In chap. xv. we meet with fome rational remarks on large ftock farms, and on the different ftate of the English and Irish farmers and poor. On this fubject, he fays, it appears to him as clear as the noon-day, that large overgrown grazing, or ftock-farms, ever were, are, and will be the ruin of Ireland, or any other country, where they get footing; and I am forry to fay England is coming too much into them. They are a ftagnation to trade and improvement; for what improvement do three or four thousand bullocks (which occupy more acres of land) create or require? In fhort, they do in a manner lay waste a country, as four or five families are fufficient to take care of this tract of land, and number of cattle. It is a known truth, that the riches of every country depend upon the labouring part of its inhabitants.-But in fuch waste countries, the poor are deprived of all manner of means to be useful to themfelves or the Public; they muft either ftarve, or turn out to beg or fteal, or perhaps both.'

Chapters xvi.-xxviii. are taken up in describing the various methods of managing flax and hemp.

Vol. iii. The first fix chapters of this volume treat of the culture of that useful root, the potatoe. The Author gives us a method to improve ground, by deftroying whins and broom, and, at the fame time, raifing thereon a valuable crop of potatoes. This is propofed to be done by cutting up the whins, covering them with fuch earth as the place affords, and then planting thereon potatoes. He fays, they will quickly rot, and afford fo rich a manure as to produce two fucceffive crops of potatoes; after which the ground will admit of being plowed (as the whins will by that time be quite rotted) for either wheat or barley.-Broom is to be managed in the fame way; and in both cafes the fpade is to be made ufe of, for trenching the ground, and throwing the earth, from the intervals, upon the whins, or broom, which are to be laid only upon the beds, whereon the potatoes are intended to be fet.A likely method (in our opinion) for the purpose.

In chapters ix-xvi. he gives us the management of, what are usually called, the artificial graffes, as clover, lucerne, faintfoin, rye-grafs, and burnet. After defcribing the ufe and advantage of cultivating clover, he judicioufly adds, that it is a grofs mistake to let the firft crop of clover-hay ftand too long before it is cut: for when it ftands till the bottom of the ftalk turns brown, it is drained of its fubftance, and has exhaufted the root too much of its vigour, fo that when mown the stubble is left as dead as that of corn; and the next shoot must come from the very root, which admits of [occafions] a fortnight's delay in the growth of the crop: whereas, if it was cut while the italk is green and full of fap, it would fend forth fresh fhoots

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out of the very ftalk, a little below the cut; and the coat of clover being stripped off, the roots are fupplied with fresh air, and kept in vigour, to fupport, and bring to maturity, the fucceeding crop. It is true, there may not be fo great a bulk of hay in the first crop; because the ftalk is cut when soft and full of juices, and therefore flattens, and cakes together when in ftack. It alfo requires more care in making; but as this happens in the height of fummer, there is not much danger that way: and a ftone of fuch hay is worth two of that which is left to ftand till the ftalks are dry and hard.'-This remark appears to be rational; and might, perhaps, be extended, in fome degree, to natural grafs, which undoubtedly makes the finest hay, when cut before it is perfectly ripe; otherwife the ftem of the grafs will be little better than ftraw, in refpect to the nourishment of the cattle that eat it.

In chap. xvii. On manuring Land;-he strongly recommends additional plowings (even to the number of ten or a dozen) for enriching corn-land; and advifes dung to be laid chiefly upon grafs-land; for which practice he gives feveral reasons, to which every judicious farmer will pay a due attention, as they seem calculated to promote his real intereft.

The Author, in the five next chapters, treats of Manures in general, and introduces fome very fenfible remarks on a subject highly interefting to every practical farmer.

In the fubfequent part of this volume, we are inftructed in the management of all the different fpecies of corn and pulse; and we meet with directions for raifing rape and cole feed: but for these, and other particulars well deferving notice, we are obliged to refer the inquiring hufbandman to the book.

Chap. xl. contains remarks, made in the Weft of England, on his favourite topic, trench-plowing; which he reprefents as being more generally practifed, and approved of, in that part of the country, than elsewhere.--In the fucceeding chapter he recommends thin fowing, or rather planting the grains of wheat at equal distances, either by hand, or by a machine, as one of the moft falutary measures that can be well adapted for public good. Would all the farmers in the kingdom (fays he) come into this faving method, of fetting the feed, it would be one step towards reducing the price of provifions, as it would fave annually, at least, a million quarters of corn; which, by the prefent method, is thrown away, and loft. The money paid for labour to make this faving, would go, in a direct channel, to fuch women and children, as might otherwife be idle.'

In his Appendix he offers a few hints to the confideration of the legislature:

REV. Jan. 1775

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1. Concerning the growing evil of inclofing open townfields, and adding farm to farm. By thefe methods (of late too much in vogue) agriculture, the great fupport of population, is diminished, by the fudden change of corn-land, to grass; the usual confequence of an inclofure. He therefore recommends a reftraint to be laid upon this practice; and would have the fize of farms limited to 400 acres at the most.

2. He recommends 'a dog-act, by which a tax of 5 s. should be laid upon every dog in the nation. He computes the num-' ber of thefe ufelefs animals, kept at prefent, to amount to two millions, which is, furely, too high and he reckons' the expence of keeping them to amount to 20 s. each, annually. The tax propofed, he thinks, 'would reduce the number, at lealt, one half, and thereby fave yearly (among the poor) a million of money, now needlessly thrown away; and the tax propofed on the other half would annually rate 250,000 1.' for the fervice of the Public. If it is allowed (as he affirms) that what will keep a dog, will 'keep 'a' pig, one may eafily tee which would be the most profitable to a poor man's family.

3. He wishes for an act to establish ore general ftaridard of weights and measures, to be observed through the kingdom. This regulation has been long talked of, and, to the fhame of our police, only talked of.

4. He propofes an act to enforce the general ufe of broadwheel'd waggons, two to roll within two. We fhould then, [he fays] have good roads, without any other expence than that of a drain on each fide, to take away the water.”

5. He thinks great advantages would arife from an act to make GAME the private property of the occupier of the land where it is found. This would put a final ftop to poaching, as it would be every landholder's intereft to watch his wild as well as his tame ftock.'-Though this law would fecure the property of game to the tenant, yet he allows that the landlord fhould, notwithstanding, have full power to hunt and shoot at all proper feafons; as at prefent.

6. He fuppofes that limiting the fize of farms to 400 acres, at the moft, would have a great tendency towards making improvements flourish, and plenty abound; as it would, then, be in the power of every one to make the moft of his ground, by being able to fill the whole with fome profitable crop or other.

7. Though he is against inclofing open town-fields, yet he thinks a general act for inclofing waste lands, or forefts, would be of great utility to the Public, by bringing plenty to the market. In this particular we are entirely of our Author's opi nion; as the many incultivated' heaths, wherewith our country abounds, must be allowed, by every unprejudiced person, to be

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capable of fuch improvement, as would, at once, promote both public and private intereft,

Thus have we endeavoured to give a general view of the work before us; wherein we meet with many useful, many trite, and fome erroneous obfervations; the whole frequently obfcured by a multiplicity of needlefs words, which we would advife the Author, by all means, to get retrenched, in cafe another edition of his book fhould happen to be called for: in which view the correcting hand of a judicious friend (wh fhould be an experienced farmer) might be of great ufe, as few people can bring themfelves to a refolution of fufficiently retrenching their own fuperfluities.

ART. IV. Rational Recreations, in which the Principles of Numbers and Natural Philosophy are clearly and copiously elucidated, by a Series of eafy, entertaining, interefting Experiments; among which are all thofe commonly performed with the Cards. By W. Hooper, M. D. 8vo. 4 Vols. 1. 1 s. Boards. Davis. 1774.

I

T is the principal object of the experimental philofopher to inquire into the caufes of natural appearances, by placing bodies in different fituations, obferving the refults, and thence deducing their general properties, as well as their particular relations to each other. Of the numerous experiments that have been made with this defign many exhibit fuch fingular and ftriking phenomena, as never fail to excite the attention even of the most incurious fpectator; who, while he receives amufement from the fingular or pleafing appearances exhibited to his view, may perhaps at the fame time ftumble upon inftruction, and acquire fome useful information concerning the principles which produce them. Several writers of the laft and prefent century have accordingly endeavoured to drefs up philofophy in this alluring garb; and have made collections of the more pleafing or fingular experiments. From thefe the prefent Author has compiled the work before us, in which, likewife, a few original experiments are added to thofe of his predeceffors; and he has prefented others under a new face, so as to render them more ftriking or amufing: illuftrating the whole by a confiderable number of plates.

The experiments, or recreations, as the Author terms them, which are contained in this work, are claffed under certain general heads; to each of which is prefixed a fet of aphorifms and propofitions relating to each particular fubject. In an advertisement (which is followed by an introduction much too florid and declamatory for the occafion) the Author affures us that the principles of each fcience are here laid down in a few plain aphorifms, fuch as require no previous knowledge, and very little capacity or attention to comprehend.' We think, on the

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contrary, that the reader, who has no previous knowledge, must be poffeffed of a very great capacity, and have a peculiar facility in the acquifition of fcience, joined to an uncommon fhare of attention, to profit greatly by thefe aphorifms, or apply them to the explanation of the experiments to which they are prefixed.

In compiling this collection the Author feems to have shewn rather too ftrong a propenfity to gratify the paffion for the marvellous; not, only by the whimsical and fingular titles which he gives to fome of the moft common philofophical experiments, (fuch as the magical bottle, the marvellous veffel, &c.) but by the large space which he has allotted to other marvellous performances very diftantly allied to philofophy. A confiderable, and much too great a portion of this work, is adapted to qualify the Author's pupil to become rather a conjuror than a philofopher; a very large part of it being appropriated to the performance of experiments, vulgarly called tricks, with cards; fome of which are fo complicated, and depend fo much on a peculiar addrefs, as to appear to us rather the objects of a serious study than a recreation. A moderate number of recreations of this nature might have been properly enough admitted into a work of this kind; merely to give an inquifitive reader a little infight into fome of the methods employed by a Comus and a Jonas to lay our understandings afleep, while they impose on our fenfes by their hafty and hidden manoeuvres. But there is too much of this particular fpecies of Recreative Philofophy' in this performance; and after all, we doubt whether the Author, or thofe from whom he copies, are quite in the fecret of these fages. We have feen many tricks performed by Jonas, of which we do not difcover the rationale in this work.

Out of the numerous articles in the different parts of this performance, that come under the clafs of conjuration, we shall felect only one piece of legerdemain as a fpecimen, which is of a fimple kind, and which we give for that reason. It is intitled The Tranfpofable Pieces. Instead of tranfcribing the Author's chapter, we fhall relate the trick in our own manner:

A conjurer exposes to the view of the company a guinea in his left hand, and a fhilling in his right. He shuts both hands, and keeping them afunder tells them that by the power of his art the pieces fhall change places. Without any visible manœuvre, except that of opening his hands, he immediately presents to the fpectators the fhilling in his left hand, and the guinea in his right, and forthwith proceeds to fome new trick, to prevent inquiry.

To those who know the trick already we are almost ashamed to offer an explanation; but for the fake of fuch as may be unacquainted with it, or may not already have gueffed at it, we

hall