U THE RURAL SOCRAT'ES. 



prcvsllled with the Society to confent to a perfond con- 

 jWence wiiJi ajclcdi number ufpeafa?its. 



They gave Kliyoggan invkarioii in form for fach as 

 he pointed out ; and many of our tnenTybers undertook 

 to invite, on their part, the rnoft ienfi hie farmers of their 

 acquaintance. --The 15th of March 1763, was the day 

 appointed 5 aud fifteen pcafants, from different diflriiSts 

 of the carton of Zuj-ich, appeared in the alTembly. 



The t^reafurer, Mr. Heidegger, a wife mag'ilrate, 

 zealous in promoting every thing that tends to the good 

 of his country,' opened the coufereace by a difcourf^ 

 truly pathetic. 



He exhorted the peafants to anfwcr with manly frank- 

 BcB and ingenuDufnefs, the queflions to be propoled to 

 them ; and corsfined his enquiries principally to the three 

 queflions before dated. 



An unexpe«^ed affair requiring the attendance of the 

 treafurer, I was appointed /ij/j" deputy. 



My aftonifliment aud that of the Society in general 

 (reveral of whom fl^cohdcd me with pleafure) was ex* 

 treme, when we heard the P^reater part of the peafants, 

 each in his turn, deP:ribc, with order and preci- 

 sion, the courfe of hufbandry in his paii: of the canton ; 

 compute the advantages and the defevfls ; and propofe 

 the methods he thought mofl likely to rectify the latter. 

 Hot onetranTgrefTed the bounds of decency prcfcribed : 

 they fpoke ahernately, without interruptnig each other; 

 and without the leafi: fymptom of animoGty or confufion. 

 When their opinions were divided, they objedled with 

 rnodefly, and fupported them by initances drawn from 

 their own experience. If any of them departe.d from 

 bis fubje<n:, the red loon brought him back by a clofe 

 Gueftion relative to the point they wvere difculllng. 



I 0iall not fay any tlhng of tiic refult of this confer- 

 ence, as the Society has given the public an abllra(5l of 

 three prize memorials on the queftion concerning X\\q 



T^l-c of incl'^^Vr*^' • ?'»'] i'lvrMids publiOiigo; an abridge- 



Kienv 



