EDMUND RUPFIN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR. 



Extract from ' The Life of Sir John Sinclair, b^ his Sou.' 



ON THK V:STABLtSHMEXT OF TIIK BRITISH 

 BOAUD OF AGRICULTCKE. 



In what dejjree this generous nrdor in tlie 

 cause ofhushnruiry and iiilornal improvenieiil was 

 Ibslored and nuitiiiTd hy the oxcnion? and exam- 

 ples ofthe (bunder oliiic Board of Agiicnhiire, may 

 be seen li-om the ldllo\vin<r letters h'om the author 

 of ' The Treatise on Rural AH'airs ;' Horn a learn- 

 ed professor noiv alive; from a late (hstinrriiished 

 philosopher; and li"om an illustrious personatre, 

 whose sentiments on all topics connected with the 

 national welliire must be deeply intereslinir to 

 every subject throughout the empire. Wriiin<r to 

 Sir John iSinclair on high rents, JMr. Brown says, 

 " Had you not called the spirit ofthe country into 

 action, and induced ihe tenantry to think as well 

 as act, such rent would never have been thought 

 of." Professor Low designates Sir John " the 

 individual who has rendered the most essential 

 services, which any one has ever had it in his 

 power to render, to the agriculture of this coun- 

 try." On another occasion he says, " There 

 is no one so justly entitled to speak of the claims 

 of agriculture as j-ou, whom all Europe admits to 

 be its most zealous and distinguished supporter." 



From Sir Humphrey Davy. 



" Jan. 6, 1809. 



" Dear Sir, — T am much obliged to you lor the 

 important document; you had the kindness to send 

 to me. . . 



" Amongst the various monuments of patriot- 

 ism, which you have raised, and lor which poste- 

 rit}' will bless you, this will not he one ofthe least 

 useful. It is surprising that it should be so much 

 more easy to make men attend to their pleasures 

 than their interests ; yet, till within the last filty 

 years, agricultural economy was a dead letter. I 

 hope you will live to see England independent, of 

 all foreign supplies. I can hardly conceive a 

 greater or a more grateful triumph for you. 



" We are going on with. the plan lor the Royal 

 Institution, and, I trust, it will become, with the 

 assistance of the dignified and patriotic chtiracter 

 of (he country, a great and perminent establish- 

 ment. 1 am, dear sir, with the highest respect, 

 your obliged servant, 



" H. Daw." 



From his Royal Highness ihe Duke of Clarence. 



" Bushy, A'ow. 20, 1801. 

 " Dear Sir, — I heartily agree with you. that 

 this country might, by attention to its agriculture, 

 commerce, manufactures, and above all, its fishe- 

 ries, become not only the admiration and envy, 

 but also the school ofthe universe. Without flat- 

 ter}', you were the first man of fashion that began 

 the improvement of husbandry, and 1 have only 

 the merit of being one of your most zealous (bl- 

 iowcrs. Ever believe me, dear Sir, yours truly. 



" WiLMAM." 



Vol. V— 81 



« Bushy House, Feb. 22, 1827. 

 " Dear Sir, — Last night I received yours of 

 18ih iiist., from Edinburgh, and its accompanying 

 statement, tor which accept my sincere thanks. 

 Every nation ought to pay all possible attention, 

 and give ever}' encouragement to agriculture. I 

 must ieel most sensibly the kind expressions you 

 use in your letter towards myself", and wish (rom 

 the bottom of my hear!, I had been of that real 

 use to our country that yoar worthy self has been, 

 and most particularly at the head of the Board of 

 Agriculture. 1 remain yours unalterably, 



" William." 



The usefulness of this great central institution 

 radiated to the remotest dependencies of the Bri- 

 tish crown. In Bengal, the chief agricultural defi- 

 ciency had always been the scanty support tbreat- 

 tle and horses. On the suggestion ol the Board, 

 lucerne and Guinea ffrass were tried with success. 

 I find the Court of Directors, in a dispatch to Mar- 

 quis Wellesley, the Governor General, expressing 

 their satisfaction at the prospects of those produc- 

 tions becoming " an invaluable acquisition to the 

 Bengal provinces." I have not hitherto been able 

 to ascertain how far this expectation has been re- 

 alized. An eminent botanist, however, informs me 

 that he received, some time ago, good specimens 

 of lucerne fiom Calcutta, though he was not 

 aware, till f informed him, how the plant had been 

 introduced. The Board likewise caused experi- 

 ments to be made in the cultivation of potatoes 

 and of hemp m the East Indies. For the improv- 

 ment, also, ofthe West Indies, they transmitted a 

 collection of seeds from Sumatra to Jamaica and 

 St. Vincent. This collection proved so accept- 

 able, that the House of Assembly, in the former 

 island, passed a vote of thanks to the donors. The 

 Board was, also, the means of introducing into 

 those islands, that important article of ship-build- 

 \ns — the teak-tree.* I have much satisfaction in 

 adding, that the West India body, both collec- 

 tively and individually, look every ojjportunity to 

 express their gratitude to Sir John for his various 

 exertions to promote colonial agriculture. 



The President was able to be nloreuseliilin this 

 foreign department, by securing the assistance of 

 numbers (or whom he had procured situations in 

 the colonies. To those, who expressed gratitude 

 for his patronage, his usual answer was, that all 

 the return he asked would be, to roceive from theni 

 information or productions that might be useful to 

 husbandry, either in other settlements oral home. 



The interest taken in the proceedings of the 

 Board was fully as great in all parts of continental 

 Europe as in Great Britain itself'. I have already 

 noticed, that M. Otto, the French ambassador 

 (i'om the Consular Governmen', applied, in 1800, 

 to the President, for a list of such works relating to 

 agriculture as were most likely to promote the in- 

 ternal improvement of Frapn^ While comi)ly- 

 ing with the request. Sir John enclosed copies of a 

 paper which he had then recently drawn up on 



* See Arthur Younsj's Lrctur^- to the Board, pp. 58. 

 .^9. 



