On promoting Useful Knowledge. 511 



in the course of friendly and familiar conversation, useful 

 observations were made, new facts were brought to light, 

 and practical knowledge, derived from experience, general- 

 ly diffused. Much good has already been done by these 

 societies ; but still more would have been effected, had the 

 Board of Agriculture been placed on such a footing, that it 

 might have acted as a common centre, to all these numerous 

 associations, and for that purpose, had been invested with 

 the privilege of correspondence postage free. The Board 

 would thus have been enabled, to perform those public ser- 

 vices, which were in the contemplation of those, by whose 

 exertions it was originally established ( ai ). 



2. Experimental Farms. The art of agriculture can never 

 be brought to its highest degree of perfection, or established 

 on rational and unerring principles, unless by means of ex- 

 periments, accurately tried, properly persevered in, and 

 carefully registered. The ardent inquirer has been too long 

 compelled to rely on vague opinions, and assertions which 

 have not been warranted by sufficient authority ; it is full 

 time therefore, by the establishment of experimental farms, 

 under the sanction, and at the expense of government, or by 

 enabling the Board of Agriculture to grant adequate pre- 

 miums to deserving persons, for new discoveries, to bring the 

 art, to as great perfection as possible, by ascertaining the 

 principles on which it can most profitably be conducted. 



It is said, that there are many distinguished characters, 

 who carry on experiments for their own information and 

 amusement, by means of which, every important fact, will 

 in process of time be ascertained ( aa ) ; and it cannot be 

 doubted, that their example is of very great advantage to 

 those, who have the means of examining the progress that is 

 made. Their farms, however, are, more properly speaking, 

 pattern farms^ for the advantage of the farmers in their imme- 

 diate neighbourhood, than experimental ones, in the strict 

 sense of the word; and they are too often, rather the partial 

 records of successful experiments, than the faithful journals 

 of success and of disappointment. In order to render expe- 

 rimental farms generally useful, they ought to be open to 

 the inspection of the public; the account of each experiment 

 ought to be regularly published, and every new practice, 

 likely to improve the cultivation of any considerable part of 

 the kingdom, ought to be examined with the utmost preci- 

 sion, every trial repeated for confirmation, and, if possible, 

 made by different persons, in different places, and on diffe- 

 rent soils. 



2 K 



