the plow a few months before the commencement of the fol lowing MINUTES.' It is not, therefore, to be expected that, this being the cafe, the Author will fo early exhibit great proofs of his knowledge in agriculture; but from the beginning, thefe minutes afford ftrong evidence of good natural parts, acuteness, and attention. They fhew in what manner a perfon who is poffeffed of thefe qualities, joined to unwearied application, may gradually acquire knowledge, and learn to furmount the difficulties that occur in practice. They serve to teach an inexperienced perfon how to think, and thus become his own inftructor (instead of making him rely upon the inftructions of others), which is the beft method of attaining found knowledge. We recommend this part of the work, as a model worthy the imitation of every farmer, but particularly useful to beginhers, as it will put them into a train of obferving facts—of reflecting upon paft occurrences, and of reafoning confiftently with respect to future operations.

The following obfervations on the ufes that may be made of minuting occurrences, will ferve to corroborate what we have faid, and, at the fame time, give a specimen of our Author's fyle and manner;

18th, July 1776. (Thursday). On Tuesday evening, the hay of K. 2. which had been cut almost a fortnight, was in tolerable order; and the fap being nearly exhaufted, I was unwilling to expofe it any longer in this critical flate: I therefore put it upon the waggons, to keep it out of harm's way; but did not unload it.

Yesterday unloaded one load on to the flack, very gently, and left it untrodden. On to the emptied waggon re-loaded another, which ftood in the field. The wind was high, and the fun hot. Two men re-loaded it as deliberately as poffible; breaking every lump, and loading it lightly with a fork they were three or four hours in doing it. It was unloaded, to-day, in good order. Re loaded another to-day, which will be unloaded to-morrow.

By thus expofing it to the fun and wind, and by leaving it on the flack for tour-and twenty hours, untrodden, it is got from tole rable into very good order.

Becaute hay which has been long cut, and whofe juices are exhaufled, is loaded on the waggons, to prevent its being totally fpoiled; it furely does not follow that it fhould be hurried into fack, wet or dry. Perhaps, hay not half made might, by repeated re. loadings during fair blafts, be well-got; even in fuch very bad hayweather as we have lately had.

vation. The whole of this approach bears evident marks of affectation, in a ftronger degree, even than in other parts of the book. We are forry for this blemish, as it mult tend to prejudice many against the Author. It had that effect upon ourselves; and had not our en gagements to the public induced us to proceed, it is probable, we thould have turned from it with difguft, and never wifhed to have read a line farther.

: Suppofe

• Suppofe one load takes two men three hours and-a-half; two men would re-load three-loads a-day: about 13d. a-load. Ten times 13d. is not equivalent to the difference between good hay and bad.

Re-making in large cock, may help hay which is under-made; but a cock cannot be drawn into a barn, or under a fhed, as a cart or a waggon.

Minuting. When I began to make the preceding Minute, I meant merely to register facts, that I might not, in future, put hay into stack before it be thoroughly made; and I am of opinion, that had not the former part of the Minute been made, the latter, nor the calculation, would have occurred.

Is not this an evidence in favour of making Minutes? Before an intelligible Minute can be made, ideas must be digefted-the intellects exerted. This adduces to the mind the whole chain of recollectable facts and words incident to the fubject; many of which would otherwife have lain inert in the memory.-From thefe, new ideas fpontaneously generate; CALCULATIONS and fchemes of FUTURE CONDUCT rush upon the mind; and from mere Minuting, the mental faculties are imperceptibly led to SYSTEMISING.

'I have feldom begun a Minute which did not verify this obfervation, and which did not prove longer than at first intended.

• In future-before I leave-off making a Minute, look stedfaftly on the mind, and enquire anxiously if any other idea demands an audience-If any fhould, it would be wantonnefs, even on trivial fubjects, to difmifs it unheard: it may be valuable in itself, or it may lead to fomething valuable.

But be the last paragraph valuable or trivial, I am firmly of opinion, that it would never have occurred, had not I made the preceding part of the Minute.

If MINUTING be found ferviceable to fuch an humble fubje&t as hay-making, furely it would be beneficial to the more abftrafe branches of fcience! And although its evil attendant may be the injury of the MEMORY, in little matters; how many GREAT IDEAS have flid away, which a MINUTE might have rescued from oblivion; nay, how many GREAT THOUGHTS USEFUL TRUTHS, might, by MINUTING, have entered the lift of HUMAN KNOWLEDGE, which now are known but to OMNISCIENCE!

Perhaps, generally-habituating ourselves to regifter our ideas, learns us to think clofely and fyftematically; and, perhaps, fuch a register would be the fureft and moft eligible teft of genius. If any thing ftrike-no matter what-minute it.—Practife this for a few years, and probably the bent and capacity of the Practicer might be difcovered.

Had mankind, from Infinity, left to each fucceeding generation their fairest ideas, and had these ideas been regularly fyftemifed and repeatedly retrenched;-had we a comprehenfible fyftem of the GREAT IDEAS OF MAN-of every man from INFINITY,-or from creation ; -did the prefent generation know what each and every preceding generation have known, and thro' fuch a fyftem might have known, how much nearer the CREATED would now have approached the CREATOR!

It was with fome degree of reluctance that I began to make this Minute; for until I began to write, nothing occurred but the fimple fact, and that feemed icarcely worth notice. But although I have not luckily developed a Southern Continent, nor a Northern Passage, I am not displeased with my evening's amufement *.?

The following obfervations on hay-making, will afford further specimens of the Author's manner and mode of reasoning: July 1, 1775. I have adopted this method of making mix-grafs and clover hay.

Let it lie a-while to wither in fwath; but while it is toughbefore it be crifp-make it into light minikin cocks, and rake the bared furface. As the cocklits become dry, aggregate them; and continue to rake the bared grafs till the hay be dry enough, and the cocks big enough.-If rain beat down the cocklits, catch a dry opportunity of turning them upfide-down, and lightening them up ;not fhaking them out.

6

Thus, it will always be out of harm's way, and the leaf, Sapa and colour, be preferved.

8th, < A fine afternoon.-Got the remainder of D. 1. and K. 2, into larger cocks: The one-pitch cocks, every where, are almoft fit to carry, notwithstanding the fun has not fhone these three days.

I apprehend, had this hay been treated in the common mode of hay-making, (See the ft,) it would have been black, if not rotten; whereas the flowers ftill retain their bloom, and the leaves their verdure.

This procefs may not be fo expeditions as the common method, but I am pofitive, it is more certain.'.

11th, (See the 1ft,) To try how the cocklits would make in pitch cock, without lightening up; I put three of them, one-uponthe other, without fhaking. In this manner I made two rows: the reft of the field, two cocklits together, thook up. The former was the greeneft, fineft hay by much."

19th, The ftack of mix-grafs hay (See the 1ft, 8th, and 11th,) takes as fine a heat as can be wifhed-for, notwithstanding it was out three weeks of rainy weather.

JUNE, 1776. Not a fpeck of mould, nor a handful of mufty hay, in the whole ftack.

26th, Finished hay-making.

Had the hay of River-Mead, &c. been tedded (Spread abroad), it was fo exceedingly fhort, a confiderable part of it must have been left in the field; befide the additional expence, and the exhalation of its juices: nor could it have been made in much less time; for what was carried to-day (Wednesday), was cut on Monday after

noon.

Perhaps, in future,-Never ted a light, nor a middling crop of grafs, of whatever fpecies. If the weather be fine, let it make itfel in fwath.-If foul, make it in cocklits.

Perhaps, hay makes † fafter in heaps, of whatever shape or fize, than is generally imagined; efpecially in windy weather.-It is

These defultory reflections are not inferted as necessary appendages to pecuniary Agriculture.

+ Withers-dilipates its fuperfluous fap.

amazing

amazing how much the large heaps in River-Mead dried, after they were mixed and fhook up light::-even the good old Hayers acknowledged their aftonishment."

31ft, Twenty-four loads of rye grafs hay, off 17 acres this year, has coft in manual labour, for making

18 loads of mix-grafs, off 20 acres

£. s.

d.

4 2

3 5 4

2 5 8

The firft was tedded-the fecond made in cocklits-and the last in fwath. The first was made while the heat of the earth and fun would have roafted an egg;-the fecond was out three weeks of rainy weather; and the laft had a few fhowers.

This furely proves the expence and abfurdity of tedding grafs; befides, perhaps, the hay's being robbed of its effence.

Perhaps, in future-If the crop be very large, turn it, before it be made into cocklits, with a rake, not a prong. This is tediousfcatters it about-and lays it flat: That fets it on-edge, fnug, and expeditiously.'

Auguft 1. I do not fee any material improvement of the process I hit upon this year, of making tare-hay.

After the Mowers,-inftead of leaving the wads indifcriminately on the ridge, or in the furrow; and inftead of leaving them rolled up in hard lumps, I fhook them up light, and fet them in rows on the funny fide of the ridges. If one row could not contain them, fet them a-zig-zag, which gives them more fun and air than any fituation; endeavouring as much as poffible to make each wad refemble a bee bive. By thus ftanding light and open, upon the ridges, I apprehend they made in much less time than they would have done in hard bundles in the furrows. I did not wait to let them wither, but followed the Mowers immediately.

After a fhower-as foon as the ground, and the outfdes of the wads were dry, turned them over on to fresh ground; and with one pake lightened them up as before: they were dry again prefently. The first two acres had a whole day's rain upon them, but I appre hend they are very little the worse for it.

Thofe mown fince the rains, have had nothing done to them, but the first shaking up, and one turning, when the first upper-fides were made: they did not coft 6d. an acre for making.

The popular idea of tare hay making feems to be this: If the weather happens to be fine, the fodder is incomparable; but one. fhower of rain fends it immediately to the dunghill. I am convinced from this year's experience, that if tares are cut at a proper age (while the under pods are filling, and the halm fill green at the bottom) it is not a fhower that will hurt them, nor a whole day's rain that will spoil them. And I am of opinion, that, with proper management, nothing but a fortnight or three weeks rain can fit them for the dunghill; and, perhaps, the chance is ten to one that fuch weather does not happen in July: And, in future, I will calculate on that it is ten to one but I get my tare-hay tolerably.

This hay-time, the weather has been various. The early clover. hay-time was fine; but the latter end of June, the Midfummer-rains fet-in, and greatly injured the clover which was backwardly cut.

• The

The last week in June and the three first weeks of July (meadow. hay-time) were very ticklish: a great deal of meadow hay was badly got. The last week or ten days of July have been remarkably fine, and the backward-cut of meadow-hay has been remarkably well got in.

The fpring was very backward. I wifhed, and fhall ever wish, to begin to cut clover the first week in June; but there was none to cut till paft the middle of the month, when I began mowing clover. It had fome rain, but was got tolerably.

I began the mix-grafs leys the first week in July, and cut one feld of five acres. The crop was very light, and the little hay it produced almoft fpoiled by the weather.

I had lett the winter-tares, and was thinking of beginning to cut the meadows; but very fortunately stopped the fithe to wait for fairer appearances.- Why?

Because the fun fet foul or fhowery every evening; because the atmosphere was loaded with huge vertical clouds; and becaufe the barometer was wavering, and feemed rather inclinable to wet than dry.

When the large clouds feemed exhaufted by the quantity of rain which had fallen, and the azure concave delicately variegated by flender horizontal clouds; when the fun went down clear, and the barometer flood firm at fine weather-I re-began to cut, and a finer hay-time never happened. We have carried fifty or fixty loads of different forts of hay, this week, in the fineft order poffible: and, what is ftill more pleafing this year of fcarcity, there was nearly twice as much upon the ground, as there was before the rains. Befides, by ftanding till ripe, and being cut in hot weather, the expence of making has been trifling.'

The reader may perhaps recollect, that in our Review for September 1776, we gave, in an extract from Mr. Anderson's Effays on Agriculture, a new method of making hay. The foregoing obfervations contain a difcovery (for fuch we suppose it to be in Mr. Marshall, who does not seem to have read that book) of a procefs very nearly the fame with that recommended by the Scotch farmer; and thefe experiments prove, in a very fatisfactory manner, that the method of making hay by putting it into small cocks, immediately after cutting, is a valuable improvement.

The following minute may be of ufe, and fhould be generally

known:

• October 29, 1775. Laft night, the Suckler, in a great hurry, drove one of the cows out of the fuckling houfe into the yard, calling out," The cow is fprung." She was fwelled prodigiously, and as he ran her about, I perceived that the continued to fwell, till the threw-up a great quantity of phlegm.. This feemed to eafe her; -but prefently the fwelled more than ever;-her hide was a perfect drum head. I confidered what to do;-I was refolved not to stab her, fo long as fhe kept her legs.In a moment, (whether I gathered the idea from reading, or converfation, or reafon, I am fill at a lofs) I conceived that SALT AND WATER Would be of fervice. In

lefs