232 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE 



the special Act did not expressly provide to the contrary.' 

 Another benefit rendered to agriculture was the establish- 

 ment in 1803 of lectures on agricultural chemistry, the 

 first lecturer engaged being Mr., afterwards Sir Humphry, 

 Davy, who may be regarded as the father of agricultural 

 chemistry. 



In 1806 Sinclair was re-elected president, and his second 

 term was mainly devoted to completing the agricultural sur- 

 veys of the different counties, which, before his retirement in 

 1813, he had with one or two exceptions the satisfaction of 

 seeing finished. Though over-impetuous, he rendered valuable 

 service to agriculture, not only by his own energy but by 

 stirring up energy in others ; as William Wilberforce the 

 philanthrophist said, ' I have myself seen collected in that 

 small room several of the noblemen and gentlemen of the 

 greatest properties in the British Isles, all of them catching 

 and cultivating an agricultural spirit, and going forth to spend 

 in the employment of labourers, and I hope in the improve- 

 ment of land, immense sums which might otherwise have 

 been lavished on hounds and horses, or squandered on 

 theatricals.' 



Among the numerous subjects into which the board in- 

 quired was the divining rod for finding water, which was 

 tested in Hyde Park in 1801, and successfully stood the test. 

 In 1805, Davy the chemist reported on a substance in South 

 America called 'guana', which he had analysed and found to 

 contain one-third of ammoniacal salt with other salts and 

 carbon, but its use was not to come for another generation. 

 From the time of Sinclair's retirement in 1813 the board* 

 declined. Arthur Young, its secretary, had become blind' 

 and his capacity therefore impaired. One year its lack of 

 energy was shown by the return of 2,000 of the Government 

 grant to the Treasury because it had nothing to spend 

 it on. The Prime Minister, Lord Liverpool, was against it, 

 the clergy feared the commutation of tithe which the board 



