599 HUSBANDRY. 
formation from the minifter, or.either houfe of parlia¬ 
ment, the board has afted on various occafions in per- 
feft conformity with the theory of its inftitution ; and I 
need not obferve how extremely neceflary it is to be pre¬ 
pared, with this view, by having fuch well-arranged col- 
leftions of fafts, as may at once be applicable to the in¬ 
quiries which may probably come from higher aflemblies 
to this board. Another branch of our quiefcent duties, 
and perhaps not the leaft important, is that of confider- 
ing the inftitution'as an office of intelligence, for the ufe 
of individuals who deiire information on any fubjeft of 
rural economy. It is certainly the duty of the fecretary 
to give at all times, and to all perfons, every, fpecies of 
information in his power ; to make whatever inquiries 
may be neceflary, with that view; and to introduce inch 
perfons to each other, as can beft fupply their mutual 
wants ; and it is no exaggeration to aflert, that this has 
been done to the amount of fome thoufands of cafes. 
The inftitution was hardly eftablifhed, before a fevere. 
fcarcity afflifted the kingdom; and the board, with the 
utmoft afliduity, gave an immediate attention to a fubjeft 
which naturally drew upon it every eye. To anfwer the 
immediate preffure, many experiments were ordered and 
executed on the manufafturing of bread from every fpe¬ 
cies of grain which could, by various mixtures, be made, 
to enter into its compofition. Fourfcore forts of bread 
were at once exhibited to the eyes of the public; and 
thofe who recolleft the examination, muff remember the 
pleafure very generally expreffed at the fight of- a re¬ 
source which till then had been quite unknown. Thefe 
experiments were regiftered and printed, and remain for 
future ule. 
But an object of much greater importance alfo occu¬ 
pied the attention of the board ; this was the cultivation 
of the immenfe waftes of the kingdom, by a general en- 
clofure aft. In order to afcertain the amount of thefe 
deferts, fo aifgraceful to the richeft country in the world, 
inquiries were let on foot in every diftrift, and the refult 
produced the enormous amount of more than twenty- 
two millions of acres ! The energy and vigour with which 
the prefident executed the wdllies of the board, in making 
thefe inquiries, and in framing a bill that fhould remedy 
fo great an evil, merited the higheft commendation, and 
delerves the gratitude of every fucceeding age; though 
the effort unfortunately was unfuccefsful; and it is la¬ 
mentable to reflect, that the obftacles which arofe to the 
meafure we r e aggravated in no flight degree by efforts of 
private intereft. 
The next effort to which I beg leave to call your at¬ 
tention, was a luccefsful attempt to bring all the weights 
and meafures of the kingdom under the fummary jurildic- 
tion of the magillrate. The board received ample infor¬ 
mation that the poor were defrauded in a multitude of 
cafes, more efpecially in villages, by defeftive weights 
and meafures, without there exifting lufficient powers for 
the fpeedy application of a remedy; it requefted one of 
its members to bring a bill into parliament to remedy the 
evil; this was done, and it palled into a law which has 
ever ftnce been a blefling to thoufands. 
An aft of parliament which had its origin in the board, 
was that which toqk off a prepofterous duty on the im¬ 
port of oil-cakes from America; and another legillative 
meafure adopted on the recommendation of the board 
was, the exemption from e-xcile granted to draining-tiles; 
an objeft of no flight importance, as, without this atten¬ 
tion, the tax would have operated as a prohibition in this 
branch of the Aril of all improvements. 
An 'objeft which at a very early period attrafted the 
attention of the board, was the inquiry into the propriety 
of annexing land to cottages. Some perfons entertaining 
doubts asto the general application of this fyltem, the board 
adopted a meafure that was founded in prudence, in order 
to afcertain how far this fyftem extended., and what were 
us effefts in fitustions removed from the immediate fu- 
perinteridence of a few humane landlords. The board, 
under the aufpices of a noble lord, himfelf the beneficent 
patronifer of the fyltem on his own exteniive eltates, dif- 
patched a perfon, (Mr. Gourlay) every way qualified for 
the employment, to afe’ertain all the circumftances on the 
fpot; he was directed to proceed to Burleigh, and to fol¬ 
low the fyltem wherever he found it. This he did through 
an extent of between feventy and eighty miles; he faw it 
under almofl: every variation of circumltance, with no 
other exception than that of foils too barren to fupport a 
cow. The report he made was equally curious and im¬ 
portant ; the poor people univerfally paid a fair rent for 
their land, fupported tbemfelves through the two fcarci- 
ties without the fmalleft afliltance from the parilhes, and 
were commended by their employers as the moft induf- 
trious and moral of the labouring clafs. The poor-rates 
in the diftricfs which this fyftem pervaded, were from 
three-pence to one Ihilling and fixpence in the pound 
whereas in diftrifts adjoining, but not under this manage¬ 
ment, they were fix, feven, and ten, times as much. I 
will venture to aflert, that, had the board never performed 
any other fervice to the public than this Angle exertion, 
it would well have merited every Ihilling that was ever 
voted to it. 
Their next exertion was on the fubjeft of draining. 
The uncommon fuqcefs which attended Mr. Elkington’s- 
praft-ice in many confiderable drainages, executed on 
principles unknown, or but obfcurely hinted at by others, 
and praftifed by none but himfelf, very jultly attrafted 
the attention of the board. They proceeded in this bufi- 
nefs as they had done in every other; they began by pro¬ 
curing all the information that was to be had; and, being 
well fatisfied of the importance of the dilcovery, they re¬ 
commend him to the beneficence of parliament, who vo¬ 
ted to him one thoufand pounds. But this was not all: 
that man, fo ingenious on the fpots demanding his Ikill,. 
was aftonilhingly confufed and obfeure in explaining his 
ideas; to fuch a degree, indeed, that there was no flight 
danger of his art dying with him. To prevent this, the 
board employed a perfon of Ikill and ingenuity (Mr. John- 
fton) to take a conliderabie journey with Mr. Elkington, 
for the purpofe of examining on the fpot the chief drain¬ 
ages which had been eft’efted, and of having the princi¬ 
ples duly explained. The undertaking was very fuccefs- 
ful. Mr. Johnfton made himfelf mafterof the art, and re¬ 
ported it to the board in a treatife, which has been pub- 
liflied for perpetuating a difeovery that would have been 
loft but for this well-imagined precaution of the board. 
The deficiency of the crops in 1799 furniflied the board 
with another opportunity of manifefting their vigilance 
for the public good. On my arrival in town, the begin¬ 
ning of November in that year, I found the prefident 
(lord Somerville) not returned to England from Portugal* 
whither he had gone for the recovery of his health ; and, 
a fufHcient number of members not attending to form a 
board before the adjournment, I thought it my duty 
to write a letter to Mr. Pitt, to that purport in which I 
conceived the board would have add refled him had it af- 
fembled. I ftated, from ample information, the defi¬ 
ciency of the late crop, which I conceived was much 
greater than was fuppofed at that time, and earneftly re¬ 
commended to him to take immediate meafures for the 
.introduftion of rice from India. In March 1800, lord 
Carrington was elefted to the prefidency, and his-lordlhip 
urged to the minifter the lame meafure. After much con- 
fideration on the fubjeft, no remedy occurred fo certain, 
fafe, and economical, for fupplying the expected defi¬ 
ciency, as the importation of a fufiicient quantity of rice 
from India; from fome caufe or other, however, the cri¬ 
tical period for effeftual encouragement was ■ fuffered to 
pafs by, and; though a bounty on the importation was 
l'ubfequently offered, the rice did not arrive till after the 
abundant harvelt of 1801. Yet, whether the board was 
attended to or dilregarded, its merit with the public re¬ 
mained 
