1 22 : 



STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. 



Part IV. 



&c it is not uncommon for ploughmen. ai well as various descriptioni ofop< rativea, to telong to gardeners' 

 •odgrs in the southern districts where sheep forming is followed there are some shepherds 1 Bocieties.foi 

 mutual Interchange of experience, and aid in caseoj losses oi mch sheep as are the shepherd's perquisite 

 There are some ploughmen's clubs in different places, and various associations among them ol the nature 

 of benefit societies ; but these 'i" Dot oome under the description of professional 



791 1. Agricultural societiet for interchange of knowledge arc of modern date, but they have increased 

 rapidly since I7SM : the number at present or latel) existing in the British isles is at least equal to the 

 number of the counties. Societies ol this description art- either general, as the Board ol Agriculture and 

 Societj of Arts; national, as the Highland Societj and Dublin Institution; particular, as the Bath and 

 West «»[ England Society ; provincial, as county societies ; or parochial, as being limited to a few tndii U 

 duals within our parish. Of tin. kind are farmers' clubs, ploughing societies, &c In regard to the end 

 in new, these societies either embrace tin- arts in general; the rural arts in general ; some branch of the 

 rural art, as s [riculture . oi so a department in that branch, as live stock, Bheep, wool, &c 



7912. All these societies hold meetings at stated periods, most of them ofl'.-r premiums for particular 

 objects, spe< i jetable or animal culture or produce, agricultural operations, moral and profes- 

 sional merits as servants, & . -■ me of them form a library and museum or models or full-sized imple- 

 ments; .i few publish transactions; and one or two, as the Dublin Society, send out itinerant ploughmen 

 and agricultural mechanics to instruct practical farmers. These societies are almost wholly supported, 

 and the fundi for premiums raised, by the subscriptions of members, and by voluntary donations, legacies, 

 ,\c ; hut some, as the Board of Agriculture and the Dublin Society, have received assistance from go- 

 vernment r _ _ ' 



79] ; of English agricultural societies the oldest is the Society of Arts, founded in 1754 oy Lord Folk. 

 Stone, Lord Komney, Dr. Hales, and ShepleV- They have published many volumes of transactions, 

 awarded immense sums in premiums, and on the whole done much good. (See Hees's Cyc. art Society ) 



7-i l |, The Bath and West of England Society was founded in 

 1777, for purposes similar to tho^e of the London Society of 

 Arts. Thei have published some valuable volumes of trans- 

 actions, and distributed various rewards, &c. {Rces's Que. Ac) 

 . /'.if Board •>/ Agriculture was founded, under the au- 



otf government, in 1793. Much was expected from 

 this lt> ird ; but, except the publication of the county report-, 

 and the general attention which it called to agriculture, it may 

 well be asked wh ii advantages arose from it. Their Comma- 



r, hi several quarto volumes, contain fewer valuable 

 P ipersj m p ro p or ti on to their total number, than the pub a- 

 tions of either the I>»ndon Society of Arts or the Bath Society. 

 In short it has been ably shown, in The Farmers Magazine and 



the article Agriculture in the supplement to the Encyc. Brit., 

 that the Hoard never directed itN efforts in a manner suitable 

 to its powers and consequence ; and that, instead of rU 

 modes of culture, its attention ought to have been dirt 

 the removal of the political obstacles to agriculture, ami tu the 

 eliciting of agricultural talent by honorary rewards, &c No 

 idea i-. more erroneous than that of such a Board, or an. othi , 

 doing much good by a nation. U '* experimental farm." The 

 government withdrew its support from t'ti^ Board about 1816; 

 and there being no longer funds for a handsome salary for a 

 secretary, it soon after fell to pieces, and is now only remem- 

 bered, at least by us, for its lofty pretentions and iis worse than 

 inutility. 



7916. Of Welsh societies there are only two or three, of inferior note, which have been already noticed 

 in the topography of the country. 



7917. Of Scotch societies the principal now existing are the Highland Society and the Dalkeith Farming 

 Society. 



7918. The Highland Society of Scotland was established in 

 1715, to enquire int.. the state of tl e highlands, to consider the 

 mean! of their Improvement and the preservation of their lan- 

 guage ; it is chiefly supported by the subscriptions of its mem- 



bers, at a guinea each a year, and soon after its establishment 

 it had a trrant of 5d00/. from government. It has published 

 7 vols, of prize essays and papers, ami now extends its prizes to 

 all the low counties of Scotland. [Farm. Mag. vol. 16. p. 316.) 



7*«19. Of Irish societies the principal are the Dublin Society and the Cork Institution. 



The Dublin Society was established in 1731, and incor- 

 porated in 1749. Arthur Young observes, that it was the 

 parent of all the similar societies now existing in Europe; but 

 the Edinburgh Ag ^cultural Society, as we h ive si en [775. and 

 hoi.), wai established nearly ten years before. The Dublin 

 . ui its present advanced s'at-', is one of the most com- 

 pi te e tablishments of the kind. [Rett's Cyc. art. Dublin.) 



7921. The Far mi tig Society of Ireland bed under 



the patronage <»f the Dublin Society, in 1800. The obi 

 Improve the agriculture and live stock of the kingdom. (Arclter's 

 . 160.)' 

 71)22. The Cork Institution, for applying science to the com- 



7924. The only other institutions for the improvement qf agriculturists and agriculture are public profes- 

 sorships. Of these there is one in the university of Edinburgh, established in 1T1*3 ; one in Dublin, sup- 

 ported by the Dublin Society ; one in Cork; and one i- destined to be established at some future period in 

 Oxford, agreeably to the will and donation of Dr. Sibthorpe (806. and 7789.), professor of botany there. 



mon purposes of life, originated in private subscriptions, about 

 the beginning of the present century. It has since l>een incor- 

 porated, ana has received the assistance of ejovemnient. It 

 possesses a house and a large botanic garden, and under its 

 auspices are delivered lectures on chemistry, botany, agricul- 

 ture, \ - ■ ; it i> not, however, in a flourishing state, and has 

 never tn-en of much use. 



7923. The principal county societies in the three kingdoms 

 have been noticed in the topography of agriculture: many ot 

 them were established several years Define the Hoard of Agri- 

 culture. 



HOOK II. 



THE FUTURE PROGRESS OF AGRICULTURE IN BRITAIN. 



70 , _'.'J. Tub improvement of agriculture, like that of every art, manufacture, or com- 

 modity, necessarily depends on demand and production : a powerful or effectual de- 

 111 iiul will ensure produce, and excellent produce will, to a certain extent, create 



demand. A general nicety of taste in coach or saddle horses will call forth a superior 

 description of these animals, and superior animals will tempt purchasers ; if the inha- 

 bitants of any district who live chiefly on barley or oats indicate a preference for wheat, 

 and a willingness to pay for thai grain, wheat will be produced, and so on. Again, as 

 the object of every individual who engages in art or trade is to acquire gain, the ad- 

 vancement of an art will depend mainly on the profits it affords; an art or occupation 

 which affords less than the average profits on capital will only be followed by such as, 

 from habit or other reasons, cannot apply themselves to any thing better, but extra-profits 



