BEV. W. THORP, B.A. — AGRICULTURAL GEOLOGY, ETC. 219 
elements removed from the soils by the crops, the quality and 
quantity of manure necessary to replace the absorbed elements and 
restore fertility to the soil, are exhaustively treated. The pres- 
ervation and use of manures resulting from cattle, horses and 
men, are dealt with and compared with those derived at great 
expense from foreign sources. The state of agriculture on the 
district under observation is described and suggestions offered for its 
improvement. The rotation of crops and keeping sheep and cattle are 
strongly insisted upon, and the rev. lecturer concludes " In fact the 
great secret in agriculture is to follow the indications of Providence. 
It has, however, ordained a gTeat circle of transmutations. Vege- 
tables collect food from inorganic bodies, while animals derive sus- 
tenance from vegetables ; the decay of both affords a fresh supply of 
nutrition to vegetables. The atmosphere is a vehicle for the supply 
of one substance, the earth of another, and one remaining constituent 
has been left to be adduced by man. In some countries man does 
follow the suggestions of the laws 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 agricul- 
tural produce ? Why is she obliged to import not only a large pro- 
portion of corn, but an enormous quantity of manures to raise her 
own corn ? The reason is obvious. Those employed in the agi-icola- 
tion of Great Britain undervalue those substances which constitute 
the chief food of the vegetable kingdom, and therefore the agricul- 
ture of England is inferior to that of China, Belgium, and several 
other countries of the continent of Europe." 
This passage, with some modifications, might very well be 
applied to the state of agriculture at the present time, and it appears 
that fifty years ago the farmers were in as poor a condition as they are 
now ; it still remains a question for the scientific agriculturist 
whether all the manures are used in cultivation which might be. At 
any rate, in a thickly populated district as the West Riding is, where 
great quantities of refuse are constantly accumulated which are 
admirably fitted for manures, whether some method cannot be devised 
by which they may be rendered serviceable to the agriculturist, at a 
sufficiently small cost to make their use remunerative. 
