J971. LITERARY INTELLIGENCER. || 



time Home's Eflay on Agriculture, and finding it was 

 impoirible to judge of the juftnefj of his reafonine on 

 many occafions, becaufe of my total want of chemical 

 knowhedge, and thinking at that time, it would be 

 difgraceiul not to know every thing that could be 

 known in the profeffion I meant to follow, I refolved 

 to attend Doctor CuUen's lettures, to obtain that kind 

 of knowledge I fo much felt the want of. ft happen- 

 ed, however, that f had not then a fmgle friend or ac- 

 quaintance, by whom I could be properly introduced to 

 Doctor CuUen, and was under the neceffity of wait* 

 ing upon him by myfelf, without one fo much as evert 

 to tell him my name. Being then yountr, and of ex- 

 ceeding fmall ftature for my age, on prefenting my- 

 felf, the Dador very naturally took me for a chiUi 

 and when he underitood that agriculture was the nro- 

 feiFion intended, he conceived that it muft have beeft 

 Ibme childiili whim that had haitily laid hold of the 

 imagination, and thought it his duty to difcourage it. 

 He therefore began to difTuade me from thinking of 

 purfuing that idea any farther : but finding I had rc- 

 ilecled on the fubje£t, and had finally adopted a line <rf 

 condu£l from which I would not depart, for reafons 

 then aihgned, he at laft was brought to acknowledge, 

 that if I had (teadinefs and affiduity to apply properly 

 to the ftudy, it might in the end prove conducive in 

 promoting the knowledgeof the principlesof agriculture, 

 and faid, if I was determined to exert myfelf, he fhould 

 do all in his power to forward ray views. As his pub- 

 lic lectures had then been for fome time begun, he or- 

 dered me to attend a private clafs, with fome others in 

 the fame predicament, to be inftrufted in thofe parts 

 ©f his courfc already paft, till we fhould overtake thofe 

 in his public clafs, which was a common practice with 

 him at that time. 



In thefe private leftures, as well as in his public 

 clafs, DoftorCullen was always at pains tocxamin; his 

 Jttudcnts from time to time on thofe parts of his courfc 



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