558 Original Letters of Dr. Franklin. 
principles to rural economy and other useful arts. He was 
the son of the Rev. Joseph Eliot of Guilford, Connecticut, 
and was born Noy. 7, 1685. He received the degree of 
Master of Arts at Yale College in 1706, and spent his life at 
Killingworth. He died in 1763. He was a man of such 
uncommon vigor and industry, that he was at once a min- 
ister of religion—a practising physician—a naturalist and phi- 
losopher—an agriculturalist, and a cultivator of some other 
of the useful arts. He became so distinguished, that -he 
was made an honorary member of the Royal Society of 
London, and his correspondence and acquaintance were 
sought by many eminent men, who were drawn towards him 
by his social and amiable qualities, as well as. by his talents 
and learning. 
The Essays of Mr. Eliot on field husbandry, the earliest 
of which appeared in 1747, and which were continued annu- 
ally for several years, attracted so much attention that they 
were extensively read and published, both in the other colo- 
nies, and in England. We have recently perused them 
with much satisfaction. Although written in the guaznt and 
unformed style, which, with few exceptions, prevailed in this 
country at the period when they were composed, they are 
so replete with good sense—with proofs of original and acute 
discrimination, and with important facts, that they are, even 
at the present time, valuable, and with due revision, and the 
addition of some notes relative to modern improvements, 
these essays might be worthy of republication. They ap- 
pear to have been the principal means of bringing the author 
acquainted with his distant correspondents. 
We have recently been put into possession of a conside- 
rable number of original letters, addressed to Mr. Eliot, by 
several eminent men both at home and abroad ; they were 
obtained from one of his deseendants, and we propose occa- 
sionally to publish some of them in this Journal. Among 
them were several from Dr. Franklin, and few things which 
fell from his pen can be uninteresting to hiscountrymen. We 
shall give several of his letters on the present occasion, 
1. From Dr. Franklin to Mr. Eliot—a fragment without 
date, but appears to have been written before 1747,.—Ep. 
Sir—I have perused your two Essays on Field Husband- 
ry, and think the public may be much benefitted by them 
