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THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



Maxwell prominently before the general public. 

 Nothing, perhaps, could speak better to the appre- 

 ciation in which the institution and its chief officer 

 were held by the farmers of Scotland, than the 

 readiness with which they answered to the call 

 made upon them, and the good will with which 

 they assisted in carrying out the experiment. The 

 machinery, organized and worked by Mr. Maxwell, 

 consisted of a volunteer committee of somewhere 

 about twelve hundred practical men, representing 

 every parish m Scotland. The result of their com- 

 bined exertions was, that, almost from the first 

 year, very complete returns continued to be made, and 

 at an expense far below what was expected by the 

 Government. The annual cost was originally esti- 

 mated at six thousand pounds, and such a limit 

 allowed Mr. Maxwell to deal witli. For the four 

 years he had the conduct of the inquiry, the in- 

 formation was obtained at something about three 

 thousand five hundred a-year. We have already 

 said this was of the highest and most satisfactory 

 description. All the good men in Scotland were 

 more or less directly engaged in rendering it per- 

 fect, and certainly no " innovation" was ever in- 

 troduced or familiarized to a people under more 

 encouraging auspices. It was just such a prece- 

 dent and an example as a Minister would wish for. 

 It is, however, an old story by this, how Routine 

 stepped in, and insisted on Mr. Maxwell explaining 

 why he spent three thousand a-year when it was 

 calculated he would require twice that sum. But 



something more than an explanation was needed. 

 Indeed, the vouchers and receipts regularly fur- 

 nished were such as to amply satisfy the most 

 scrupulous. In fact, as a man of honour, Mr. 

 Maxwell himself would be content with nothing 

 less. There was, however, an attempt at petty 

 interference and minute dictation that, equally as a 

 man respecting himself and those associated with 

 him, the Secretary of the Highland Society could 

 not submit to. He had no other course but to 

 relinquish his charge. "When, moreover, Mr. Max- 

 well withdrew from the collection, the whole of his 

 staflf resigned with hira, and the Agricultural Sta- 

 tistics of Scotland were again all mystery and mere 

 guess work. It is even still very noticeable that 

 whenever the subject is now introduced, either in 

 or out of Parliament, some of the first men con- 

 nected with Scotland are certain to speak to the 

 integrity and usefulness of Mr. Hall Maxwell. 



Mr. Maxwell is a landed proprietor in, as well 

 as a magistrate and deputy-lieutenant for, the 

 county of Renfrew. In 185G he was created a 

 Civil Companion of the Bath ; and in the same 

 year he received a decoration — in lieu of the cross 

 of the legion of honour — from the Emperor of the 

 French, in consideration for his services in con- 

 nexion with the Great International Agricultural 

 Exhibition. These are high distinctions ; but we 

 question if Mr. Maxwell would not rank as his 

 best reward the appreciation in which he is held by 

 the members of the Highland Society. 



OUR ORCHARD WINES. 



BY CUTHBEET W. JOHNSON, ESQ., F.R.S. 



The efforts made by man, in all ages and 

 countries, to satisfy his love of wine, are not a little 

 remarkable. We find him, in the warmer climates 

 of the world, using for this purpose the fruit of the 

 vine and rice ; in colder climates, barley and the 

 juice of apples and pears ; in ruder countries, 

 chewing and fermenting the leaves of certain 

 plants ; in Tartary, even the milk of the mare. 



Wine, it is supposed, was first introduced into 

 England, in very small quantities, from Rome. It 

 was so scarce, even in the time of Edward I., as to 

 be sold as a cordial by the apothecaries. As the 

 English monks of the olden time, however, had 

 vineyards attached to their monasteries, it has been 

 conjectured that they succeeded in making them- 

 selves jolly with home-made wine ; and this has 

 been brought forward as some evidence of the de- 

 creasing warmth of our cUmate, since it is but 

 rarely that the grape now ripens sufficiently in our 

 country by out-door cultivation for the production 

 of wine. But this is a very unsatisfactory way of 



examining the question : there is no other evidence 

 of such a deterioration of our climate, and other 

 testimony, indeed, is rather to the contrary. It 

 has been lately contended, however, that the wine 

 made by the English monks of the olden time was 

 not from grapes, but from the juice of currants 

 and other similar garden fruits, still used for that 

 purpose in our country districts. 



The great rural wines of England have long been 

 its cider and its perry ; and, as we are approaching 

 the season when these will be making, in most parts 

 of the West and South of England, it may be 

 useful if we gather together a few facts on the ma- 

 nufacture of these largely-consumed wines. Both 

 cider and perry have more alcohol in them than is 

 commonly supposed. Professor Brande found in 



Cider 9.87 per cent. 



Perry 9.S7 



Ale 8.88 „ 



Brown stout 6.80 ,, 



The amount of these low wines made in England 



