be considered that these observations, if not irrelevant, are, at least, too minute on such a subject; but, as the use of lime as a manure is so general, perhaps they may not be altogether out of place. The chapters, Salt as a Manure, Burning Land, Fallowing, Top-dressing Grass Land, Ploughing, Rolling and Pulverising Land, are short, pithy, and useful; but, under the head "Weeds," the author has unfortunately substituted Sir H. Steuart's method of extirpating rushes instead of following the dictates of his own good sense. Henry's scheme for banishing rushes it seems, is nothing more or less than deep-trenching the whole of the ground producing rushes. "It is by deeptrenching to the depth of 18 or 20 in. that the tenacious clay at bottom is broken up, and the cause removed, when the subsoil is rendered porous for the surface water to pass freely downwards. The bottom of the trench should be carried on a hanging level, and the sandy or stony parts of the soil thrown towards the bottom, which will be a sufficient drain, and render the land dry."

Sir

Now, it may not be always possible to find this "hanging level" (which, by the by, sounds like a Hibernicism); and suppose it were found, can any idea be more preposterous than that trenching a pasture, say from 10 to 30 acres, no less than from 18 to 20 in. deep? Judicious draining will effect the same object, at a fiftieth part of the expense. Rushes may be kept under, if not entirely eradicated, by mowing them either in the spring or autumn in frosty weather, mornings or evenings: even flooding, as in watermeadows, will destroy them; as rushes will not grow in either very wet or very dry ground, but delight in ill-drained land with a strong retentive subsoil.

The remainder of this little volume, which relates exclusively to farming, includes the most approved modes of rotatory cropping: indeed, nothing useful seems to be omitted; even the "prognostics of the weather" are happily introduced, with many useful and intelligent remarks. The breeding and rearing of cattle, and the treatment most conducive to their health in a wet climate such as Ireland, form no inconsiderable portion of the work. An excellent plan of a sheepfold is given, which the author has proved to answer well the end for which it is intended. However, there

* The reviewer plainly means Juncus glaúcus; for Juncus effùsus, a species prevalent in some places, loves water too well to be ever killed by irrigation.-J. D.

is one remark respecting the management of sheep, which may be exceptionable; it is this: Ewes should, if possible, have some green food before and after lambing." Now, to give green food before lambing is in England considered a dangerous practice. The ewes, under such treatment, yean well, but soon after are taken with a heaving, as if about to yean a second time; twenty-four hours, or less, usually puts a period to their existence, and nothing hitherto discovered will effect a cure. The only preventive is to put the flock on dry food.

We now come to "Observations on reclaiming Bogs and Wastes." In this important chapter the author has shown what portion of bogs may with propriety be attempted, and with certainty be reclaimed. With a perfect knowledge of the nature of these bogs, the habits, wants, and industry of the numerous peasantry, he has, in addition to these, brought all his experience on rural affairs to bear on this subject, and made it one of the most interesting chapters in the volume. As an improver of wastes, he equally avoids the vapid declamatory nonsense of enthusiastic theorists, and the indolent admirers of things as they are: he proceeds in a businesslike manner; like one who is aware of the difficulties with which the subject is beset, but is, nevertheless, confident in the resources of his own mind, and the almost boundless resources which Ireland affords. He shows what immense improvements might be effected in Ireland, by the proper application of capital. On this subject his work should be consulted by every man who may have an acre of bog. It is not a little curious, likewise, when on this subject, to observe with what ease and most perfect sang froid he exposes the utter ignorance of those Katerfeltos who send their nostrums by dozens across the Channel, each of which would, as they profess, if properly administered, insure not only the regeneration, but the complete salvation, of Ireland. Nor does even honest John Bull escape a sarcasm or two about his "frothing tankard and fat bacon,"-(May he ever have plenty of both !)—and when his condition is contrasted with that of the labourer of Ireland, the author, with national pride, claims some degree of happiness and comfort for his own poor despised countrymen, who dwell in cabins as foxes in holes; and such a claim is both just and commendable, for they certainly are neither so unhappy nor so wretched as their appearance would seem to indicate: but that the poverty of the Irish peasant is great, his privations numerous, and, to an Englishman, unbearable and maddening, no one acquainted with his condition will deny; yet his native good-humour and buoyant spirits enable him not only to prolong and enjoy his existence, but in some measure to compete in point of happiness with his better fed English neighbour. But an Irish peasant's happiness is that sort of happiness which may Heaven ever avert from the shores of Britain! it is that sort of happiness under bondage, which is described in Don Juan as being exhibited by the blacks, in contradistinction to the whites, in the slave mart, where the noble author says:

"The negroes more philosophy display'd,

Used to it, no doubt, as eels are to be flay'd."

And used to oppression he is indeed; for, although the maxim " live and let live" is understood and acted upon by many kind and benevolent resident landlords, yet the sentiment is exotic, and a grasping overreaching disposition is the general characteristic of this grade of society. The absentee landlords exact exorbitant rents from the small farmers (and if a man rent but half a dozen acres of ground, he is called a farmer in Ireland); while the middleman, or large farmer, with from 50 to 100 acres, or upwards, acting, as in many parts they do, upon the con-acre system, oppresses the peasant, and injures the land for years, to enrich himself. By these and such like grinding and oppressive means, the intellects of the peasantry are whetted to a degree of acuteness in fraud and deception unknown in England. If it is possible, an Irish peasant will cheat or overreach a customer

in making a bargain, and that, too, without the least misgiving or compunction; however, as example is more impressive than precept, it is possible that he may have been instructed by his superiors: be that as it may, that the delinquency is general, will admit, if not of positive proof, at least of illustration, however ludicrous, that may be considered tantamount to it. A Yorkshire horsedealer is generally considered a shrewd clever man in his calling; but let him once set his foot on "this first flower of the earth, and first gem of the sea," and his "occupation 's gone;" in fact, he would soon lose his teeth! Again, a descendant of Abraham is not to be met with between the Giant's Causeway and Cape Clear; he is indeed a nondescript he who peregrinates every region of the globe, "to buy and sell, and get gain," cannot exist in this country! However, St. Patrick may have included these worthy personages in his denunciation against venomous reptiles, and that will account for their absence.

Let us take another view of the inmate of the cabin, for he may be found of all tints. Observe the half-clad peasant, breasting the storm with wiry sinews, his ragged coat streaming in the wind, travelling to some neighbouring market with a load on his shoulders. This load is a web of linen cloth, for which, should he be fortunate enough, he may obtain from 6d. to 10d. a yard.

And this trifling sum is all that this man obtains for a yard of cloth, after having grown his own flax on land, for which he must pay from thirty to eighty shillings per acre; after the labour attending the pulling, watering, drying, crigging, dressing, spinning, weaving, and taking to market. Then, with the proceeds of the sale of this cloth, together with the sale of his corn, for these men generally rent three or four acres of ground, he contrives to pay his rent; while himself and family live, or rather drag out a miserable existence, entirely on potatoes; for his ducks and fowls, geese and turkeys, are all brought to market to enable him to purchase something to cover his nakedness with; nor will his utmost exertions enable him to procure better farc.

Here, then, is degradation! Here is debasement! A fellow-creature, gifted by the Almighty with all the essentials of manhood equal to the proudest sons of earth, is thus bowed down to, and made to bite, the very dust. Is it surprising, then, that such a man, smarting under the effects of such brutalising wretchedness, his "passions wild and strong," is it marvellous, then, that such a being should equal the Indian in artifice and cunning, or in ferocity, when his passions are tumultuously excited by designing demagogues, who, by and through the grossest superstition, have obtained such a mastery over his affections, that even in the very whirlwind and tempest of his passions they can control and mould him to their will? Nor does there appear any hope of amendment, unless the benevolent resident gentry combine with the commercial people, as they are now beginning to do, to extend the benefits of education: for it is the latter class of men that will eventually operate as a lever to raise their humble brethren from such a state of thraldom and degradation; for the great majority of this class are well educated, kind, open-hearted, high-minded, hospitable, generous, and charitable. They possess not only a high sense of honour and integrity, but a proper and an exalted sense of the relative duties of man. Let then but such a class of men earnestly set their shoulders to the wheel, and the work is half done; for until there is an improvement in the moral condition of the peasantry, English capital will flow but tardily into Ireland, and without it the reclaiming of bogs and wastes will proceed but very slowly.

"Observations on Forest Trees in general." It would amount to an almost positive injustice to quote a single passage from this portion of the work. The author under each head has given plain and practical directions respecting the culture of the various forest trees; and besides he has in

terspersed numerous historical notices of fine old trees in various parts of the empire, which are extremely interesting and valuable: and, what is of more consequence, no idle fantastic theories, or pompous passages descriptive of trifling details in daily operations which are self-evident to a labourer of the meanest capacity, are introduced to swell the number of pages; but plain common sense pervades each chapter. He writes as if he considered his readers sentient beings; and, when he has pointed out the principle upon which each operation ought to be conducted, leaves the manipular part to the "ignorant and self-sufficient gardener," or forester, as he very properly ought to do. This brings us to the chapter "Transplanting Large Trees," and the praise-bespattered " Allanton method." Our author warmly eulogises Sir H. Steuart, and says, that "he has brought about a new era in this department of arboricultural science." It is charitable to suppose that he merely echoes the sentiments of the northern reviewers, who, of all men, are the most accommodating to each other's wants and wishes. "Caw me, caw thee," has worked well for the booksellers for many years, and is now as proverbial in criticism as it formerly used to be, when it afforded a ready and convenient mode of introduction to a mutually useful interchange of civilities. So that, we presume, even under the fearful responsibility of dissenting from the opinions of such "learned" men, to say, that, if this "new era means any thing new in forestry, we are at issue with them, and will very soon put this claim to originality to the test, by asking one plain question: Has Sir H. Steuart developed, by this supposed new method, one new, or rather any one imperfectly understood, principle in vegetable physiology? New principles there are none; they ever remain the same: let his panegyrists answer the question. When the first man and the first gardener sprang from the hands of his Maker, it is reasonable to suppose that he was endued with a sound mind in a healthy body; and if so, he practised the "Allanton method:" for every gardener with common sense, whether in Paradise, China, or Japan, England, Scotland, or Ireland, has practised, and must of necessity practise, upon principle, the identical method which has given so much celebrity to Sir H. Steuart; a “learned author," forsooth, who has written a book setting forth as new that which is old, and endeavouring to raise his character for intelligence by the basest of all means, namely, by slandering and depreciating that of the humble and comparatively defenceless gardener. This is "the unkindest cut of all." What! shall such men as M'Nab, Gorrie, Howden, Milne, Munro, Plimley, Burn, Forest, M'Intosh, and a host of others, be stigmatised as 'ignorant and self-sufficient gardeners?" If such a foul aspersion had not come from so high and "learned" a quarter, it were too contemptible for notice. What! and we reiterate the exclamation, shall a race of men be falsely branded with the vulgar epithets of "ignorance and self-sufficiency," who are proverbial for intelligence and virtuous integrity?. -a race of men unequalled, in any other profession, for self-denial, and the most unconquerable perseverance in overcoming difficulties, which only men with such indomitable spirits and unwearied industry can surmount; is it meet, is it just, that such men should be scandalised by such a calumny ?

66

Away, then, with such vituperative and malignant aspersions; or let them recoil on the head of the original promulgator. Why, we ourselves assisted, some twenty years ago, in transplanting some very large trees in the old Botanic Garden in Leith Walk, under the above-named unassuming, but excellent man, Mr. M'Nab, without ever once thinking that there was any thing wonderful or even surprising in the operation; for we had frequently seen the same thing done in England before. But Sir Henry and his reviewers, it seems, not being satisfied with the just renown which the “ sons of the mist" have most meritoriously acquired, they must arrogate to themselves the discovery of nearly every improvement, or improved mode

of management, in rural affairs, and even go so far as to call in to their aid some lackadaisical peripatetics from the Highland Society to bolster up the monstrous (absurdity, who sapiently and profoundly agree that the "Allanton method" is to supersede all other modes of "economical planting," and that it is to produce a new era in " ornamental planting.” Shades of Pope and Shenstone! could ye but for once revisit the glimpses" either of the sun or "moon," how would your beatified spirits mourn! ye who,

66 Looking through Nature up to Nature's God,"

employing nature's simple instruments, realised beauties which could only previously exist in the "mind's eye" of such heaven-born souls, how would ye mourn (being ignorant of the "Allanton method," as in good truth ye needs must), how would ye mourn to find your own sylvan scenes - your own poetic fairy lands- neglected, despised, and depicted but as 66 possessing things rank and gross in nature merely." Even the magnificent and hallowed conceptions of England's own blind bard must vanish into "airy nothing" before the Ithuriel touch of these magical arborists. But enough, and more than enough, of this matter.

We will close these observations with a short extract from the chapter on pruning, to show our fellow-labourer Mr. Howden, and others, that our opinions respecting the management of the pine tribe are not singular. The author says:

"I am decidedly averse to pruning any of the fir tribe, except decayed branches, to prevent useless knots in the timber. It is much better to leave all firs to nature, as their sap-vessels are larger than those of hard-wood trees, and they consequently bleed more when wounded; besides, it makes a ridiculous and unsightly appearance to prune a parcel of fine larch and other firs, as I have frequently seen them, three parts of the way to the top. The branches of the larch are weak and tender when planted in mass, and therefore do not cause large knots in the timber; in no case, therefore, should they be touched. The silver fir, the next in value, and in every way one of the noblest of the pine tribe, I have seen pruned, and bleeding from the numerous wounds which the ignorant and injudicious hand had inflicted on it. Thin out your firs regularly; but, so far as regards pruning, hang up your saw, and lock up your pruning-knife. Regular thinning is more to be recommended for all trees than too liberal an application of the saw or pruning-knife.” — J. Elles. Palace Gardens, Armagh, Jan. 5.

1831.

Cleghorn, James, Esq., an Accountant in Edinburgh, late Editor of the "Farmer's Magazine:" System of Agriculture, from the "Encyclopædia Britannica." 4to, pp. 106, 7th edit., 13 quarto plates. Edinburgh, 1831, Adam Black.

We have great pleasure in noticing this work, written and published by highly esteemed friends. It may be considered as a specimen of the new edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica, now publishing by Mr. Black, which is unquestionably far superior to the preceding one, in paper, print, and engravings, as well as in matter. We regret chiefly one thing: viz. that instead of engravings on plates separate from the text, and which, being troublesome to refer to, are generally not referred to at all, woodcuts in the body of the text have not been used. We should have preferred, also, a systematic arrangement, somewhat in the style of the Encyclopædia Metropolitana. A quarto encyclopædia, of twenty or thirty volumes, in which the subjects are systematically arranged, and all the engravings, except those of maps, and a few views in which aerial perspective is essentially necessary, done on wood, is a desideratum in English literature, which we trust will be supplied as soon as government reduces the tax on paper.