ART. XV.

Mémoires d'Agriculture, &c. i. e. Memoirs of Agriculture, and of Rural and Domestic Economy; Published by the Royal Society of Agriculture at Paris, in the Years 1785 and 1786. Vols. II. III. IV. and V. 8vo. Paris.

1787.

HE difturbances in Holland, and the warlike preparations

rupted the courfe of our correfpondence with the continent, and prevented us from receiving the interefting work now before us in time to fatisfy fully, in this Appendix, the curiofity of our Readers with regard to the articles it contains. We can therefore only give a thort annonce of it here, referving a fuller review of it to a future number of our Review.

For an account of the first volume, and of the inftitution of this very useful Society, and the general plan of the work, we refer our Readers to the Appendix to volume 75 of our Review. A Number of this work continues to be published every three months, one for each of the four seasons of the year, under the title of Trimestre. Thofe Numbers which we have now received, are for the autumn and the winter of 1785, and the spring and fummer of 1786. We are happy to obferve that the zeal and activity of the members of this Society feem to increase. The Memoirs are numerous; many of them are curious and important; and if the labours of the Society are continued, they cannot fail to throw light on a great many useful facts, relating to rural economics. The concluding part of each Trimestre, which confifts of obfervations made on the feafons, crops, circumftances, and modes of practice in the generality of Paris, appears to be executed in a manner that claims a high degree of. applaufe, and which, if adopted by the agricultural Societies in this kingdom, would ferve to bring many ufeful particulars to light, that are now little known, or fcarcely adverted to. On a future occafion we shall be more circumftantial on this head; at prefent, we shall only remark one ftriking peculiarity, that is very obfervable between the general ftructure of the Memoirs of this French Society and those that are published by the different Societies of Agriculture in Great Britain. The first is fupported by the munificence of government; and the Memoirs it contains are written almost entirely by men of high rank, or eminence in the literary world. Their refearches are directed chiefly to the difcovery of new objects of cultivation, and to curious philofophical difquifitions, furnishing directions for the lower claffes of people as to many operations that we would think should have been known long ago. It exhibits, in fhort, a picture of a country, whole inhabitants are divided into two great claffes, which are widely feparated from each other; the men of Rr 3

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high rank and literary acquirements, and the lower orders of the people-the firft clafs, acute, knowing, and zealous in their exertions to inftruct the others :-the laft, poor, ignorant, and deftitute, in a great measure, as yet, of that vivifying principle which alone can excite induftry. On the other hand, the communications to the agricultural focieties that have been formed in our own country, come chiefly from actual farmers, and others of comparatively low rank; and their Memoirs relate rather to practice, than to fpeculative points; they are less brilliant, lefs amufing, lefs polished than the others; but, to practical farmers, in general, they are, perhaps, more ufeful. An attentive obferver would remark of thefe, that in this ifland, the point had already been nearly attained, which the French gentlemen were fo anxiously wishing for in their country; and that, as induftry and vigorous exertion among thofe who are engaged in rural affairs hath been bere very generally introduced, and an eafy independence among the people established, the government, and perfons of high rank, not finding it neceffary to be fo very anxious about them, have therefore left them to proceed nearly in the manner which they themselves think proper.

Many, however, might be the benefits that would refult to this nation, could fomewhat of the fame fpirit of inquiry and difcovery, with regard to interefting particulars in rural economics, be introduced among our literary men, as in France;-fome of these benefits may be derived from attending to the discoveries which the French philofophers may bring to light. It shall be our ftudy, from time to time, to notice fuch of them as feem moft to deserve our attention, and farther elucidation.

Our Readers and countrymen, in general, have for fome time paft been amufed by fpecious accounts of the plant called by the French Racine de difette, which has been tranflated, the root of fcarcity; we fhall felect the fubftance of fome information concerning it, communicated to the Agricultural Society in January 1786, which bears every internal mark of authenticity. It is faid that the German name of this plant is Dickruben, and its botanical name is Beta cicla altiffima; this is a fpecies of Beetrave, which is principally cultivated in Quedlinburg, in the principality of Anhalt, as well as in the principality of Halberftadt, and in feveral of the cantons of Lufatia.

The farmers in thefe places, we are told, prefer this kind of Beetrave, for feeding cattle, to cabbages, chiefly because they are not fo liable to be hurt by worms or infects; but they think they are not fo nourishing as turnips, potatoes, or carrots, and

*This agrees with our conjecture, on the fubject, in our Review for August, p. 267. when we mentioned Dr. Lettfom's account of the Mangel Wurzel.

that

that cattle are not nearly fo foon fattened by this root, as by carrots, parsnips, or cabbages. Perhaps (fays the gentleman who communicates this account) this root affords less nourishment than any of thofe that have been commonly employed for feeding cattle. This does not accord with the pompous defcriptions of the root of scarcity that have been detailed in our news-papers.

The plant, however, he adds, far furpaffes all the others in quantity of produce. Half an acre at Leiptic, in the year 1783, was found to yield 25,000 lb. of roots, independent of the tops. At this rate, fuppofing the Leipfic acre equal to an English acre, the produce would have been fomewhat more than 22 tons per acre; we think we have heard of three times that weight of parsnips, and we have known above 40 tons of potatoes produced from an acre, independent of the tops.

In Alface, the gardeners diftinguish this root by the name of tulibs. It is a biennial plant, like the common beet; the root is large and flefhy, fometimes a foot in diameter. It rifes above the ground feveral inches, is thickest at the top, tapering gradually downward. The roots are of various colours, white, yellow, and red; but thefe laft, are always of a much paler colour than Beetrave. It is fometimes eat by men, but it is very tar from being fo delicate as the beetrave, and therefore it is cultivated chiefly for cattle; it is good fodder for cows, and does not communicate any taste to the milk. It produces great abundance of leaves in fummer, which may be cut three or four times without injuring the plant. The leaves are more palatable to cattle than most other garden plants, and are found to be very wholefome.

It delights in a rich, loamy fand, well dunged. Its culture is the fame with that of the common Beet, or the Beetrave.

On the whole, the plant is well worthy of the farmer's notice. It may, perhaps, on fome foils, and in particular circumftances, turn out to be a very useful plant for feeding cattle; though there is no reason to think that it deferves the extraordinary praises it has obtained-as food for man.

[To be continued.]

ART. XVI.

FOREIGN LITERARY

Ih

INTELLIGENCE.

Art. I. The Works of the late KING of PRUSSIA announced. T is already known to the public, that his Pruffian Majefty has difpofed of the manuscripts of his royal uncle and predeceffor, in favour of Mefirs. Vofs and Decker, bookfellers at Berlin; whofe proposals for their publication, by fubfcription, appeared in March 1787. The reafons for their being published by fubfcription are unknown to us, but we are perfuaded they

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must be fuch as are confiftent with the dignity of their Royal Author, and with the high opinion which is univerfally entertained of his extenfive knowledge, his deep penetration, and his elevated genius. The public are affured, that the productions of this great Monarch will be printed without any effential alterations or retrenchments, by the express declaration of the learned and illuftrious minifter of ftate, Count de Hertzberg, in an Hiftorical Memoir, read at a meeting of the Academy at Berlin, the 25th of January 1787 *.

The manufcripts are to be publifhed in the following order. I. "Memoirs of my own Time." Thefe contain the political and military hiftory of Europe, from the year 1740 to the peace of Drefden. II. The Hiftory of the War of feven Years." This war, carried on with the moft fignal valour, perfeverance, and juftice, and the moft illuftrious efforts of military genius, against a formidable confederacy, crowned the great Frederic with laurels that will never fade. III. "The Hiftory of what passed between the Peace of Hubert/bourg and the Peace of Tefchen." IV. "An Efay on the different Forms of Government, and the Duties of Sovereigns." V. An Examination of the Work entitled the SYSTEM OF NATURE." VI. "Remarks on the SYSTEM OF NATURE." His Majefty would, perhaps, have done better to have let this book remain in the oblivion into which it has fo justly fallen. It was crushed into atoms by the victorious anfwers of Holland and Caftillon, and has fcarcely ever been heard of fince. VII. "A Treatise on the Innocence of Error in the Understanding." A very interefting fubject, whether it relates to religion or politics. VIII. "Three Dialogues of the Dead." IX." Three Volumes of Poems." X. " A Difcourfe on the Henriade." XI. Confiderations on the prefent State of the European Bodies-politic." XII. A large Collection of Letters written by his Majefty to celebrated Authors, as Fontenelle, Rollin, Vol. taire, the Marquis D'Argens, the Prefident Henault, D'Alembert, Count Algarotti, the Marquis de Condorcet, &c. with their aufwers.

As foon as the editors have publifhed thefe manufcripts, they intend to reprint all the productions of the fame Royal Author that have hitherto appeared under the title of Oeuvres du Philofophe de Sans-Souci, in the fame fize and letter. The corrections that have been made in thefe by his Majefty (and whether he has made fuch as were moft effential, time will fhew), will be published from the printed copies, whofe margins are enriched with notes and remarks written with his own hand. Thefe, it is prefumed, will render the new edition fuperior in merit to the

*See our brief account of an English translation of this Memoir, in the Review for December 1787, p. 505.

precedin

preceding ones. This will certainly be the cafe, if what some have whispered about fhould prove true, that the philofophical opinions of our Royal Author, which were formerly known to have been excentric, and in fome refpects un-philofophical, were more or less modified by fober sense and reflection in the latter years of his life.-How this matter ftands, we fhall fee when the prefent publication is completed.

The work will be published in fifteen volumes large octavo, printed with Baskerville's types, on the beft paper. There will be published, at the fame time, a German tranflation, by an able and eminent hand, for the ufe of those who do not underftand French, in which language the original is compofed.Subscriptions are taken in by noted bankers and bookfellers in the principal cities of Europe.

Art. II. Gefchichte, &c. i. e. A Hiftory of Philofophy, Vol. I. 8vo. Leipfic. 1787.

The anonymous Author of this work defigns it for thofe who, without entering into laborious researches, are defirous of knowing the progrefs of the human understanding, in all periods of time, and the paths it has trod, in order to the discovery of philofophical truths. We efteem it a peculiar merit in this Author, that he has judiciously avoided both the exceffive prolixity of Brucker, and the dry precifion and barren brevity of ordinary abridgments. He has, moreover, not only investigated the derivation and fources, and thereby given us the genealogy of the different kinds of philofophy, but has alfo defcribed their effential lines and characters with perfpicuity and truth.-This firft volume contains the philofophy of the earlieft periods, viz. that of the Indians, Perfians, Babylonians, Egyptians, Hebrews, Arabians, Phoenicians, Celts, and Scythians; and alfo of the Grecian philofophers, as far down as the Stoics, inclufively. This volume is to be fucceeded by a fecond, and a third, which will bring down the hiftory of philofophy to the present time. Art. III. JOEL, Metrisch Uberfezt. &c. i. e. The Prophecy of JOEL, tranflated into Verfe, with new Explications. By Dr. J. P. R. ECKERMANN. 8vo. Lubec.

This is a learned and judicious performance. The commentary upon Joel, in whom our Author finds much of the spirit and manner of Homer, is divided into five Sections. The firft relates to the method and text of the facred Prophet. The fecond contains a comparative view of the best explications of his prophecy. In the third, we have an account of the time when he prophefied. The poetical and religious characters of his predictions, and their weight and importance, are difcuffed in the fourth; and the fifth contains philological, critical, and etymological Remarks on these predictions.

Art.