No. 5. Royal Agricultural Society of England. — Steam Plough. 157 



The yield of cup potatoes, on an 

 average of years, is 60 loads 

 per acre, and the average 

 price in the Manchester mar- 

 ket, 5s. per load ; so that if 

 the whole field had been set 

 with potatoes before, the quan- 

 tity produced vvoifld have 

 been 200 loads, at 5s 50 



Excessof produce in money this r.n-1 a a 

 year over an average of years 



Independent of this gain in money, we have 

 here a practical security against the future 

 failure of the potatoe crop, or of having that 

 failure made up by the two crops united. It 

 may be proper to add that the manure used 

 in the cultivation of this field was six cwt. of 

 guano per acre, sown in drill, of the value of 

 6s. per cwt, and that the soil is reclaimed 

 peat earth, which abounds to so great an ex- 

 tent in Lancashire and in most of the Irish 

 provinces. As this favorable result is, we 

 believe, principally attributable to the sepa- 

 ration of the potatoe drills from each other, 

 we see no reason to doubt but that under 

 this system of husbandry the results would 

 be equally favorable on any land suitable for 

 the growth of these valuable roots. The 

 risk of an experiment is very inconsiderable; 

 and we recommend its adoption, to a certain 

 extent at least, so long as the country shall 

 sufl^er under the visitation of the loss of one 

 of the most important articles of food for the 

 people. — Leeds Mercury. 



Royal Agricultural Society of England. 



To show a little the extent of the opera- 

 tions of this noble Society, we take from the 

 minutes of the last Annua! General Meet- 

 ing held on the 12th of Twelfth month last, 

 at the Society's house, Hanover Square, 

 London, the Earl of Egmont in the chair, 

 the following statement of its accounts. It 

 is not necessary to say to the readers of the 

 Cabinet, that if we multiply the number of 

 pounds sterling by five, we shall about have 

 the amount in dollars. 



The finance committee reported, that du- 

 ring the past half year 302 new members 

 had been elected — 56 had died, and 789 had 

 been struck off the list, on account of arrear- 

 ages of subscription not being paid up so far 

 back as 1841 and 1842. There are still ar- 

 rears of subscription due for 1843 to 1846 

 mclusive, £5,375! The capital of the So- 

 ciety invested in the public funds, amounts 

 to £7000, or about $35,000. 



Col. Austin stated that he would read the 

 balance sheet of the Finance Committee, 

 " but I wish," said he, " to premise that it 



must be borne in mind that the accounts are 

 made out for the half year only; that is the 

 half year ending on the 30th of June, and 

 that this is the reason why sums since re- 

 ceived on account of arrears are not credited. 

 The letters which have this year been ad- 

 dressed to the members in arrear, calling 

 for payment of their subscriptions, have been 

 answered in an unusually quick and rapid 

 manner; a fact which must be gratifying to 

 the meeting." Col. Austen then read the 

 balance-sheet, from which it appeared that — 



Half-yearly account, ending June 30/A, 1846. 

 Receipts. 



£ s. d. 



Balance in the hands of the bankers, 1st 



of January. 1846, 760 2 5 



Balance in the hands of the secretary, 1st 



January, 1846 14 12 9 



Dividends on stock 110 8 8 



Sale of stock 1174 10 



Life-compositions of members 372 



Annual subscriptions of governors 747 10 



Annual subscriptions of members 2666 12 10 



Sale of Journal 139 10 2 



Sale of Cottage Tracts 3 3 1 



Receipts during the half year, on account 



of the Country Meetings 4 5 9 



Payment made in error by Mfssrs. Child 



and Co. to Messrs. Drummond 45 



£6046 15 8 



Payments. 



Permanent charges £270 12 6 



Taxes and rates 21 8 3 



Establishment charges 935 12 10 



Postage and carriage 27 5 6 



Advertisements 13 5 



Expenses of Journal 1568 7 10 



Prizes 260 



Payments during the half-year, on ac- 

 count of the Country Meetings 296 1 7 



Subscriptions repaid 11 6 



Miscellaneous payments C 19 3 



Repayment to Messrs. Child of sum paid 



in error 45 



Balance in the hands of the bankers 30th 



June, 1846 2564 17 10 



Balance in the hands of the secretary 



30th June, 1846 25 19 2 



£6046 15 8 



Steam Plough. — A French paper, La 

 Semaine, announces the invention of a steam 

 plough, or rather the mode of digging by 

 means of steam, from which the most won- 

 derful results are anticipated. The inventor 

 is a young medical man, named Barat. The 

 Journal states that one of the two-horse 

 power was in operation at the residence of 

 the maker, who was constructing another 

 of double the power. The machine pro- 

 ceeds along the field, and digs the ground 

 with the greatest precision. Two beams 

 furnished with five mattocks each, act suc- 

 cessively upon the soil, loosening it to the 

 depth of 12 or 15 inches, and pounding it as 

 small as compost. By using only one of the 

 beams, a tillage of the usual depth can be 

 effected. — Farmer and Mechanic. 



