16—1846.] 
THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 
257 
ULEY IRON WORKS, NEAR DURSLEY, 
GLOUCESTERSHIRE, 
Important to Iron Founders, Engineers, Agriculturists, Agri- 
ultural Implement Makers, and others, 
The Earr or Duct, having disposed of the above-named 
Property, has honourec 
X HUMPHRYS axp Co. with instructions to ar- 
e rango for SALE BY AUCTION, on Tunspay, May 5, 
1816, and following days of business (Fridays and 8 
and Monday the 10th excepted), until the whole is dispo: 
THE VERY VALUABLE EFFECTS of. 
manufactured Stock, Fixtures, Tools, 
Comprehending Driving Shafts, Gearing; Planing, 
rilling Machines; Slide and other Lathes ; 
Benches, Screw kle, and other Tools; Fan Blower, Cu- 
polas, Crane, Moulding Boxes, and an extensive assortment 
of Wheel and other patterns; Brass Founders’ Tools ; Port- 
able and other Smith’s Forges, with Anvils and Tools; Pat- 
3 ", and heelwrights’ Benches ; Circu- 
arious kinds, well-seasoned ; a quantit, 
ous kinds, partly manufactured and com- 
p t qu y of Bar and other Iron; Cast and Blis- 
tered Steel; Counting.house Fixtures; the one-half Share of 
the Uley Patent Chaff Cutter; a Richmond Cart and Spring 
ditto; a useful Draught Horse and Gig ditto ; Sets of Harness, 
and numerous miscellaneous Effects. 
ull and descriptive Particulars will appear in Catalogues at 
15. each, which may be obtained 7 days prior to the Sale at the 
Midland Counties’ Herald Office, Birmingham ; Guardian Office, 
Manchester; Mercury Office, Bristol; at the Works; or the 
Auctioneers’ Offices, Stroud and Wotton-under-Edge. Cata- 
Yogues will be sent on a post-paid application, inclosing 12 
postage stamps. 
Rar The Sale will commence each day at 12 o'elock to the 
minute, 
CHEAP AND DURABLE ROOFING, 
AND THE BEST due E ERORE FOR GARDEN 
PURPOSES. 
BY HER ROYAL LETTERS 
MAJESTY'S PATENT. 
Kose EY D 
E MNEILL & CO., of Lamb’s Buildings, Bunhill- 
* row, London, Manufacturers and only Patentees of 
THE PATENT ASPHALTED FELT FOR ROOFING, 
ears has been in extensive use for Roofin: 
ouses, Veranda ‘all kinds of Farm Buildings, Sheds, and 
for COVERING GARDEN FRAMES, TO PROTECT PLANTS 
AGAINST THE EFFECTS OF THE FROST, beg to call the 
e 
attention of Gardeners and others to their superior artic! 
which has been exhibited at the Great Agricultural Shows of England, 
Scotland, and Ireland, and obtained the Prize for being the best 
and cheapest article for roofing, dc., and is also patronized by 
Her Majesty’s Board of Ordnance, Commissioners of Woods and 
Forests, the Hon. the East India Company, and the Botanical 
Gardens, Regent's-park, It is extensively used in the gardens 
of several noblemen and gentlemen in the neighbourhood of 
London, and in different parts of the country, to whom refer- 
ence is made. This Felt is composed of the strongest and most 
durable materials, and is saturated with the BEST OF AS- 
PHALTE OR BITUMEN (THE SAME AS SELECTED AND USED 
BY SIR IsAMBERT BRUNEL FOR THE THAMES TUNNEL, BEING 
FOUND THE MOST ELASTIC AND EFFECTIVE RESISTER OF WET). 
NO OTHER FELT HAS THIS ASPHALTE BUT F. M:NEILL 
CO0.s, and which renders it impervious to rain, snow, and 
frost, and a non-conductor of heat and sound. Its advantages 
are Lightness, Warmth, Durability, and Economy. — Price 
ONLY ONE PENNY PER SQUARE Foor. 
%,* Samples, with Directions for its Use, and Testimonials 
of seven years’ experience (which contain much useful informa- 
tion), from Noblemen, Gentlemen, Gardeners, Architects, and 
Builders, sent FREE to any part of the Town or Country, and 
orders by Post executed. 
The new Vice-Chancellor’s Courts, the Offices attached, and 
ages leading to Westminster-hall, Dr. Reid's Offices, and 
other Buildings at the New Houses of Parliament, are roofe 
with F. M:NgtLL and Co.’s Felt, andis known by its having the 
appearance of lead roofs. 
Sa^ The Public is respectfully cautioned against misrepre- 
sentation, as the only Works in Great Britain where the above 
Patent Roofing is madeis F. M‘NEILL & Co.'s Manufactories, 
Lamb's-buildings, Bunhill-row, London. 
The Agricultural Gazette. 
SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 1846. 
MEETINGS FOR THE TWO FOLLOWING WEEKS. 
AYxpxrspAY, April 92—A gricultnral Society of England. 
= Agricul! ural Imp. Soc, of Ireland. 
— Agricultural Society cf England. 
THURSDAY, — 80—Agricultural Imp. Soc. of Ireland, 
LOCAL SOCIETIES.—E. Cumberland—Lancaster. 
FARMERS' CLUBS. 
-Botley April £9 
April 90 -Wrentham 
— K- Rhins of Galloway E 
— 25-Hereford f May 
— 27 —Wellington - Darlington E 
Jaydon 
2—Melrose—Monmouth 
We beg the attention of our readers to the ope- 
rations of two large and, in some respects, similar 
Societies in this country. Each of them receives 
the patronage of a great number of the well- 
educated and the influential; each, in the endea- 
vour to excite and maintain an interest in the ob- 
jects of its establishment, hold a large and attractive 
annual meeting; each, anxious to diffuse the 
knowledge it acquires, publishes an annual volume 
of Transactions. The one, Tur Britis Associa- 
TION FOR THE ADYANCEMENT or SCIENCE, aims at 
increasing and diffusing an acquaintance with 
Natural Philosophy, Chemistry, Natural History, 
&e. The other, Tur Rovar AGRICULTURAL So- 
crery or ENGLAND, desires the improvement of an 
art to the theory of which all these sciences con- 
tribute. There is very considerable similarity here 
in the end proposed to be attained ; such, indeed, that 
we might expect an almost identity in the machinery 
employed. The subjects which engage the atten- 
tion of these Societies are, in both cases, extremely 
Various, and each of them has its devotees by whom 
it has been thoroughly investigated, and to whom 
it is familiar. The districts successively visited by 
these Societies differ in their agricultural as well as 
in their scientific character, and in each there are 
to be found those who have distinguished them. 
selves among their neighbours by superiority of ac- 
quaintance with some one or other among the depart- 
ments of agriculture as well as of science. Now, 
the British Association goes to work in a way likely 
both to concentrate all the existing knowledge on 
each of the subjects it patronises, and also to deve- 
lop and exhibit the results of local talent aud local 
industry in eagh of the districts it visits. The va- 
rious sections of its business are committed to sepa- 
rate committees, each of which confines its attention 
exclusively to the matters within its own jurisdic- 
tion; and each of them being assisted by men emi- 
nent for their attainments in their respective depart- 
ments, and being officered by men selected from the 
neighbourhoods visited, is in a position well calcu- 
lated both to increase the stores of its knowledge 
and to excite a local interest in the subjects of its 
inquiries. The funds, too, of this Society, barring 
the unavoidable expenses of its management, are 
applied exclusively in quarters, and for purposes, 
which the distinguished men who manage its affairs 
know as the most likely to further its objects. Look 
over the official reports of this Society, and you will 
nowhere find so vague an offer as one of reward 
for an account of“ the best experiment” in science ; 
the labours of its working members are not left thus 
to expend themselves, it may be, on unworthy and 
useless investigations ; they are directed by its 
office-bearers into channels where they are likely 
to be fruitful. 
Now, why cannot the English Agricultural Society 
in the management of its affairs, follow an example 
here so well set? This question was asked the 
other day, at a meeting of its Council, by Mr. 
Tuomrson—a gentleman to whom we owe the esta- 
blishment of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, 
and to whom on other accounts our respectful atten- 
tion is due—and he has obtained a committee to in- 
yestigate the subject, and to report to the Council 
next Wednesday. We heartily hope his effort to 
improve the Society’s present method of conducting 
business may succeed. Why should our Agricul- 
tural Society not follow the example of the British 
Association for the advancement of Science? The 
subjects which it patronises are as various—it might 
have its sections A, B, C, &c., each with its com- 
mittee of management, as far on in the alphabet as 
the other, and yet each should have a sufficiently 
extensive and well-defined jurisdiction. Communi- 
cations bearing on the condition of the labourer 
might be referred to section A. Discussions on 
points connected with the conversion of food into 
beef, mutton, bacon, pork, cheese, milk, wool, &e., 
might be held under section B. Papers connected 
with the cultivation of plants, their habits of growth 
and produee, should belong to section C. 
Section D might discuss all matters referring to 
agricultural mechanics. Section E should take cog- 
nizance of everything connected with the cultiva- 
tion of the soil, regarding it as a storehouse of 
vegetable food, to which a plentiful supply and a 
ready access are both desirable things ; papers con- 
nected with the subjects of manures and drainage 
would be referable here, &c., &c. Or any other 
classification of agricultural subjects might be 
adopted—one more simple might, perhaps, be ad- 
visable in the beginning—all we contend for is, the 
propriety of an effort being made by our national 
Agricultural Societies to bring into exercise the 
talents, information, and industry latent amongst 
agriculturists all over the country. 
Should the English Agricultural Society advertise 
its intention to adopt some such scheme at the en- 
suing Neweastle meeting, and appoint its commit- 
tees to carry it into execution, farmers would go 
there not as they hitherto have done, merely to 
have the sentiment of wonder pleasingly excited— 
they would not go merely as on a pleasure excur- 
sion—they would consider their travelling expenses 
as a “business” investment—each having some 
specific object in view, some point requiring expla- 
nation, would, on his arrival, at once be directed 
where to obtain all the information or experience 
upon it that exists. What an improvement would 
this be upon the arrangement which at present ob- 
tains, where visiters can never come together under 
the auspices of the Society, except as part of hun- 
dreds or of thousands—numbers utterly useless and 
impracticable, either for the communication or for 
the reception of information ! 
Farmers, like frogs, are sorely exposed to pelt- 
ing ; this is, perhaps, one of the reasons that make 
it rather difficult sometimes for us to keep our heads 
above water. No sooner do we take a stroke up- 
wards and try for a breath of fresh air, than a shower 
of stones comes thick as hail from every quarter ; 
our foes pelt in earnest, and our friends tn fun; 
«fon for them but death to us." But, thank 
Heaven, we have, both, the melancholy privilege of 
croaking. We enjoyed alike this right under the 
successive reigns of King Log and King Stork. 
]t has never been denied us: it is our Magna 
Charta ; long usage and habit have made it a pre- 
scription and a privilege; and we shall cling to it 
to the death. We are misrepresented by our foes 
as demanding legislative advantages, at the expense 
of all the rest of the community ; and we are misre- 
presented by our friends, as being willing to resign 
them only on the condition of others more injurious 
than what we abandon. * Defend us from our 
friends !” 
We have never been distinguished as special 
admirers of taxation, but we have as frequent oppor- 
tunities all the year round as most people, of 
learning from the rough teaching of Nature the 
truth of the motto, that * what can't be cured must 
be endured ;" her silence teaches us to hold our 
tongues under infliction which is unavoidable; and 
there is a truthfulness and stubborn honesty about 
the very clods we turn up with the plough, which 
tell us, somehow or other, that while we render 
unto God the things which are God’s, we 
are equally bound to render unto Cæsar the 
things which are Caesar's; that when a man 
or a nation is in debt, the least that can 
be done is to pay the interest of it. We are 
not great financiers ; and we "hate politics” as 
cordially as the young lady at the tea-table waiting 
for the gentlemen ; therefore we seldom intermeddle 
in either. But it is as tantalising to sit still under 
misrepresentation as to wait in vain while the best 
Pekoe-flavoured souchong is growing cold ; there- 
fore, if the gentlemen who have been settling the 
affairs of the nation will so try our patience, they 
must expect us to use our privilege. We are mis 
represented, amongst other things, as demanding a 
repeal of the Malt-tax as a set-off against the loss 
of our precious protected prices. Now, when our 
friends and fellow-croakers, the frogs, took Stork 
for king instead of Log, they found that exchange 
is not always a bargain; and when we look the 
infliction of the Malt-tax well in the face, we read , 
in it two questions ; firstly, whether it can be con- 
veniently got rid of? secondly, whether, if got rid 
of, we shall be better off than we were before ? We 
speak as farmers,—therefore, of course, as fools; 
but it does appear to our dull, lumbering intelli- 
gence, that shifting a burden does not get rid of it ; 
that the left shoulder will grow just as sore as the 
right; and that robbing Peter is a short-sighted 
way of paying Paul. 
The squire tells us that we are in debt to the tune 
of 800,000,0002., and that our annual rent for the 
snug little farm of England, and-its outlying fields, 
is something like 50,000,000/. ; that the national 
landlord will have his money, and that it must be 
raised, one way or another. He tells us that 
5,000,0007. out of the 50,000,0007. is paid by the 
Malt-tax, and that if that be taken off, it must be 
paid by something else. Now, we hate taxes, as 
we said before; therefore we hate the Malt-tax ; 
but it oecurs to our mind that we shall, on the 
same principle, hate just as much any other 
tax that is imposed in its stead. 
The question, therefore, seems to be, not whether 
the Malt-tax is an eviland a burthen ; but whether 
any other that ean be proposed in its place will be 
a less evil or a less burthen. It is easy work to 
show that any one given tax js a nuisance ; none 
can be otherwise; but candidly and honestly speak- 
ing, is the Malt-tax such a nuisance as to warrant 
our throwing it off and taking some other in its 
place? What shall we have? It will require a 
levy of some sort, equal in amount to nearly the 
whole property and income-tax of the kingdom now 
existing, to make up the deficiency. If it be ad- 
mitted that interest fairly due must be fairly paid, 
the money must be raised somehow or other. The 
farmer will be sure to be saddled with his share, 
and what he does not pay directly, must be paid by 
the rest of the community, who are all his cus- 
tomers; and it is not his interest to make them 
poorer, if he can help it. What other tax then, 
shall we propose in its place? The ingenuity of 
gifted minds has vented itself in letters to Sir 
Rozert Pret, to propose new subjects for taxa- 
tion in the room of the old ones. Some hardy 
weather-proof folks suggested umbrellas as fit 
objects for Treasury consideration and financial 
vengeance ; but we object to that ; for the farmer 
lives much out-of-doors, and besides we pay smartly 
already upon the silk and the whalebone. We 
were thinking, in our feeble attempts at a sugges- 
tion, of a tax upon Hedgerows. They occupy in 
Devonshire and some other favoured districts more 
than 10 per cent. upon the average of a farm, 
and they seem to benefit nobody but birds, vermin, 
and Ash-trees, none of them particularly profitable 
to the farmer. A poll-tax upon Ash trees, and a 
lineal running duty upon hedges, might raise a trifle 
