MAGAZINE OF SCIENCE AND AllT. 
ter of tile cultivation anil reducing tlio crops ; hut the 
inost profitable inode would bo to follow the example of 
the English and the Americans, and to substitute for the 
labour of men that of machines, some worked by animal 
power, some by steam, or by some cheap mechanical 
agent. 
In England, the .attention of farmers has been directed 
of late years towards thoSe mechanical appliances, and 
consequently, the inventive powers of mechanists have 
been taxed to supply every variety of machine at the 
cheapest possible rate consistent with the efficient per¬ 
formance of its work. In America, where labour is 
dearer than in England, though not so high as it is in this 
Coloiiy, and where produce is low in price, in comparison 
to what it is either here or in England, the same system 
has been carried out, and mechanical appliances of every 
kind have been multiplied to an extent of which we in 
this Colony have no idea. 
The experience of onr kindred should not bo lost upon 
r»s, either as a warning or an example ; we should avoid 
that destructive svstem of cropping our land, which has 
produced such evil results with them, and we should turn 
bur attention to the application of every kind of 
mechanical substitute for manual labour which wo can 
discover. The fruit of such application will be greater 
with us than with them— wages are higher, and the price of 
produce is higher; anv increased fatalities tor cultivation 
will therefore insure a higher return. The agricultural 
portion of this community, has, therefore, every induce¬ 
ment to turn its attention to the introduction of such 
machinery as may cheapen production, and it is evident 
that every consumer in this colony has a direct interest 
also in assisting the Agriculturist in this. 
The demand^ however, for such machinery, is hardly 
at present sufficient to induce the establishment of a 
manufactory here, or even the importation of a largo 
quantity on speculation ‘ and in the absence of the 
machines—how is the farmer to ascertain what means 
are available for the supply of his wants ? 
Here, I conceive, the present Society may offer most 
useful assistance. In the first place, through its publica¬ 
tions it may make known . the character and cost of 
the various machinery in use in England and America. 
In tho second place, it may offer prizes for the best 
machinery of various kinds exhibited at its shows. 
In the third place, it may, should it be thought 
advisable to establish a model farm, introduce and ex¬ 
periment upon the various kinds of machines, and report 
the result lor the benefit of the public. 
In the fourth place, it may press upon the Government 
and the Legislature the advisability of appropriating a 
certain sum annually towards the importation _ of 
machinery of various kinds, which machinery', after being 
publicly exhibited for a certain time,, might be sold by 
auction", and the proceeds applied to the importation of ad¬ 
ditional and different machinery. It would, indeed, be of 
the utmost imiiortance in this Colony* where mechanical 
skill owing to the limited demand for it, has nbt developed 
itself to ahy extent, that a mechanical museum should be 
formed, where working machines might be deposited for 
inspection, and where the mechanics of the Colony, having 
before them the principles of the various machines, may 
learn to modify them to suit the peculiar circumstances 
of the Colony*. k 
In England, science has been called in to the aid of 
cultivation. Tire character of the different soils has been 
investigated by r the chemist, their applicability* to different 
descriptions of produce determined, their defects made 
known. Science has shown to the farmer the reasons for 
many of the practices for which ho was indebted to ex¬ 
perience, and it has also in many* instances shown him 
the folly* of persisting in a course of action, which, 
although warranted by prescription, had nevertheless, in 
many instances, most injurious effects. 
It will bo for the Society to make known to the public 
the results which have been already* obtained in other 
countries from a skilful adaption of the discoveries of 
science to the wants of the cultivator of the soil, and to 
press upon the colonists in general the advantages w’hich 
fcill result from their adoption, 
Manure is scarce, tho labour of applying it is gmt. 
It will he for the Society to call the attention of the gar¬ 
deners and fanners to the different chemical substance 
which contain in a small bulk (and which are therefore 
easy of transport) all the elements in which their soil may 
be defic ient. It will bo for tho Society to call the atten¬ 
tion of the public to the wasteful manner in which many 
of the substances which are most powerful restorers of 
land, such as hones and other animal refuse, are allowed 
to'waste their fragrance, if I be allowed to use such an 
expression, to get rid of that ammoniacal element which 
is so pleasant to the plant and so very distateful to nun, 
in a maimfcr which would shock an English farmer. 1 
am almost certain that the refuse of some large boiling- 
down establishment might be condensed into such a form 
as would make it worth while for fanners in England to 
pay the cost of transport, while we allow it to remain fes¬ 
tering and rotting in the ground, without bestowing^ 
thought on the benefit yvhich would result from its appli¬ 
cation to the worn out lands, of whose poverty we are 
annually* complaining. 
The Society might, with propriety, expend a portion of 
its income in importing samples of different mineral ma¬ 
nures, and in making experiments upon their application 
to different descriptions of soil, bearing in mind that the 
results in this colony*, where the climate is very different 
from that or England, will probably* be very much modi¬ 
fied by* this difference* 
In a paper, which I read to the Philosophical Society 
some time ago, I entered at some length into the advan¬ 
tages to ho derived from a proper system, of irrigation. 
The climate of this colony is ’so very dry, that com¬ 
plaints of tho effects of drought are common. To say 
nothing of the results of a dry season as affecting the 
cereal crops, what ruinous effects to the stock owner have 
followed, when the grass has been burnt up by the scorch¬ 
ing rays of an unclouded sun, and the streams and wafcr* 
holes dried up by its evaporative power. 
It would well beseem the society to call tho attention 
of the owners and occupiers of the soil to tho means which 
exist of relieving themselves from an evil, which forms 
the main drawback to the advantages arising from tha 
beautiful climate with which this colony is blessed. 
Information should ho sought from other countries, ex¬ 
periments made in this, tlie results of these experiment 
when carefully* tested snould be made known, and when I 
say the results, I must he understood to mean the ecwo* 
micnl results, the balance between expenditure and return. 
I liavo alluded to this before, and I may be allowed ti 
say a few more words upon a subject winch has a far mow 
extensive practical bearing than is often allowed. 
It is too often the case that an experiment made under 
one set of circumstances, is referred to as an authority 
for adopting the results as applicable to a set of circum¬ 
stances essentially different from the former. This, is a 
course both unwise and unfair— unwise as ignoring, a 
probability, some, if not, all of the characteristics whim 
secured the success of the original experiment— unfair ’ a4 
as inducing a prejudice against the adoption of that which 
might, and indeed would, in manv instances, prove oust 
advantageous. For instance, it is by no means an nncom- 
mon practice to make experiments upon a small sena 
under a system of garden culture, and upon the successful 
results of. such experiments, to found an argument 
their application at once to the farm— this, as I said bo- 
fore, is both unwise and unfair, an experiment upon which 
one would be justified in attempting to establisn a general 
rule, should he made with as few differing element y 
possible. The system of cultivation, the character oi ti» 
soil, the amount and quality of the manure emp.oy-, 
the character of the season, all form elements in tha suc¬ 
cess of an experiment to which marked attention shos.l 
be paid, and, as it is impossible to estimate these many 
unknown quantities in a single equation, it follows tq. 
before an. experiment can be considered conclusive, n 
should,be repeated under as many Varying drcninstances 
as possible. . . • 
I must not be supposed to be arguing against experi¬ 
ments, on the contrary, I wish to press upon agncultunss 
generally the absolute necessity of making experiment, 
