Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 1.djvu/327

Rh PROGRESS.] AGRICULTURE 305 system of thorough draining and deep ploughing. It has been carried out already to such an extent as to alter the very appearance and character of whole districts of our country, and has prepared the way for all other improvements. The words &quot; Portable Manures&quot; indicate at once another prominent feature in the agriculture of the times. Early in the present century, ground bones began to be used as a manure for turnips in the eastern counties of England, whence the practice spread, at first slowly, and then very rapidly, over the whole country. It was about 1825 that bones began to be generally used in Scotland. In 1841 the still more potent guano was introduced into Great Britain ; and about the same time, bones, under the new form of superphosphate of lime. By means of these invaluable fertilisers, a stimulus has been given to agri culture which can scarcely be over-rated. The labour of agriculture has been greatly lightened, and its cost curtailed, by means of improved implements and machines. The steam-engine has taken the place of the jaded horses as a thrashing power. This was first done in East Lothian by Mr Aitchison of Drumore, who about 1803 had his thrashing-machinery, at his distillery and farm of Clement s Wells, attached to a steam-engine, which was erected for him a few years previously by Bolton and Watt, for the works of the distillery. About 1818-20 several steam-engines on the condensing principle were erected in East Lothian, solely for the propelling of thrashing-machinery. One of these, put up by Mr Eeid of Drem, at a cost of GOO, is still doing its work there, and, strange to say, after the lapse of fifty-five years, looks as well and is as efficient as when first erected. It would be tedious to particularise other instances in this department, as it will be treated of fully in its proper place. It is especially in this department that the influence of the ever- memorable Exhibition of the Industry of all Nations in 1851 has told upon agriculture. Reaping by machinery may virtually be regarded as one of the fruits of that great gathering. The railways, by which the country is now intersected in all directions, have proved of great service to farmers, by conveying their bulky produce to distant markets cheaply and quickly, and by making lime and other manures available to the occupiers of many inland and remote districts. In nothing has this benefit been more apparent than in the case of fatted live stock, which is now invariably transported by this means, with manifest economy to all concerned. During the whole of this period there has been going on great improvement in all our breeds of domesticated animals. This has been manifested not so much in the production of individual specimens of high merit in which respect the Leicesters of Bakewell, or the short-horns of Colling, have perhaps not yet been excelled as in the diffusion of these and other good breeds over the country, and in the improved quality of our live stock as a whole. The fattening of animals is now conducted on more scientific principles. Increased attention has also been successfully bestowed on the improvement of our field crops. Improved varieties, obtained by cross-impregnation, either naturally or arti ficially brought about, have been carefully propagated, and generally adopted. Increased attention is now bestowed on the cultivation of the natural grasses. The most important additions to our list of field crops during this period have been Italian rye-grass, winter beans, white Belgian carrot, sugar beet, and alsike clover. Section 6. Increase and Diffusion of Agricultural Knowledge. Let us look now at the means by which, during this period, agricultural knowledge has at once been increased and diffused. Notice has already been taken of the institution of the Highland Society and the National Board of Agriculture. These patriotic societies were the means of collecting a vast amount of statistical and general informa tion connected with agriculture, and by their publications and premiums made known the practices of the best-farmed districts of the country, and encouraged their adoption elsewhere. These national associations were soon aided in their important labours by numerous local societies which sprang up in all parts of the kingdom. After a highly useful career, under the zealous presidency of Sir John Sinclair, the Board of Agriculture was dissolved, but has left in its Statistical Account, county surveys, and other documents, much interesting and valuable information regarding the agriculture of that period. In 1800 the original Farmers Magazine entered upon its useful career under the editorship of Eobert Brown of Markle, the author of the well-known treatise on Rural Affairs. The Highland Society having early extended its operations to the whole of Scotland, by-and-by made a corresponding addition to its title, and as the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland continues to occupy its important sphere with a steadily increasing membership, popularity, and usefulness. As its revenue and experience increased, it gradually extended its operations. In 1828, shortly after the discontinuance of the Farmers Magazine, its Prize Essays and Transactions began to be issued statedly in connection with the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture, a periodical which until recently occupied a prominent place in our professional literature. This society early began to hold a great annual show of live stock, implements, c., the popularity of which continues unabated. In 1842, Mr John Finnic at Swanstone, near Edinburgh, having sug gested to some of his neighbours the desirableness of obtaining the aid of chemistry to guide farmers in many departments of their business, the hint was promptly acted upon, and these Mid-Lothian tenant-farmers had the merit of originating an Agricultural Chemistry Association (the first of its kind), by which funds were raised, and an eminent chemist engaged, for the express purpose of con ducting such investigations as the title of the society implies. After a successful trial of a few years this association was dissolved, transferring its functions to the Highland and Agricultural Society, which has ever since devoted much of its attention to this subject. The nature and impor tance of the services which labourers in this department of science have rendered to agriculture may be gathered from the society s Transactions, and numerous other pub lications of a similar kind. The Highland Society has of late years established itself on a broader basis, and imparted new energy to its operations by lowering its admission- fee in behalf of tenant-farmers, who have in consequence joined it in great numbers, and now take an important part in the conduct of its business. The practice adopted by it, about the same time, of holding periodical meetings for the discussion of important practical questions, by means of essays, prepared by carefully selected writers, did good service, too, to the cause of agricultural progress. The adoption by Government of a proposal made by this society, to collect the agricultural statistics of Scotland, showed at once how thoroughly it enjoyed the confidence of the tenantry, and how easily, and by what simple and inexpensive machinery, this most important and interesting inquiry could be conducted. Through an unfortunate misunderstanding between the Government and the society on a mere technical point, this most useful inquiry came to an abrupt termination, after having been conducted for five years. This brief experiment had, however, proved so conclusively the value of such statistics, and the ease with which they could be collected, that the Government soon I- - - 39