Farming of Yorhsldre. 87 
4. That cheap manuips, costing, it may bo, only l.s'. por ton, 
in reality are jjenorally more expensive turnip-manures than ferti- 
lizers which, like Peruvian guano, cost 13/. a ton, or superphos- 
phate, costing from 6Z. to 8/. a ton. 
A'rw/f/ Agricultural Collerje, Cireuaster, 
Jaw. IGth, 1861. 
V. — Oji the Improvements in tlic Farming of Yorhsldre since the 
date of the last Reports in the Journal. By William Wright. 
Twelve years have elapsed since the Royal Agricultural Society 
held its annual county meeting at York, and that occasion 
was deemed a fitting opportunity for examining into the state 
of agriculture in the Three Ridings. The time having an-ived 
when the Society again remembers us, the same inquiry again 
naturally suggests itself, and the Earl of Powis has nobly 
come forwai'd to elicit investigation on the subject by the offer 
of a special prize. The question presented to us is, whether 
Yorkshire has improved since the last meeting. Has it kept 
pace with the other counties of England in the race of agricul- 
tural advancement ? Is its land better and more extensively 
drained ? Are the farm-houses and tenements better built ? Are 
the crops heavier and superior in quality ? On these and many 
other topics an answer is called for. It is not without a just 
appreciation of the range and importance of the subject that we 
enter upon the task of replying to these inquiries, and, whilst 
endeavouring to show what has been done, claim the privilege 
of pointing out what yet remains to be accomplished. 
The 1 Orkshireman is, for the most part, proud of his county: 
its great extent, its pre-eminence for manufactures of wool, cot- 
ton, and silk (the two latter being shared with Lancashire) ; its 
extensive coal, iron, and lead mines, which are worked with 
great vigour and success ; and, lastly, the high state of farming 
attained in many of its districts, all combine to give it a prominent 
place among the counties of England. Its growing commerce, 
Avhilst attesting the enterprising spirit of its inhabitants, greatly 
assists the interests of the farmer, and the perfection attained by 
the machine-makers of Leeds and other towns has likewise lent 
its influence to agriculture. Moreover, the zeal with which 
Leeds, Hull, York, Wakefield, Doncaster, and Harrogate con- 
tested the honour of receiving the Royal Society, is a sufficient 
evidence of the estimation in which the science and practice of 
agriculture is held in our great commercial towns. 
We must first recall attention to the reports in the ninth volume 
