few words, that we heartily join in the general approbation of the ingenious writer's first effay in this fpecies of compofition in which, we doubt not, if he continues to exercise his very promising talents, but that he will, in time, excel all his co-temporaries, as he is alrea dy, to fay the leaft in his favour, equal to the best of them.

MEDICAL.

Art. 25. The Ufefulness of a Knowledge of Plants: illuftrated in various inflances relating to medicine, husbandry, arts, and With the eafy means of information. By J. Hill, M. D. 8vo. 6d. Baldwin,

From a general ignorance in botany, which lays the public open to impofition from the dealers in medicinal herbs; the indefatigable doctor infers the utility of having a botanical garden to contain fam ples of fuch herbs, with their usual fubftitutions, to be always open, free of expence to any who may repair to it, for the improvement of their botanical knowledge. To this garden a guide or interpreter fhould be appointed; and the doctor makes a tender of his fervice for the execution of this defign, in the concluding paragraph,-viz.

• A little fpot would anfwer all thefe purpofes; and fach a garden might be fupported at a small expence. He wishes he had power to give the ground; who would not think it much to give his best endea vours for this public service.'

Art. 26. Answer to the Notes on the Pofcript to Obfervations anatomical and phyfiological. By Alexander Monro, jun. M. D. and Profeffor of Medicine and Anatomy in the University of Edinburgh. 8vo. 6d. Wilfon and Durham.

In a former article we took notice of the several pretenfions of Meffrs. Hunter, Monro, and Akenfide, to the merit of difcovering the lymphatics to be a fyftem of abforbing veffels. Dr. Akenfide having thought himself aggrieved by fome hints contained in the poftfcript to Dr. Monro's pamphlet, published notes or animadvertions upon them. To these laft, this fhort pamphlet is a reply.

Dr. Monro here difclaims the charge of having intended to drop any hints to the difadvantage of Dr. Akenfide's ingenuity or candour; and declares, that what the Doctor feems to interpret in that fenfe, is owing to a misapprehenfion of his meaning. But in regard to moit of the other points in debate, Dr. Monro enforces his former remarks, and endeavours to prove, that Dr. Akenfide has fallen into feveral phyfiological inconfitencies in his arguments concerning the nature and ufe of the lymphatics.

In this however, as in many other contraverfies of the learned, it may, with great propriety, be affirmed,

Rixatur de laná fæpe cuprina.

A N

APPENDIX

TO THE

MONTHLY REVIEW,

VOLUME the TWENTIETH.

The Practical Husbandman: being a collection of miscellaneous papers on Husbandry, &c. By Robert Maxwell, Efq; of Arkland. 8vo. 5 s. Edinburgh printed, and fold by Millar in London.

I

N the Preface to this book, the Author tells us, it is partly made up of papers chofen out of The felect Tranfactions of the Society of Improvers in the Knowlege of Agriculture in Scotland; but that the greateft part of it confifts of Memorials of Husbandry, wrote by him for perfons of diftinction in Great Britain, fince the publication of the above-mentioned Tranfactions. Thus made up, it treats of all foils in Scotland, of fundry in England; and fo many, and fo various plans are formed in it, that every farmer (he fays) may therein find directions for his husbandry: directions, as he afferts, agreeable to just principles, and the best practice hitherto followed.

As to the manner of conducting the work, its Author's own account is as follows. I have corrected vulgar errors, and formed a rational fyftem of Hufbandry. I have treated it as a fcience, making nature my guide. I have fhewn, that Husbandry, the foundation and fupport of manufactures and trade, may be, on an equal stock, more profitable than either of them; and I have all along given reafons for what I have faid, that by the trength of them my work may be judged.'

The foregoing feems to be a pretty just account of Mr. Maxwell's attempt; making all proper allowances, however, for the APPENDIX, Vol. XX.

PP

almost

almost unavoidable partiality of an Author, to the fruit of his own brain. What follows, we fear, will be thought to favour a little too much of the projector; and though it promifes to make us rich and happy, yet that is no more than the generality of Writers upon Husbandry have often promifed before, though they have never made their promifes good.-But hear Mr. Maxwell.

If farmers, fays he, will read my papers with as much attention as Ihave wrote them, will be convinced of errors, will depart from them, and will practice the Husbandry which I have directed, we must foon become rich, and may be happy."

As a fpecimen of our Author's manner of writing, we fhall fubjoin his effay on the improvement of mofs; a kind of foil, (if it may be called fo) that abounds in many parts of Scotland, and fome few in England, particularly Lancashire.

The nature, qualities, and methods of improving mofs, fo whereof there are so many vaft tracts in the kingdom, never having been, fo far as I know, treated of at length by any Author who has wrote on Hufbandry, I, with fubmiffion, offer my thoughts on the subject.

Mofs is almoft the only deep foil, and perhaps the beft of feveral whole counties, were its qualities well understood; tho' at prefent, by the greatest part, little valued, which makes the knowlege of the proper improvement of it the more neceffary and ufeful.-The whole mafs and body of it is a dunghill, made up of rotten timber, grafs, weeds, and often mud washed off from the higher grounds about it, by the land-floods; than which there are few richer compofts: only, by age, and its cold fituation in water, pent in about it by the neighbouring rifing grounds, its falts are weakened, and fpirits become languid.The fame will happen to the richest midding* that can be made of any compofition whatsoever, if too long kept; yea, it will become fuch, as not to be diftinguished from ordinary mofs by the eye fight, and no more ufeful as dung than it, except either in proportion to the shorter time it has been kept, or the better fituation of the place where it has stood.

I believe the qualities of moffes differ very little from one another in any other refpect, than with regard to the mud which makes a part of their compofition, its being of a better or worse quality, and as they happen to be in warmer or colder countries, or more or lefs fpungy, occafioned by the greater or leffer quantity of water flagnate in them: the more water, the more fpungy; the lefs water, the more fhort and rotten; and the rottener, the fitter for the vegetation of any thing that is planted

Another name for a dunghill, or heap of compoft.

in,

in, or fown on them.-The fpungy mofs grows, indeed, very well, and increases its own quantity; but becomes the fitter for the production of plants, roots, or herbs, by putting a stop to its growth. The most proper way to effectuate which, is draining. From this it follows, that draining is the first improvement of mofs; and fo neceffary, that other improvements cannot be made upon it, till that be executed; and, if well improved, it will produce and nourish vegetables to equal profit and advantage, as perhaps any fort or kind of foil.-I have feen upon it mighty crops of rape, wheat, barley, oats, and pease; parfnips, carrots, turnips, and potatoes; large and good coles, and herbs of various kinds; and it is good and convenient for meadow, being (befides other confiderations) free of stones.

If moss, improven, be fit for fo many good purposes, it seems very material to confider which are the moft proper methods of improving it. The best way, in my opinion, is to pare off the furface with horfes *; and a denfhiring or paring plough; then to burn it, fpread the afhes, and plough them in with a light furt, for a crop of rape, or fuch other crop as the mafter of the ground is moft difpofed to have. But befides that the rape is a valuable crop, in confideration of the feed, it gives this encouragement also for the fowing of it, that the large bulky ftalks on which the feed grows, afford a fresh fupply of falts when burnt ; and even while it is growing, the falling leaves, for want of air to exhale their moisture, become of a flimy, oily fubftance, rot the furface, and enrich the earth by their juices, falts, and rotting upon it.

It is proper with the second crop, at least with the third, to fow clover and rye-grafs, or feeds from hay-lofts; for it is a prodigious error to overcrop ground, before laying it down with grafs-feeds; but a third crop, if the fecond fhew, that the ground is in heart to yield it, is the more neceflary on this foil, (which is, as it were, ftitched together) that clover, or fuch fmall feeds, require the ground to be more pulverized than one, or even two plowings can, unless the fog § hath been wafted by burning, and that the quantity of afhes arifing therefrom was confiderable.The more afhes there are, unless the quantity be extravagant, and more than ever I saw the furface of any mofs yield, the better will the third crop of grain, and the after-crops of grafs be;

• But unluckily it happens, that the furface of a mofs will feldom bear the weight of hories.

Or fhallow furrow, we fuppofe.

It is not the intereft of a farmer to lay thefe afhes upon his lan, as they are more profitable if fold to the foap-boiler.

After-grafs, or eddish.

for they help much to cut and divide, and so to pulverize; which with due expositions to the benefits of the heavenly influences, is almost all that mols wants to make it fertile, if fuñciently drained.

• This grafs ought to be mowed, not paffured, till the furface become of frient frength to bem cattle. Thereafter it will not be improper, that it be mowed and paftured alternately, until the mafter of the ground incline to have more crops of rape or grain. Then (in cae either the deepnets of the mofs, or a clay bottom will allow of it, he may from time to time proceed in the forefaid method, of burning, cropping, and laying down with grass-feeds. — This, however, can only be done after the mois is become so firm, that it can hear the labouring cattle*, which requires a good level, and confiderable time to drain it; but that fuch a beneficiarimprovement may not be retarded, the mofs, if once tolerably dry, may be pared by an English turffpade, with which a man will pare as much in one day as in a day and a half, or perhaps two days, with the ordinary turffpades of this country ; and the turfs being burnt, the afhes may be plowed in by one man with a breat-plough, for four Shillings per acre; for the labour is not hard.

I humbly propofe to thofe that do not incline to fow rape, to plant potatoes. It is obferved, that the blue or white kidneykind thrive beft on this foil; but any fort will do well, and, if early planted, will be ready before the frofts can endanger their rotting.

It is plain that denfhiring is not only the moft ordinary, but alfo the most proper way to improve mofs; which for the moft part is either deep enough to bear it, or has clay below; for the fire revives the weakened falts, and if a clay bottom can be got at, the mixture of the clay, mofs, and afhes, makes one of the best of moulds.

But the fhorteft work of all for the improvement of mofs, defigned only for grafs, where the fituation gives opportunity for it, is this: firft drain the mofs: if there be heath upon it, burn it off, and make the furface equal. Then make a dam at the lowest part, and a fluice, and work the water upon it through the winters. The mud that comes by the land-floods will, in two or three years time, bring a fine fwaird upon it, and there

Here the Author himself confirms what we afferted in a preceding note.

Scotland.

This may poffibly be true in Scotland, but not in England, where it will colt as much as is here mentioned to plow an acre with horses.

after