ties. This has been a moft meritorious progrefs, clofely attending that first of improvements, inclosing heaths and waftes. The crop is not yet perfect in the hands of all farmers, for I cannot fay that I faw none unhoed; there are fome flovens remaining, who either hoe but little, or doing it by fervants, and not being in a regular fyftem, execute it in a very infufficient manner. "But immenfe tracts are very well managed; and, by many perfons, in as capital a flyle as any in Norfolk. This, upon the whole, is a moft happy and important change; and has had great effects in improving the fize, and increafing the number, of the sheep and cattle of the county." P. 138. Drilling appears, from general experience, not to have anfwered in this county, especially on a large fcale. "I called at Mr. Scoffin's, at Barton, but he was abfent." P. 139. A paffage, conveying fo little information, might as well have been abfent from the book. Dibbling has been tried in very few inftances, but has fo far anfwered well. "Woad. The annexed plates will give fome ideas of the erections at Brothertoft for this object. The contrivance of the whole has great merit; and Mr. Cartwright appears to have carried every branch of this cultivation to a degree of perfection, to which no other perfon has probably attained; the exertions he has made in this purfuit are capital and interefting." P. 156. Hemp. Carry it for graffing to an eaten eddish, which it improves much, great grafs fucceeding it; nor does it taint so as to make cattle refufe it." P. 157. This is not the whole advantage which might be derived from hemp to grafs-lands. The ftagnant water, in which it is fteeped, would be an excellent manure; but it is entirely neglected. Parley. This plant is cultivated as an artificial grafs by Mr. Stephenfon of Swinefhead, mixed with white clover; 14lb. an acre of the latter, and 2lb. of the former. It lies three years; and the first fupports from 6 to 10 fheep an acre. The fecond, it is manured; and keeps alfo from 6 to 10 an acre; the third, it carries from 7 to 11 an The foil is the fertile loam of Holland Fen." P. acre. 170. From this, and a few other experiments, it feems to " merit more attention than it has received, and probably would be found a valuable article upon any theep-farm" P. 170. ་་ Hay." Alas! poor Lincolnshire. Every thing in hay-making that I have feen in Lincolnthire, is barbarous." P. 196. "Hay feeds," fays Mr. Cartwright, "fo called, abound in general with feeds of various plants unfit for either pasture or meadow, with troublesome troublesome and pernicious weeds, and even with graffes deferving no better appellation. Hence it feems beft wholly to abandon the use of hay feeds, and to lay down land with nothing but fuch grafs feeds as can be obtained feparately and pure; trufting to nature for a fupply of fuch other graffes as the foil may peculiarly affect." "Gardens and Orchards. I cannot let this title pafs without obferving, that there is nothing in Lincolnshire more mistaken than the idea, that a garden may be confidered as an object of luxury, and not of profit. There is no part of a farm that is more beneficially productive, with views of economy, than a well cultivated garden," P. 212. After much dry reading, we hail with pleafure a little jocularity. "Near Brocklesby, &c. there are large tracts of excellent land under gorfe; and at Caburn and Swallow, I paffed through the fame for miles: it is a beautiful plant to a fox-hunter. Lord Yarborough keeps a pack of hounds; if he has a fall, I hope it will be into a furze-bush; he is too good to be hurt much, but a decent pricking might be beneficial to the county." P. 224. "Every circumftance concerning fo very large a tract as the undrained fens, deferves attention. For the following particulars, I am indebted to Sir Jofeph Banks, who knows more of them, perhaps, than any other perfon in the county. The Eaft and Weft fens were drained by adventurers in the time of Charles I. fome account of whose undertakings may be feen in Dugdale's Hiftory of Embanking and Draining; they were about that time actually inclofed and cultivated. It is probable that the undertakers and the king, to whom a fhare was allotted, had taken to themselves a larger portion of the fen than the county thought just and reasonable; for in the time of the great rebellion, a large mob, under pretence of playing at foot-ball, levelled the whole of the inclofures, burnt the corn and houses, destroyed the cattle, and killed many of those who occupied the land. They proceeded to destroy the works of drainage, fo that the country was again inundated as it formerly had been. After the Reftoration, the adventurers repaired their works, refumed their lots of property, and began again to cultivate them, but the country, who always confidered themfelves oppreffed, by trefpafs upon the grounds, compelled the adventurers to defend their rights by a courfe of law; in which it was determined, that the original agreement was not valid, and confequently the property of the whole level was vefted in its original proprietors. From this time the drainage was carried on under the Court of Sewers, principally by means of the adventurers' drains; but the river Witham being neglected, and nearly filted up, they became fo much oppreffed, that application was made to Parliament in 1762, when an act paffed, by which the prefent works have been made, which are probably fufficient to carry off the whole of the downfall waters; but till a catchwater drain is made to keep feparate thofe that fall upon the hills, from thofe which fall upon the level, and a proper outfall provided, to carry the the hill waters feparately to the fea, the expence of which will probably be equal, if not exceed that of the Witham drainage, the land can never be confidered as fafe winter land; neither can it be thought advisable to divide and inclofe it. Thefe fens, Ealt confifts of 12424 acres, one rood, one perch. The undertakers' drains left only zoco acres under water; but I am credibly informed, that the outfall of Maudfofter, as that goat now lies, is capable of draining dry the deepe pits in that fen. "The Weft fen contains 16924 acres, two roods, fix perches. As the undertakers laid that quite dry, there can be no doubt of the prac ticability of any undertaking there." P. 225. The account at pp. 233. 234, of the friendly inclination of the Dutchy Court of Lancatter, and of Sir Jofeph Banks, its leffee, towards the drainage and inclofure of the Fens, may be highly interesting to Lincolnshire men; but is not enough fo to our readers in general, to justify an extract of thofe pages. Of a different nature are the following juft reflections, by which our remarks will be clofed for the prefent month. By the annexed Map of the drainages in the fouth-east district of the county, united with the improvements on the Ancholin, and in Axholm, it will appear that there is not probably a county in the kingdom that has made equal exertions in this very important work of draining. The quantity of land thus added to the kingdom, has been great; fens of water, mud, wild fowl, frogs, and agues, have been converted to rich pafture and arable, worth from 20s. to 40s. an acre. Health improved, morals corrected, and the community enriched. Thefe, when carried to fuch an extent, are great works, and reflect the higheft credit on the good fenfe and energy of the proprietors. Without going back to very remote periods, there cannot have been lefs than 150000 acres drained and improved, on an average, from 5s. an acre to 258.; or a rental created of 150cool. a year. But fuppofe it only 10coool. and that the profit has on an average been received during the period of thirty years; the rental has in that time amounted to three millions, and the produce to near ten; and when, with the views of a political arithmetician, we reflect on the circulation that has attended this creation of wealth through induftry; the number of people fupported; the confumption of manufactures; the fhipping employed; the taxes levied by the flate; and all the claffes of the community benefited; the magnitude and importance of fuch works will be feen; and the propriety well underftood of giving all imaginable encouragement and facility to their execution. Thefe are the refults of that government, which fo many, living and fattening under its protection, wish to exchange or hazard, for fpeculative legislation of a more popular caft. Early in the days of republican France decrees iffued for draining marthes; I do not afk, what progrefs has been made? But I would demand, if any drainages cqual to this have been executed in that kingdom during a century? From Bourdeaux to Bayonne, in one of the fineft climates of Europe, nearly all is marth. What Frenchman has been actuated by the bleffings of republican fe curity, eurity, as to lay out one louis on that or any other marsh or bog? Thefe undertakings prove the reliance of a people on the fecure poffellion of what their induftry creates; and had it not been for common-rights, all England would long ago have been cultivated and im proved; no caufe preferves our waftes in their prefent ftate, but the tenderness of government in touching private property. A farming traveller must examine this country with a cold heart, who does not pray for the continuance of a system of legiflation which has tended fo powerfully to adorn, improve, and cultivate the country, and to diffufe profperity and happinefs through the whole fociety." ́ P. 246. (To be continued.) ART. XV. Poems and Plays. By Mrs. Weft, Author of a Tale of the Times, a Goffip's Story, &c. &c. Two Volumes. 12mo. Longman. IOS. 1799. WE very readily take the earliest opportunity of fhowing our refpect for the author of thefe elegant volumes, who has already diftinguished herself by different performances, which communicate inftruction to the young, greatly interest those of more advanced years, and afford amufement to readers of every defcription. Mrs. Weft ranks very highly among thofe moralifts who have exerted their fuperior talents in checking the operation of modern philofophy, however ably or infidiously propagated; and we affert, without fcruple, that among the multitude of tranflations from the German and French, which have within thefe few years been intruded on our notice, we have met with nothing comparable to the Tale of the Times, or the Gotfip's Story. Thefe fentiments, and this praise, we are proud to record. In the prefent instance, the author appears in a new character; if truth and juftice will not allow us to affirm, that the is entirely equal in this fpecies of compofition, we may unrefervedly affert, that whoever is delighted with elegance, harmony, and accuracy in poetry, will perufe` thefe volumes with no common fatisfac tion. The first volume confifts of a Tragedy and mifcellaneous Poetry; the fecond of a Comedy and Poetry, of the fame variety as occurs in the firft. Mrs. Weft ingenuously informs her readers, in a very pleading and fenfible Introduction, that having offered the Tragedy and Comedy to the managers of our theatres, both were refufed, Of the Tragedy, we cannot but Say, that we think it might easily have been accommodated to to the taste of an English audience. The language, fentiments, and plot, feem to us unexceptionable; we indeed do not fee why the catastrophe thould have been fo very tragical; there exifts no fort of neceffity for the death of Herbert; poetical justice required the punishment of Theodore and Mordaunt; but we do not perceive why the hero and the heroine might not have been rewarded for their conftancy and virtue. Some parts of this piece are highly poetical; and we may say of the whole, with the exception above made, that although it might not perhaps have pleafed in the exhibition, it is impoffible to perufe it without fincere gratification. Among the different poetical fpecimens in the first volume, we could felect many which would do to the writer much hoWe were most pleafed with the Addrefs to Poverty, from which we extract a part.. nour. "AN ADDRESS TO POVERTY. With which Defpair hath arm'd thy hand, |