CIO 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



[No. 10 



cated to Sir John in the following handsome 

 terms: — "To Sir John Sinclair, President of the 

 Board of Airriculture, l»v whose unremitted exer- 

 tions such important improvements have been ac- 

 complished in tlie cultivalion of the earth— that 

 great source of Jile and (elicity! This work, which 

 was bea'un by his instigation, and lorwarded by 

 his encouragement, is dedicated with true respect, 

 by his much obliged and obedieni servant."* 



Sir John Sinclair thought, and with great pro- 

 priety, that it might be set down as a maxim in 

 literature, that "knowledge, previous to its being 

 brought into a condensed state, may be compared 

 to a small portion of gold, dispersed throughout a 

 great quantity of ore. In that rude condition, the 

 strongest man cannot sustain its weight, nor con- 

 vey it to a distance ; but wlien the pure metal is 

 separated troni the dross, a child may carry it 

 without dithculty." Acting on this principle, he 

 reduced the bulk of the Code of Health and Lon- 

 gevity, as we have just said, fi-om four volumes to 

 one, by condensing its details, and selecting its 

 most valuable materials ; and lie then proceeded 

 in the same way with the General Reports and 

 the Statistical Account. In his view of the im- 

 portance, nay necessity, of" condensation, regard- 

 ing art and science, implying by condensation the 

 retainmg only the more important facts and ob- 

 servations, and passing over those which either 

 are of minor value, or are no longer useful, Sir 

 John is ably borne out by Mr. Mill, the historian 

 of India, who remarks, in his preface to that work, 

 " that as no fact is more certain, so none is of more 

 importance, in the science of human nature, than 

 this — that the powers of observation, in every in- 

 dividual, are exceedingly limited ; and that it is 

 only by combining the observations of a number 

 of individuals (or, in other words, forming codes 

 regarding each important branch of science,) that 

 a competent knowledge of any extensive subject 

 can ever be acquired." 



Proceeding in this spirit. Sir John set himself to 

 digest the most valuable materials which had been 

 given to the world on the subject of Agriculture, 

 into one comprehensive volume. The English 

 County Reports had been published in forty-seven 

 octavo volumes, and those of Scotland amounted 



(vol. ii. p, 93,) and the discovery is attributed to An- 

 thony St, Le^er, Esq., a Yorkshire gentleman, so far 

 back as 1766 — another proof how long even the most 

 important and valuable facts may be in arresting pub- 

 lic attention. It was afterwards descanted on by Dr. 

 Darwin, as we have just mentioned in the Phytologia 

 (vide sect. 10,) and is briefly alluded to by Sir Hum- 

 phry Davy in his lectures (page 252.) To the Don- 

 caster Agricultural Association, however, belongs the 

 merit of liaving collected the evidence on the subject, 

 and of having decided on the great value of the dis- 

 covery. This happened so recently as 1828, when the 

 Association a))pointed a committee to make incjuiries. 

 The report was published by Ridgway, London, in 

 1829. 



Sir John Sinclair immediately suggested, that the 

 importation of bones should be encouraged by a pub- 

 lic bounty, and that some allowance ought to be given 

 to the captains of vessels, who brouglit home bones as 

 ballast in their ships. For some years past the impor- 

 tation has become too profitable a speculation in com- 

 merce to require encouragement. 



* Vide Phytologia, or the Philosophy of Agriculture 

 and Gardening. 4to. London, 1800. 



to thirty more. Seven volumes of communica- 

 tions, besides a number of other works on sjiecific 

 subjects, had also been publi.shed by the board. 

 From these, and from ihe modern standard works 

 on particular branches of the art, he picked out all 

 the most valuable practical information, and where 

 any topic appeared dcfi?ciive, he made every exer- 

 tion to render it more perfect, by associating with 

 experienced fiirmers, surveying their firms, and 

 witnessing their most important operations on the 

 spot. Thus armed. Sir John drew up his Code of 

 Agriculture, the first edition of which was pub- 

 lished in 1819. Three editions of it have been 

 since given to the putilic of this country, besides 

 another in America. It was also translated into 

 the French, German, and Danish languages. 



Long previous to this, hov/ever, it should be 

 mentioned, that, in a letter to Sir John, Sir Jo- 

 seph Banks had stated, " that an account of the 

 systems of husbandry adopted in the more impro- 

 ved districts in Scotland, would be of the greatest 

 advantage to the agricultural interests of the Uni- 

 ted Kingdom; and that it was incumbent upon a 

 native of Scotlaad, while presiding at the Board 

 of Agriculture, and possessing all the means of in- 

 formation which that situation afforded, to under- 

 take the task. In objection, Sir John argued, that 

 the labor of accomplishing such a task would be 

 very great — that it would be extremely difficult to 

 obtain the necessary inlbrmaTion — and that it 

 would aflbrd an opportunity for cavillers to attack 

 the board on the grounds of its promulgating 

 doctrines which, if acted on, might prove ruinous 

 to many fiirmers. But all obstacle.s vanished, 

 when Sir John further urged, that agriculture has 

 derived, is deriving, and will derive, more benefit 

 from Scottish industry and skill, than has been ac- 

 cumulated since the days when Adam first wield- 

 ed the spade." This occurred in 1809, but it was 

 not till March 1812, that the whole mass of mate- 

 rials had been brought together. To do all jus- 

 tice to an undertaking so important. Sir John vis- 

 ited, in person, all those districts which were most 

 celebrated for the cultivation both of strong and 

 of light soils ; and he afierwards circulated among 

 the farmers whom he visited, a number of queries 

 on rural subjects, requiring elucidation. By these 

 means an immense mass of valuable matter was 

 accumulated. 



When, in 1793, the Board of Agriculture was 

 constituted, the two great objects to which the at- 

 tention of" its members were primarily directed, 

 were the general agricultural state of the country, 

 and the means of improving that state. As the 

 most effectual way of accomplishing this purpose, 

 a number of qualified individuals were employed 

 to draw up the district reports ; and, as observed 

 by a distinguished writer on husbandry, "inthe^ 

 course of little more than a year, the Board of 

 Agriculture had printed a body of authentic facts 

 respecting the agricultural and internal economy 

 of this country, greater than was ever obtained 

 by any other nation since the beginning of" time." 

 The collection of district reports liaving been ac- 

 complished, the board went a second time Over 

 the same ground, to have these reports consolida- 

 ted into those of" counties, and drawn up on a uni- 

 form and systematic plan. 



This was the irreat object to which the attention 

 of Sir John Sinclair vvtis next directed, and in his* 

 address to the Board of Agriculture, on the 9th 



