134 
of nature. But in England, which has risen to a pinnacle 
unattained by any nation in the world in the arts and in 
commerce, agriculture languishes ! And why do we hear of 
agricultural distress in the midst of continual demand for 
agricultural produce ? Why is she obliged to import not 
only a large proportion of corn, but an enormous quantity of 
manures to raise her own corn ? The reason is obvious. 
Those employed in the agricolation of Great Britain under- 
value those substances which constitute the chief food of the 
vegetable kingdom, and therefore the agriculture of England 
is inferior to that of Belgium, China, and several other por- 
tions of the Continent of Europe. 
At the conclusion of the paper, Mr. Thorp was loudly 
cheered. 
The Chairman said he should be very glad if any gentle- 
man would comment on the paper which had just been read. 
It was only by discussion that truth could be elicited, and if 
there was any difference of opinion, he was quite sure Mr. 
Thorp would feel pleasure in hearing it expressed. 
J. W. Childers, Esq. M.P. was afraid he could not en- 
lighten the meeting much on the subject, and hi^ main object 
in rising was to express his thanks to Mr. Thorp for his ex- 
ceedingly able and most useful paper. It was a paper which 
he should have very great pleasure in seeing printed. As a 
member of two societies, the Royal Agricultural Society of 
England, and the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, he be- 
lieved both would be exceedingly gratified and interested 
with the information that had been communicated. Owing 
to a combination of unfortunate circumstances, neither of 
those societies had yet been able to offer such productions to 
the public. An arrangement had been made last year with 
a distinguished geologist. Professor Phillips, to go over the 
same district as that described by Mr. Thorp, and to report 
