1806.] Replxjto J. P.'sEyiquiry concerning a Drilling Machine. 431 



more nutritious and fcrviccable, it" they 

 were foiiked in water* : by thj& menus 

 thoufands may be made agreeably i'wcet 

 to cattle in a litLle time, and fur hardly 

 any charge, that before were naturally 

 bitter, and would notanl'uer the purpofe 

 of fatting nearly fo will. " The fwect 

 or Portugal chefnut tree is (next to oakj 

 one of the moll fouL'ht after by builders ; 

 it formerly furniihed good part of the 

 timber in the ancient houfes m London, 

 and therefore it is thought to have grown 

 in great plenty in fome woods near die 

 metropolis." 



" This fwcet chefnut affords the bed 

 fta\es and poles for palifadoes, pedi- 

 ments for vine-props, and hoops ; alfo 

 for mill-timber and water-works. 



" If water touch the roots of the grow- 

 ing trees, it fpoils both iVuit and timber. 

 Thefe trees are fo prevalent aguinll cold, 

 that where they (land they defend other 

 plantations from injuries of the fevered 

 froll.-" G. B. 



November 6, 1806. 



To the Editor of' the Monthly Magazine. 



SIR, 



IN anlwer to your correfpondent J. P.'s 

 enquiry concerning aDrilliug-Machlne, 

 1 beg leave to communicate to him, 

 through the channel of your repofitory. 

 Some information that may not be unac- 

 ceptable. The writer of this article has 

 invented a machine, eitlier for dritting, 

 or a clofe imitation of dibbling, at any 

 dillance, and with almoll any quantity 

 of grain ; and which may, at a fmall ad- 

 ditional expence, be made applicable to 

 the fewing of peas and beans. It is 

 upon a principle very different from that 

 uf any other drilling-machine; is totally 

 exempt from thole i4iconveniences Hated 

 by .f . P. ; and if the inventor is not de- 

 roi\ ed by that fondnefs which every man 

 ie difpofcd to indulge for his own dii'co- 

 veries, it claims a fuperiority, in many 

 refpects, to any whicji have been iiitherto 

 employed in this branch of hulbandry. 

 He Ir.is been improving it for fevcral 

 years; a folicitude to render it as perft'Ct 

 Jis pollible has hitherto rtllraiiied him 

 from making it public, which he propot'es 

 lo do after he has made fomo trivial 

 alterations which itill appear flefirablc. 



'I'hio information will be received too 

 late for the purpot'es of the prefent fea- 



* The author 'Iocs not fay in wiut man- 

 ner the nuts arc t'j tie fuukcd fui feeding cji. 

 Jit. 



fon ; but if it fliould be fufficitntly im- 

 portant to I, I', to merit farther notice, 

 he vvill pleale to fend his addrefs to Mr. 

 Richards, fecretary to the Bath and Weft 

 of England Agricultural Society, at Het« 

 ling Houfe, Bath, in a line uddrelVed to 

 A. B., and he iliall be madt acquaiiiteU 

 wath every particular. 



1 am. Sir, your's, iV:c. A. S. 



Fur the Monthly Magazine. 

 On the coNNrcriON of the clerical or- 

 der with the ADVANCEMENT of CIVI- 

 LIZATION and LEARifTNc in the mid- 

 dle AGES. Ty PROFESSOR EICiinOR>, 

 of GOTTINCEX. 



IN that awful period when the repeat- 

 ed migrations of burbannis nations 

 had deltroycd ulinoll eveiy trace of civi- 

 lization and leifl-ning, no condition of 

 men was more called upon to labour for 

 their relloration and revival than the 

 clergy. In the newly-ellablilhed llatei 

 into which Kurope was now divided, 

 they had undertaken the important em- 

 ployment of examining the truths and 

 doctrines of Chnllianity ; of initiating 

 the people, and leading them, by inltruc- 

 tion, throUL'h faith, to morality and vir- 

 tue ; — a truly honourable employment, 

 and adequately deligned to promote the 

 great work of tbrming the minds of 

 men. 



Inquiry was the daily duty of the fa- 

 cred order. The doftrincs which they 

 undertook to introduce to the knowledge 

 and belief of men, had fources which lay 

 buried under the learning of ancient 

 times, and which, without knowledge of- 

 the ancient languages, and fome ac- 

 quaintance with the government, laws, 

 and cudonis, of thut period when thofe 

 doctrines were firft promulgated, it was 

 iinpoUible for them either to underfiand 

 or explain. Without fuch an applica.-. 

 tion of the wrecks of ancient literature, 

 their dilcovcry and prei'ervation had 

 been ufelefs. The religion they \vcr»' 

 called to examine was founded on 

 c\ents moft intimately connetteti with 

 the hiltory of various notions, the under- 

 Handing of which made it necelfary to 

 work through iiu immenfe mals of hifto- 

 rical evidence, of which only a fupeilkiai 

 furvcy could not fail of exciting the ac- 

 tive powers of the mind. The refult of 

 all thefc inquiries became very early in- 

 volved with qijeltions of philofophy, 

 which introduc»id a I'cientihc method, a 

 degrie of precihon in thinking, ni weigh- 

 iii^ fuels, and druwiiig conclultuns, by 

 3 I $ whictt 



