THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



391 



Our ear are those of Professor Liebipr, Way, Nesbit, 

 Voelcker, Lawes, Gilbert, Thos. Dyke Acland, Thomp- 

 son, Johnson, Morton, &c. In former ages but few 

 books were written upon agricultural subjects. The first 

 " Farmers' Journal" was published in 1808. This old 

 and methodical paper, assisted by occasional agricultural 

 pamphlets, formed the agricultural press and literature 

 of the age. Such was the drug in the reading market, 

 the distaste for new inroads, and the aversion to theo- 

 rists, that this one journal had but a limited circulation. 

 Moreover, owing to the state of the roads in those days, 

 and the lack of post-office facilities, it is doubtful if the 

 farmer always obtained the journal when he expected it. 

 I will not enumerate Ihe periodicals and newspapers 

 which are now circulated amongst the agricultural com- 

 munity, except by way of illustration. I would ask 

 who in this room would now relinquish his paper ? Who, 

 indeed, could keep pace with the progress of agricul- 

 ture without the " Mark-lane Express," " Bell's 

 Weekly Messenger," and other journals now directly 

 devoted to the cause of agriculture ? What member 

 would now yield to the suppression of this club's 

 monthly reports ? On the contrary, are they not trea- 

 sured up as records of passing events ? These are 

 gratifying results; but how have they been brought 

 about ? True it is that the Smithfield Club and the 

 Royal Agricultural Society have been mainly instru- 

 mental in the development of the art of agriculture ; 

 but what could practically have been done without the 

 aid of steam and railways ? Steam and railways have con- 

 veyed our specimens of live stock and implements, our 

 exhibitors, and also the inquiring public, to the national 

 gatherings : they have conveyed our corn to market, 

 and brought back portable manures : they have de- 

 posited our supplies of fat cattle and sheep at the best 

 markets, free from loss of weight, and have brought in 

 return ready cash within a few hours. This is a mighty 

 change from the old and dreary time, when animals 

 walked slowly to market, wasting the food of the con- 

 sumer and the profit of the grazier. These new aids 

 shorten the space of time required for certain opera" 

 tions, produce certainty of transit, and thus not only 

 increase the food of the people, but materially aid in 

 equalizing supplies and prices. In fact, if far removed 

 from railways, we may be said to be deprived of the 

 chief facility for our onward course ; for they are daily 

 spreading the intercourse between mind and mind, and 

 are creating new markets and new demands for know- 

 ledge. With a view to illustration, if indeed it be 

 wanting, I may mention the occasion of this evening's 

 gathering. I have myself travelled 230 miles by railway 

 to be present at this meeting. How many miles have 

 the members of the club collectively travelled within a 

 few hours? Even the thought of the old "coaching 

 days" makes one shiver. — It may be interesting to mark 

 the important progress in agricultural mechanics as 

 another branch of industry, called forth by, and minis- 

 tering to progress in agriculture. In the time of the 

 Romans, Pliny tells us, " the corn being spread over 

 the area of a threshing floor (a circular space of from 

 forty to fifty feet in diameter) in the open air, a foot or 



two thick, it was threshed or beaten out by the hoofs of 

 cattle or horses driven round it, or by dragging a ma- 

 chine over it." Again, we are told by the same au- 

 thority, "corn was cleansed or winnowed by throwing 

 it from one part of the floor to the other." This ancient 

 picture presents a marked contrast to our present 

 practices of thrashing, dressing, and sacking corn at one 

 operation, and leaving it in a fit state for market. In- 

 deed, it is to steam power that we are so much indebted 

 for the magical progress that has been made ; and it is 

 to steam power that we have yet to look for a much fur- 

 ther development of the art of agriculture. Mr. Mechi 

 has happily chosen this subject for a paper to be read 

 at our next meeting, and I will not anticipate his re- 

 marks, which will no doubt be very interesting. — In 

 the early part of the present century, English agricul- 

 ture had warm and justly-eminent patrons, and none 

 more eminent or patriotic than the cultivators of our 

 established breeds of live stock. It is to such men as 

 the late Earl Spencer, Lord Ducie, Bakewell, Quartly, 

 Stubbins, Bennett, Buckley, Burgess, Ellman, Chap- 

 man, Price, Booth, Whittaker, and others, that we are 

 indebted for the production of our best breeds of live 

 stock. With a view to show how great is our debt of 

 gratitude to these men, I may observe that our beau- 

 tiful breeds of cattle, sheep, and horses have alike been 

 cultivated from indigenous animals. If we examine the 

 history of the sheep, we shall find that he has ever been 

 an inhabitant of every clime, from Iceland to the re- 

 gions of the torrid zone. Our English breeds were 

 chiefly of a horned class ; for instance, the Dorset, Ex- 

 moor, Norfolk, Yorkshire, Wiltshire, Shropshire, 

 Welsh, Scotch white face, and Scotch black face, all had 

 horns. Several of these breeds, which inhabit the yet 

 uncultivated wastes, still remain, and are designated 

 " horned sheep." I have said that Britain in the ear- 

 liest periods of her history resembled all other countries 

 under similar circumstances. There was nothing but 

 bleak hills, undrained plains, and wild commons ; but in 

 the course of time, desolation gave way to husbandry, 

 and with it came a corresponding improvement in our 

 breeds of live stock. Thus it is that the old and un- 

 profitable animals have given way or been transformed 

 into the established breeds of the present day. 

 We have had as an element those beautiful principles, 

 which are laid down by Nature's laws, of the animal and 

 vegetable kingdom to instruct us. These embrace a 

 standard which man cannot alter; neither can he under- 

 stand the object, without great scientific research and 

 practical observation of the varied elements which com- 

 pose the whole. It devolves, therefore, upon the hus- 

 bandman to watch the laws of nature, and to found his 

 plans upon Nature's dictates. The principles of these 

 laws, worked out by proper rules, govern and direct the 

 successful practice of the art of agriculture. I may best 

 illustrate these remarks by mentioning a few of the princi- 

 ples recognized in our practice. First, there is the maxim 

 that it is to the principle of steam that we must look 

 for deep cultivation. Warmth is one of Nature's laws : 

 hence "the principle of warmth" is good : "warmth 

 is an equivalent to food." Animals consume or burn 



