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THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



—not niji'cly for the mo^-t trifling expenses, siicli as 

 extra pens and cleaning out-offices, but vouchers for 

 anthorily for employing enumerators and clerks. That 

 is to say, Mr. Ilall Maxwell, to whom the management 

 of the Scotch Statistics was unreservedly entrusted by 

 the Government, is to give the authority upon wliich 

 he made an appointment ! To detail why he engaged 

 tins clerk, or how it was he induced this or that friend 

 to act with liim. Then, tlmse friends or acquaintance — 

 the gentry and leading agriculturists of the country, 

 who so ably supported their Secretary in his endeavour 

 to do the thing properly — had, it appears, some slight 

 allowance for necessary expenses, money absolutely 

 out of pocket. But they had more than this. Once 

 or so in a season they assembled their coadjutors of 

 the several districts over a dinner, when they made 

 their arrangements, received advices,- and got through 

 sinular business it would have been difficult 

 to transact by any other means. Mr. MaxvY^ell 

 paid for those dinners out of the Government 

 grant, and sent in his vouchers that ho had done so. 

 13ut lie is to do a gi'cat deal more than this. His 

 word is nothing. The Audit-office insists on having 

 the vouchers of the several enumerators that tlicir 

 expenses and dinners have been paid for: — something 

 of this kind no doubt : 



" Received this day, with many thanks, of her ]\Ia- 

 jesty's Ministers, the sum of si:c shillings and ten- 

 pence-halfpenny, in payment of dinner and toddy, 

 supplied to me by the landlord of the Caledonian 

 Hotel, as one of the Agricultural Enumerators. 



{Signed) " Stuart, of Stuart. 



" Witness, Sawney McSanday, the waiter." 



But one sickens of such absurdities. Mr. Maxwell 

 with admirable temper completed the returns of last 

 year, and then, of course, withdrew in disgust from 

 any further association with such powers as he found 

 he had to deal with. It is not too much to 

 say that the whole of Scotland goes with him. 

 The enumerators, as a body, have passed resolu- 



tions approving of what he has done. He acts 

 directly under the sanction of the Highland So- 

 ciety, and on the close of the explanation 

 he offered, was specially complimented by the 

 Duke of l$uccleuch, Lord Rosslyn, Lord Kinnaird, 

 Sir .John Forbes, and other speakers. There is no 

 question but that under his superintendence these sta- 

 tistics have been taken in the most perfect manner pos- 

 sible. It is scarcely too much to say, that no other 

 man could have done the business so well. He under- 

 took and performed a Government contract most suc- 

 cessfully, and with only one mistake. He did not avail 

 himselito the full of a contractor's rights. He did not 

 spend all the money he might have done. Instead of 

 returning a thousand or two annually, what would have 

 been easier than to have accounted for — as they want 

 accounts — the maximum allowed him ? It is a stand- 

 ing joke in many such a business as this, that " no 

 money is returned." A smart sliarp fellow would have 

 run it out to the very halfpenny. The Government 

 did not appreciate the man they had to work with ; but, 

 unless we are much mistaken, they very soon will. 



An attempt has been made to consider Mr. Maxwell 

 merely as a paid clerk or government official. That is, 

 he received for each year's services an acknowledgment 

 of some two or at most three hundred pounds. To do 

 the same work as it has been done, or half as well, 

 will necessitate "an appointment'' of at least from 

 fifteen hundred to two thousand a-year. But we ques- 

 tion very much whether we shall have any more 

 Agricultural Statistics from Scotland. Indeed, this is 

 not, after all, the great thing with the Government. 

 The statistics they want is the absolute price of a 

 leg-of-mutton dinner, and what is spent in more pens, 

 wafers, and red tape. 



If ever there was a fatal mistake, it is the treatment 

 of the Highhtnd Society by " My Lords" of the Trea- 

 sury. They have put back Agricultural Statistics to a 

 status something far worse than what it was when the 

 Scotch Society took them up, and have contrived for 

 themselves some very up-hill work to do over agnin. 



THE ADVANTAGES OF A DAILY REGISTER OF THE RAIN-FALL THROUGHOUT 

 THE UNITED KINGDOM, AND THE BEST MEANS OF OBTAINING IT. 



The Society of Arts appears to be more and more 

 ambitious to rank as an agricultural authority. It is 

 no longer content with one paper or so on the subject, 

 in the course of a season. On the contrary, these now 

 crowd in upon us in very rapid succession. The new 

 year's list, running up to the beginning of April only, 

 has already three evenings to be devoted more or less 

 directly to the improvement of the soil. Unfortunately, 

 however, there is little promise of the most being made 

 of these occasions. Of course the first object should be to 

 ensure the attendance of as many men practically in- 

 terested in the question, as it is possible to assemble to- 

 gether. Their convenienceshould be especially consulted; 

 as their presence must tend materially to put a stamp 

 and value on the proceedings. Mithin the la=t year or 

 two a very fair sprinkling of agriculturists have joined 

 the Society, while still more have accepted the occa- 

 sional invitations offered them. Now it is well known 

 the majority of these come up the first week in every 

 month. There is the discussion at the Farmers' Club on 

 the first Monday in the month, and the council meeting 

 of the Royal Agricultural Society on the first Wednesday 

 morning. The meetings of the Society of Arts are on 

 the Wednesday evenings, and yet not one of these rural 



topics is put down for such times as the country gentle- 

 men may be amongst us. Mr. Algernon Clarke is to 

 speak to " Steam-cultivation" on Wednesday, February 

 the tenth, instead of the third— just, in iact, a week 

 too late for his audience. Monsieur Trehonnais 

 is to compare " French Agriculture past and 

 present" on March the seventeenth, whereas the 

 opening of the following month should clearly have 

 been selected. Even in these railway days far- 

 mers cannot afford to be perpetually running up to 

 London : and we know they now so plan their ar- 

 rangements as to kill all sorts of birds with one stone. 

 Ask Mr. Hudson how many visitors he has at other 

 times; or inspect the Club-rooms later on, and we 

 shall find that our friends have got into a habit of 

 accustoming themselves to this first week. 



Do|not let it be supposed (hat we speak without 

 some showing. On only Wednesday last, Mr. Bailey 

 Denton, a gentleman well known amongst agriculturists, 

 read a paper at the Society's house in the Adelphi', 

 bearing on a subject at present of particular importance 

 to the farmer — that of drainage. In a not over- 

 nuiiieious audiniiie wLich ai-i^cmbled to gr. et him, we 

 noticed one practical agriculturist, Mr. Fisher Hobbs. 



