204 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
LETTER FROM EURUPE. 
We are happy to present our readers with the follow¬ 
ing interesting letter from Mr. J. P. Norton, of whose de¬ 
parture from this country, we spoke in our May number; 
and they will be pleased to learn that it is the first of a 
series we have reason to expect from him during his stay 
in Europe. 
Durham , England, June 1, 1844. 
Messrs. Editors: —The sight of your paper in a fo¬ 
reign land, has afforded me much pleasure, and I am hap¬ 
py to say that it does not suffer by comparison with 
English periodicals devoted to the same subject. It has 
seemed to me that a slight sketch of my first impressions 
of the country might perhaps be interesting to your read¬ 
ers. With some allowance for exaggeration after twen¬ 
ty-five days at sea, the country about Liverpool on the 
12th of May, seemed to me perfectly charming. The 
grass was of the most brilliant green; the wheat in some 
fields was nearly a foot in height; the plowed fields were 
neat as gardens; trees were scattered about in sufficient 
numbers to vary the landscape, and the neatl)- trimmed 
hedges, in many peaces just bursting into bloom, com¬ 
pleted a picture of cultivation such as I hope we shall 
yet boast of in America. Since that time, I have learned 
that all England is not in such a state of perfection. 
Some of the fields in the coal districts have reminded me 
strongly of like ones at home, always excepting the 
hedges, which, even if ill-trimmed, give a certain air to 
a field that no crooked or stump fence can do. It is 
mueh to be desired that this method of fencing may be 
introduced among us, though hardly to be expected 
where wood and stone are so abundant as in our eastern 
states. 
The country about the city of Durham, is not as fine 
nor the farming as good as in many parts of England. 
Coal is the great production of this region, and the tall 
chimnies of the collieries, surrounded by black machinery 
tor hoisting, and huge heaps of refuse coal, meet the eye 
in every direction. One of these pits near Sunder¬ 
land is worked at the depth of about 1500 fr.belowthe level 
of the sea. As you go north to Newcastle and Shields, 
about fourteen miles from this place, their number in¬ 
creases, till, on the banks of the Tyne, the -volumes of 
smoke poured from their chimnies, joined with that from 
many alkali works and furnaces, overspreads the whole 
country and fills the air with the odor of bituminous 
coal. 
In the course of a visit to Hexam, Northumberland, I 
saw some excellent farms in the beautiful valley of 
Tyne. One of the best was that of Mr. Harbo 4t ’e, near 
Hexam. He practices a five year rotation; two ‘ars in 
clover, cutting the first and feeding to sheep or . tie the 
second year; barley or oats succeed, then turneps, car¬ 
rots and potatoes, or other roots, and finally wheat. He 
had twenty-two acres of Swedish turneps in the ground, 
and expected to have nearly the same quantity of white 
turneps and potatoes. There must have been about six¬ 
ty acres of wheat, oats and barley. He keeps 12 or 34 
horses at work constantly, and does his thrashing by 
steam. He showed a sample of last years wheat pulled 
from the stack, a bushel of which weighed 66 lbs. One| 
thing is to be remarked as to his plowing; the drills for) 
potatoes or turneps are run diagonally across the field; 1 
the plough next year is not run at right angles directly 
across the ridges, but at a very obtuse angle, thereby 
mixing the manure in each drill very completely Avith 
the soil, anti causing the succeeding grain crop to come 
up evenly. Another advantage occurred to me, which 
was that in diagonal plowing the team can go nearer to 
the fence. The crops in this region are now suffering 
much from drouth, as there has been no rain for nearly 
four weeks, more than very slight showers. 
The city of Durham is chiefly remarkable for its Ca¬ 
thedral and Castle, the latter now the seat of the Universi¬ 
ty of Durham; the former is a truly noble building, and 
most interesting for its antiquity. It was founded in 
1094: just 750 years ago, and its stones are worn by the 
feet of warriors, nobles, priests and kings, who in olden 
times flocked to St. Cuthbert’s shrine. It looks as if an¬ 
other seven hundred years might pass on, without sap¬ 
ping its massive walls. The great central tower is 214 
feet in height; the length of the chancel within, is 411 
feet, and of the nave 200. Some of the pillars are 23 
feet in circumference. 
My next letter will be from Edinburgh, where I hope 
soon to be established, in the laboratory of Prof. Johns¬ 
ton, accomplishing the object of my visit to this country, 
a thorough knowledge of analytical chemistry as applied 
to agriculture. In compliance with your request, I shall 
be very happy to give you from time to time, a report of 
our proceedings there, and of such practical observa¬ 
tions as I may make in excursions through the country. 
John P. Norton. 
STATE OF AGRICULTURE IN IRELAND. 
An impression seems to prevail in this country that 
the distresses of Ireland, arise from over population—in 
other words, that the soil of that island does not, and 
cannot yield sufficient subsistence for the number of its 
inhabitants. We are satisfied that this is not the case. 
The miseries of the Irish people arise not from a defi¬ 
ciency of agricultural products, but from the inequality 
of their distribution. An article in the last number of 
the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, on the 
past and present condition of the agriculture of Ireland, 
by William Blacker, Esq., contains many very important 
facts. These facts are of the more consequence, as ma¬ 
ny of them have a direct bearing on the interests of our 
own country. 
Mr. Blacker contrasts the present condition of Ireland 
with what it was about the commencement of the pre¬ 
sent century, or at the time when the celebrated Arthur 
Young made his tour through that country. From this 
it appears, that though population has greatly increased, 
yet production has increased in a greater ratio, and upon 
the whole, the condition of the people has been much 
ameliorated. In fact the modern agricultural improve¬ 
ments in some parts of Ireland, are quite astonishing. 
At the time of Mr. Young’s tour, none of the present 
means of improvement—such as draining, house-feeding 
of stock, turneps, clover, and the cultivated grasses— 
were practiced; and worse management than generally 
prevailed, could hardly be imagined. 
ii The consequences,” says Mr. B. (e attending such a 
state of things could not be otherwise than most disas¬ 
trous. Although the country was not one-third peopled, 
the miserable inhabitants year after year were exposed 
to all the horrors of famine, followed loo generally by 
disease; and even in favorable seasons they were most 
commonly under the necessity of importing food. Con¬ 
trasting the then state of Ireland, as described by Young, 
j with its altered condition in the present day, when it 
i j maintains thi-ee times the number of inhabitants, besides 
I exporting more food than the whole of the island pro¬ 
duced in those times; and comparing also the general 
state of its present population with what it was then, 
they being beyond all contradiction better fed, belter 
clothed, and better housed now than was then the case; 
it seems impossible to deny that, as population increases, 
the condition of society improves, notwithstanding all 
that may be said to the contrary: and the truth of this 
i not only appears on a comparison of the general state of 
! the country now with what it was many years back, but 
| it also appears by a comparison between the state of the 
east and west of the kingdom at this present moment. 
In the west and south -west the population is small, and 
exhibits every appearance of poverty and destitution; 
whereas in the east and north-east, where the population 
is great, they are comparatively in the enjoyment of all 
the comforts of life. One cannot help being struck with 
the positive contradiction which these simple facts give 
to all the assertions of those who argue that the misery 
to be met with in Ireland is brought on by over popula¬ 
tion. The misery is to be met with, generally speak¬ 
ing, where the population is thinnest; and the least of it 
is to be seen where the population is greatest. The 
question may naturally here be asked—How can this be 
accounted for? The answer is plain. The misery is 
occasioned not by the excess of the population in pro- 
