12-24 



STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. 



rAur IV^ 



&c. it is not uncommon for ploughmen, as well as various descriptions of operatives, to belong to ganJcucrs' 

 lodges. In the southern districts where sheep farming is followed there are some shepherds' societies, for 

 mutual interchange of experience, and aid in case of losses of such sheep as are the shepiierd's j)erquisite. 

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

 of benefit societies ; but these do not come under the description of professional. 



7911. Agricultural societies for interchange of knowledge are of modern date, but they have increasecl 

 rapidly since 1791 : the number at present or lately existing in the British isles is at least equal to the 

 number of the counties. Societies of this description are either general, as the Board of Agriculture and 

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

 West of England Society ; provincial, as county societies ; or parochial, as being limitetl to a few indivi- 

 duals within one parish. Of this kind are far mers*^- chibs, ploughing societies, &c. In regard to the end 

 in view, these societies either embrace the arts in general ; the rural arts in general ; some branch of the 

 rural art, as agriculture; or some department in that branch, as live stock, siieep, wool, &c. 



7912. All these societies hold meetings at stated periods. Most of them offer premiums for ixirticnlar 

 objects, specimens of vegetable or animal culture or produce, agricultural operations, moral and profes- 

 sional merits as servants, 8ic. ; some of them form a library and museum of models or full-sized imple- 

 ments ; a 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 supix>rted, 

 and tlie funds for premiums raised, by the subscriptions of members, and by voluntary donati>ns, legacies^, 

 &c. ; bfat some, as the Board of Agriculture and the Dublin Society, have receiveil assistance from go- 

 vernment. 



7913 Of English agricultural societies thie oldest is the Society of Arts, founded in 1754 oy Lord Folk- 

 stone, Lord Komney, Dr. Hales, and Shepley. They have published many volumes of transactio<>s, 

 awarded immense sums in premiums, and on the whole done much good. (See Rees's Ci/c. art. Society.) 



7914. The Hath and West of Eiif^land Society was founded in 

 1777, for purpo-ics similar to those of the IJondon Society of 

 Arts. They have published some valuable volumes of trans- 

 actions, and distributed various rewards. Sec. {Rees's Ct/c. X,'c.) 



71(15. . Tht Board of A^!(ricitUin-e was founded, under the au- 

 thority of government, in 1793. Much was expected from 

 this Board ; but, except the publication of the county reporti, 

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

 well be asked what advantages arose froni it. Their Ccmimit- 

 nications, in several quarto volumes, contain fewer v^lual^le 

 liapers, in proportion to their total number, than the publica- 

 tions of either the Txjndon Society of Arts or the Bath Society. 

 In short it ha* been ably shown, in The Farmer's AUi^azine and 



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

 that the Board never directetl its etTorts in a manner suitable 

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

 modes of culture, its attention ought to have been directed to 

 the removal of the political obstatdes to agriculture, ar)d to t6e 

 eliciting of agricultural talent b.v honorary rewards, &c. No 

 idea is more erroneous than that of such a Board,or any other, 

 doing, much good by a national " experiraentiil farm." The 

 goverriment withdrew its sui>i>ort ftt>m this Board about IS1(5; 

 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 pretensioni and its worse thaa 

 inuUlity. : . r . 



791(5. Of Welsh societies there are only two or three, of inferior note, which have been already notioed 

 in the topography of the country. 



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

 Society. 



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

 it had a grant of 3000/." from government. Jt has published 

 7 viols, of prize eisays and papers, and now extends its prizes to 

 all the low counties of Scotland. {Farm. Mag. vol. 16. p. 31C.J 



7918. Thi BigMund Society of Scotland was established, in 

 1715, to enquire into the state of the highlands, to consider (he 

 niCcins of their improvement and the presen'ation of their lan- 

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



7919. Of Irish societies the principal are the Dublin Society and the Cork Institution; 



mon purposes of life, originated in private subscriptions, aboirt 

 the beginning of the present century. It has since been incor- 

 porated, and has received the assistance of government. It 

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

 auspices are delivered lectures on chemistry, botany, agricul- 

 tu^-e, &c, ; it is not, however, in a flourishing state, and has 

 never been of much use. 



7923. The principal county societies in the three fcingdbmg 

 have been noticed in the topography of agriculture: many of 

 them were established several years before the Board of Agri. 

 culture. 



795JO. 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 Kurtn'e; but 

 the Edinburgh Agricultural Society, as we have seen (77.'). and 

 801.), was established nearly ten yeajs befpre, The Dublin 

 Society, in its ])resent advanced state, is one of the most coin- 

 pl.;te establishments of the kind. {Rees's Cyc. Krt. Dublin.) 



7921. The FarmineSocietii of Ireland was established under 

 the patronage of the Dublin Soi;iety, in 1800. The object is to 

 Improve the agricultureand lire stock of the kingdom. (Archer's 

 DiUdin, 160.) 



7922. The Cork Institution, for applying science to the com- 



7924. The only othei- institutions for the improvement of agriculturists and agriculture are public profeS^ 

 soTships. Of these there is one in the imivcrsity of Edinburgh, estabhshed in 1795; one in Dublin, si^^- 

 ported by the Dublin Society ; one in Cork ; and one is destined to be established at some future peridd m 

 Qiford, agreeably to the will and donation of Dr. Sibthorpe (806. and 7789.), professor of botany thefe^ 



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BOOK II. 



THE FUTURE TROGHESS OF AGRICULTURE IN BRITAIN. 



7925. The improvement of agriculture, like that of every art, manufacture, or com- 

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

 mand 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 that 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 a, 

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



