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committee, that no miller should be prevented from making fine flour for the confumption of any persons who refide within the diftricts where the use of fine flour is not prohibited, fo far as the making fuch flour for the consumption of such perfons hath been the usual course of his trade.

4. That it is the opinion of this committee, that magiftrates be also empowered to prohibit, within their refpective jurifdictions, for a limited time, the making for fale any other bread made of wheat meal alone, than fuch as shall be made of the whole meal, deducting only at the rate of five pounds of bran out of fixty pounds of wheat.

5. That it is the opinion of this committee, that magiftrates be empowered, within their respective jurifdictions, to prohibit, for a limited time, the making of any bread for fale, except fuch as thall be made of the whole meal of wheat as above described, or of fuch mixtures of wholesome farinaceous food, and in fuch proportions as they shall appoint.

6. That it is the opinion of this committee, that for the purpose of carrying the laft refolution into effect, magiftrates be empowered to oblige the millers, within their respective jurifdictions, for a limited time, to grind and dress, if required, and if confiftent with the powers and mechanism of their mills, fuch forts of grain as shall be necefiary for making the said approved mixtures.

7. That it is the opinion of this committee, that magiftrates thall not make any of the prohibitions before mentioned, without fufficient public notice.

8. That it is the opinion of this committee, that within the city of

London and the liberties thereof, the company of the bakers of the faid city, and in any other county, city, division, district, town or place, any baker or maker of bread for fale, miller, or mealman, may, within the respective jurisdiction to which heor they do belong, or wherein he or they do exercise their trade, occupation, or mystery, have an opportunityof offering to fuch justices as aforesaid, all fuch objections as fuch company of bakers, or fuch bakers or makers of bread for fale, or fuch millers or mealmen, may have and think fit to offer, againft any fuch prohibition or regulation as aforesaid, at the time when fuch juftices as aforesaid shall have under confideration the ordering any fuch prohibition or regulation

Sır John Sinclair's Address to the Board of Agriculture, the 24th May 1796.

Igitur et de culturâ agri præcipere, principale fuit, etiam apud exteros; fiquidem et reges fecere, Hiero, &bilometor, Attalus, Archelaus, et duces Xenophon, et Pænus etiam Mago; cui quidem tantum honorem fenatus nofter (Romanus) habuit, Carthagine captá; ut cum regulis Africæ bibliothecas donaret, unins ejus duo de triginta de agricultura, volumina, cenferet in Latinam linguam transferenda, cum jam M. Cato præcepta condidiffet, perinijque linguæ Punicæ dandum negotium, in quo præceffit omnes wir clariffimæ familiæ D. Syllanus.

PLIN. HIST. MUND. 1. xviii. c. 3.

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not be improper to take the opportunity of this meeting briefly to flate the progress we have made, fince I laft had the honour of addreffing myself to you at the conclufion of the preceding feffion.

It is on all hands acknowledged, that the exertions of the Board of Agriculture last year, in promoting an extra cultivation of potatoes, was attended with the happieft consequences, the beneficial effects of which (both the culture and use of that valuable root having thus been greatly extended) will probably long be felt, when the circumstance from which it originated may be forgotten. In fact, in times of scarcity and distress, there is no article comparable to potatoes. They will grow in the pooreft foils; they can be taken up in detail as they are wanted; they require no manufacture of drying, milling, &c. previous to their being used; and they can be prepared in various ways for confumption. Above all, it is to be observed, that there is a space of perhaps four months, which generally is fupplied from the old stock, but in times of fearcity must be taken from the new crop. That is a circumstance of less confequence where spring corn is the food of the people (but even there it is defirable to thresh the corn in winter rather than in the spring, as the straw is better for the cattle :) but where the people live upon wheat, which is sown in autumn, the cafe is otherwife; and it is impoftible to fay what diftress it might occafion (when there is no old stock of wheat in the country), unlefs the aid of fuch an article as potatoes can be obtained, if the farmer is obliged, in a hurried and destructive manner, to thresh corn,

both for feed for himself, and food for the public. He might be tempted, indeed, by the high price of grain for food, to delay fowing his feed until the favourable season has elapfed, in which case it is impoffible to fay what damage would ultimately refult from it.

The board not having yet obtained the privilege of franking, its correfpondence is much more limited and less regular than it ought to be, and is attended with a degree of trouble and inconvenience to the perfon who prefides at it, of which it is difficult to form an adequate conception. In confequence, however, of the want of this privilege, fo effential to a public inftitution, and the great reftrictions recently impofed upon the privileges enjoyed by a member of parliament, it has been found impoffible to keep up that extenfive and regular correfpondence, and to procure that extent of information, from which the public might derive fo many important advantages. By the active zeal, however, of many friends to the inftitution, information was at a very early period fent to the board, containing rather unfavourable accounts of the last year's crop of wheat. I thought it a duty, therefore, incumbent upon me, to make use of every degree of influence which my fituation as prefident of this board gave me with the public, to recommend, in the ftrongest manner, an extra cu'tivation of wheat lait autumn My letter upon that fabject, dated 11th September 195, was fent to all the members of the board, was tranfinitted to the quarter feffions of the different counties, and was punted in above fifty different newspapers. It is with much pleafure

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The high price of corn, at the commencement of the laft feffion, naturally directed the attention of parliament to confider the best means, not only to remedy the present distress, but to prevent it in future. For attaining the first object, a select committee was appointed, known under the name of the corn committee, whose anxious zeal to do every possible justice to the great subject referred to their confideration merits the utmost praise. The measures recommended by that committee have fince been confidered unnecessary by fome individuals, in confequence of the price of grain having had a temporary fall-But it will probably yet appear, that, had it not been for the earnest recommendation of that committee to economize the confumption of bread, to use other kinds of grain as fubstitutes for wheat, and to encourage the importation of foreign corn by bounties of uncommon magnitude, the price of grain would not probably have decreased, and complaints would have been made of the inattention of government to the distrelles of the country; a

more ferious ground of accufation than any over anxiety, which, at all times, particularly in regard to so critical a matter as the fubfiftence of the people, is at least excufable, but on the present occafion was not only neceffary, but has proved extremely beneficial.

It was a matter, however, of still greater importance to prevent, by fome great and effectual measure, the risk of scarcity in future, and our being under the disgraceful and fatal neceffity, not only of depending upon foreign grain for our fubfiftence, but alfo of encouraging its importation by high bounties. With that view, in confequence of the directions of this board, I had the honour of moving in parliament for the appointment of a select committee, to take into its confideration the means of promoting the cultivation and improvement of the waste, uninclofed, and unproductive lands of the kingdom. The paffing of a general bill of inclosure though long ardently withed for, has hitherto been attempted in vain, and by many was held to be impracticable. By the exertions, however, of the felect committee, to whom the drawing up the bill, and the confideration of the whole subject was referred, a bill has at last been prepared, which, in the opinion of many intelligent perfons converfant in that fubject, is fully adequate to the object in view; and had not the laft feffion been closed rather earlier than was expected, it would probably have received the fanction of the legislature this year. truft, however, that the first feffion of the enfuing parliament will have the credit of completing this important and valuable system, on

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which the future subsistence of the ecuntry depends. It is not likely at least to fail, if it can be effected by the exertions of the Board of Agriculture.

Another meafure recommended by the board, of infinitely less importance, but at the fame time beneficial to the agricultural interests of the country, has already passed. I allude to the exemption of linfeed and rape cakes from duty, by an act of last feflion, 36. Geo. III. c. 113*. The first article, linfeed cake, is of confiderable importance to the feeders of cattle, and may be had, it is fuppofed, in abundance from America, where a great quantity of linfeed oil is made use of in painting their wooden houses. The refuse, known under the name of linseed oil or cake, is of little value there, in consequence of the superabundance of other kinds of provifion for cattle. Nothing would be more defirable than thus to eftablish a new fource of trade, beneficial to two countries, inhabited by a race of men speaking the fame language, defcended from the fame common origin, and who ought to confider themselves as the fame people. As to rape cake, it is found to be a valuable manure in many parts of this kingdom. Çonsiderable quantities of this article, it is supposed, may be obtained from the continent of Europe; and fince this regulation has taken place, Rape will probably be culivated in America. Were Ruffia also to devote some part of her boundless territories to the culture of that plant, the foundation of a

commerce "might be laid advantageous to both empires.

In regard to collecting and circulating agricultural information, the true foundation of all those various improvements, which, under the auspices of the board, will probably be effected, confiderable progress has been made. The general views of the agricultural ftate of the different counties, with the exception of two small districts in Scotland (Clackmannan and Kinross,) a part of each of which is already printed, have been completed. The corrected reports of Lancashire, Norfolk, Kent, Staffordshire, and Mid Lothain, are published; and those of several other counties are almost ready for the press. A valuable addition has been made to the printed paper on manures. The sketch of a report on a point which has of late been much difcuffed, namely the fize of farms, has also been printed, and throws much light upon that subject. A valuable communication from Lord Winchelsea, on the advantage of cottagers renting land, was ordered to be printed, with the unanimous approbation of those who had the fanction of being present when that paper was read to the board.

It is impoffible, in this short abfiract of our proceedings, to give any idea of the numerous communications tranfmitted to the Board, or of the various points to which its attention has been directed. Its experiments in regard to the compofition of bread, and information tranfmitted to it upon that subject,

• Intituled "An Act for allowing the Importation of Arrow Root from the British Plantations, and alfo of Linfeed Cakes and Rape Cakes from any foreign country, in British built ships, owned, navigated, and registered according to law, without paying of duty.'

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would would of itself have been fufficient to have occupied the full attention of many focieties. The perfection to which the manufacturing of barley flour has been carried under the auspices of this institution, is a difcovery of great importance, as it is thus afcertained, that from the meal of pearl or pot barley, bread may be made, in tafte and colour, and probably in nourishment, little inferior to that of wheaten flour; and that in the proportion of at Beast one-third, fuch meal may be mixed with the produce of wheat, fo as hardly to be diftinguished. A very general correfpondence has been established, for the purpose of afcertaining the price of flock, both lean and fattened. Experiments on a great fcale, under the directions of that able chymift Dr. Fordyce, are now carrying on at Gubbins in Hertfordshire, the feat of Mr. Hunter, for the purpose of afcertaining the principles of vegetation, and the effects of manures; and fteps are now taking, in order to procure such information respecting the various forts of live ftock in the kingdom, as will enable us to give, in the course of next year, complete information to the public upon that important fubject.

I have ever confidered it to be a wife principle for the board to adopt, not to print books for reference, but books for use; not mafty volumes on a variety of different fubjects, beyond the income of the generality of the people to purchase, or their time to pernie; but, if poffible, diftinct publications, each of them on one article, exclufively of every other, avoiding the intermixture of various topics, and diftricts in the

same work. It would also be defirable, that no paper should be published by the board. until it has been before it is printed, circulated among all those who are likely to correct and improve it, and thus brought to some degree of perfection previous to its publication. Agriculture though often treated of, has hitherto never been difcuffed; and it can never be much improved, until information respecting it has been collected from all quarters, has been afterwards thoroughly canvaffed. and has ultimately been condensed and systematized. Such, however, has been the great number of communications tranfmitted to the board upon various important subjects, in particular farm buildings, cottages, and the flate of the poor, embankments, roads, the conftruction of mills, and of hand mills in particular; together with a variety of interesting papers respecting the agriculture of foreign countries, that the board has refolved to print a specimen of those papers in one volume quarto, in order to afcertain the opinion of the public respecting that mode of laying before it the papers we have received, in addition to the county reports now publishing.

The business gone through by the board of agriculture is certainly more than could poffibly be expected from an inftitution poffeffled of fuch limited powers, and of fo confined an income. The time, however, it is to be hoped, is not far diftant, when it will be put on a better and more respectable footing;-when the fuperior impertance of fuch inquiries, the fuperior value of agricultural refources, and dreadful expence, and fatal

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