Such is the picture of St. Helena, as drawn in various parts of his introductory chapter by Mr. Brooke. He describes also, the civil and military establishment of the island; and narrates the events which have taken place in it, from its discovery, May 21, 1501, by the Portuguese, by the loss of one of their ships on it. It was greatly improved, as a residence, by Fernando Lopez, an unfortunate Portaguese nobleman, who preferred a voluntary exile in it, to a disgraceful reception at home. That nation preserved their secret concerning this island, nearly 90 years they were at length expelled by the Dutch; who abandoned St. Helena, on establishing themselves at the Cape, in 1651, and the English East India Company settled on it the same year. It was surprised by the Dutch in 1072; but was speedily regained by the English: and has continued ever since under British authority. From the scanty patches of herbage on the heights contiguous to the sea, neither black cattle nor sheep, even had nature, fitted them for traversing such craggy precipices, could which in many parts are inaccessible to men, deric e much sustenance. But in those cliffs thrives where other animals would perish. the goat finds excellent browzing, and To obtain a good breed of these creatures became an object of very early attention. Orders were sent by the company to Bombay and Surat, to forward to St. Helena a proportion of ram and ewe goats on every homeward-bound ship, until a sufficient breeding stock was procured. But if by this it was intended to introduce a larger species, the what has been stated by the writer of Cavenmeasure would hardly appear necessary after dishe's Voyage. The fecundity of the goats in a very few years multiplied their number to such a degree that they were regarded as wild animals, and hunted down by dogs and guns without restraint. This practice was interdicted in the year 1678, by proclamation; but masters of families and house governor and council, to appropriate flocks Mr. B. states the progressive improve-keepers were permitted, on application to the ment of the island, from cabal and anarchy to loyalty and repose: together with the plans and endeavours of various go vernors for obviating defects, as well of the port, as of the interior of the island; and we learn, that it now exceeds, in conveniencies as well as in strength, whatever it might boast of, in former times cannot follow our author into the particu lars of this history: for them we must refer to the work. Neither can we enumerate the various attempts to introduce the cultivation of the vine, for the purpose of making wine; of cotton, of indigo, of sugar, of tobacco, which grows spontaneously in some places. The scarcity of fuel on this island seems to be an itsuperable bar to whatever requires the aid of fire to prepare it for exportation. Seasons of dryness, also, which return every seven or eight years, are very serious hindrances to the regularity of those returns that are the best supports of a planter's exertions. Before the destruction of the goats had been asserted to and agreed on, it was stipu. Welated, that those persons who had enjoyed the advantages of Resping flocks on the Com pany's waste land, should have the limits of the respective ranges defined, and registered, former indulgencies should be restored. and, at the expiration of the ten years, the What was, therefore, at first considered as an indulgence, was, upon that occasion, constituted a right. Laws were enacted which admitted and vested in certain persons, the right of keeping goats on certain parts of the Company's waste land. The land itself still remains in property to the Company, The value of this species of property depends on the safety or danger of the range, its extent, capability, and other local circum The following extract describes a pecudiarity, equally observable and amusing. The superabundance of goats on this island, where there are no wild animals to diminish their numbers, will be remarked by the philosophic reader: it may be compared to an occurrence at the Mauritius, as related by Buffon, where the progeny from a single pair of birds became at length the plague of the island. stauces. dred goats in one situation will perhaps sell The privilege of keeping one hunfor one hundred pounds, whilst in another it is scarcely worth thirty pounds. The right in each range is generally possessed by two, three, or more proprietors, by whom stated days are fixed for impounding the goats; a task of difficulty and danger to any but those unaccustomed to the scenery and rural ecoinured to it from childhood. A spectator, with the singularity of a St. Helena goatnomy of the island, cannot but be struck pounding. The eye, fearfully wandering over the abyss beneath, here and there peal is made by punishment consisting in disgrace :-even that untractable race of men, the Malays, has been managed by consulting their sense of dignity. catches a glance of the rill that murmurs at the foot of the declivity. On the opposite side a dreary rugged mountain is seen to rise stupendous; here and there a small patch of herbage is discernible, but the general appearance exhibits little more than huge impending rocks, and the apertures of caverns, which afford shelter to the nimble inhabitants of these wilds. The interven-ring the two years which they remained" tion of hanging clouds, which sometimes obscure the depth of the valley from sight, leaves the uncontrolled imagination to rove in the idea of unfathomable profundity. The blacks by whom the goats are impounded spread themselves on the outskirts of the range, to collect the stragglers, and impel them in a direction towards the pound, by loud shouts, and rolling down stones. The echoes resounding through the vallies and cliffs, in the midst of such rude scenery, have an effect truly romantic. After the lapse of an hour, or more, detached flocks of a dozen goats, or upwards, are seen, like so many moving specks, followed by their hunters, who with cautious footsteps tread their dangerous way through ledges where a single slip would precipitate them to destruction. As they approach nearer to their place of destination, the different flocks unite into one; the goats move with a slower step, and the cries of the blacks are heard with quicker repetition and a shorter note, until, arriving near the entrance of the pound, the goats rush in with rapidity, and as many of them are taken as are required for use. Each pro They were incorporated into two companies, and trained to artillery practice. Ther proved extremely useful, and, du on the island, were no less conspicuous for their discipline than for their peaceable con duct. But this may certainly be attributed to the peculiar manner in which they were treated. No European was suffered to strike or chastise them on any pretence whatever; and they were punished by no other autho rity than the sentence of a court martial, composed of Malay officers. The facilities afforded by St. Helena, in recovering many hundreds of soldiers, who had quitted India, in an enfeeble d condition, in contributing to sudden and their shipping, as on the Cape, and since spirited attacks on the Dutch, as well on Mr. B. composed his volume, to the expedition against Buenos Ayres, are so many instances of the advantages to be derived from this post of observation. An Appendix containing charters, regulations, &c. for the colony concludes the volume. Communications to the Board of Agricul ture; on Subjects relative to the Husbandry, and internal Improvement of the Coạn, try. Vol. VI. Part I. Price 15s. bds. pp. 207. W. Nicoll, London, 1808. 8 THE Board of Agriculture is one of those institutions, that do equal honour and service to the age which has effected their establishment, From the united efforts of a number of intelligent and scientific men, many beneficial results must ensue, although the communications of an individual may be thought of small importance alone. The variety of sub prietor has his respective mark cut in the animals' ears; and during the process of following the locks, the blacks, by observing those kids that keep with their masters' ewes, are enabled to put on them their proper mark when impounded. Mistakes in this instance are rarely known to occur. often happens that in driving the goats a few will break away, and effect their escape; but they are sometimes re-taken and secured by the celerity of their pursuers, who run among the ledges, and spring from rock to rock, on the brink of precipices that would justify a description such as Shakespeare has given of Dover Cliff. As many of the planters are as active and expert as the blacks injects, too, that are treated on, in such a this exercise, they are well calculated for the collection as that before us, contributes service of riflemen, a corps in which they essentially to the usefulness of the work, are embodied. A range, called the Devil's and may not seldom afford instruction to a Hole, on the S. W. side of the island, is so party on one subject, whose researches very steep and dangerous, that the proprietors are intendedly directed to another. seldom procure a goat from it without the aid of a fowling-piece. We observe with satisfaction that corporal punishment has been disused among the slaves, who are now incited by medals and rewards; and among the soldiery,to whose feelings of personal honour an ap A work that consists of short essays is not susceptible of analysis: we shall therefore only observe, that the chief contents of this volume are,- a paper on the planting of waste lands, by the Bishop of Landaff; another by the Rev. James Willis of Sopley, Hants; a letter by J. C. Curwen, to say that the larches are as thriving as I could wish them to be; thousands of them measuring from fourteen to eighteen inches At the same time, and on the same mounin circumference, at six feet from the ground. ing, and annually made good shoots for six Scotch firs were planted; these looked flourish or eight years after planting; they then began to decay, and are now, literally speaking, all dead. M. P. on soiling cattle; experiments by Edward Sheppard, esq'on Merino sheep; with an account of the cultivation of hemp and flax in Russia, &c. by James Durno, esq. British consul at Memel. The com-tain, but apart from the larches, 29,300 munications that follow these, contain various valuable hints, on different subjects, as red oats, barley, ruta-baga, carrots, beans, &c. on embankments, and reservoirs, on the methods of destroying insects, on planting roads, on the poor, &c. We are also favoured with an opportunity of comparing the agriculture of our neighbours in Flanders, and Germany, with our own; also that of far distant India. Other articles are added, of importance in their places. The whole number of papers is 32. We think, however, that the date of several of these communications being so far back as 1794, 96, or 98, the promises of further experiments, to be reported when complete, should have given place to statements, which, we may fairly presume, have been made, of the result of those experiments, in the course of ten or a dozen years; or if their projectors had found cause to abandon them, the Secretary should have consulted the dignity of the Board, by substituting less dubious propositions, in a work intended to be standard among a considerable class of the community. The land on which the experiment recently made by his lordship, and to which his letter chiefly refers, is called Gomershow. greatest part of it, nothing but strong ling; It is very rocky, producing, as to the its elevation is so great, that it is seen in every direction, at a great distance, rearing its hemispherical head, above all other mountains in the vicinity of Winandermere. If the larches which are now planted, at six feet distance, quite round the sides, and on the top of this mountain, should thrive well, entertain the strongest hopes, we may in of which, from their present appearance, I future become less solicitous about shelter for this hardy tree, and less disposed to plant them closer than six feet apart, than many seem at present to be. If my expectations are disappointed, the failure will not be without its use, as a warning to others. The whole sum expended in planting 322,500 larches, at 30s. à thousand, amounts to £483, 158. say £483. The fencing the The Bishop of Landaff states the ad- the account, because the land must have been plantation is not in this estimate, taken into vantages to be derived from the planting of fenced before it could have been let as a sheep waste lands, in a very favourable manner. pasture, and the relative advantage of plant Soil, exposure, and other considerations.ing, instead of pasturing it, is the object must regulate such undertakings: yet, as we are glad when we meet with mountaies, or moors, formerly rude and barren, now adorned with growing woods, we cannot but recommend his lordship's paper to particular attention. The reve jend writer inforus us, that, under contemplation. If £483 be improved at the compound interest of £5 per cent. for sixty years, it will amount to £9,021 this sum is the loss sustained in sixty years by whole loss. The rent of 379 acres will be planting 322,500 larches; but it is not the lost for ten years; this rent (say £47, at 2s. 6d. an acre) being improved for ten years, will amount to £519, and will make the whole loss in sixty years amount to £9,612. The land called Wansfell, on which I made a plantation of forty-eight thousand larches near Ambleside, and for which I received a If any one should be of opinion, that the gold medal in 1789, from the Society for the pasture will not, at the expiration of ten years, Encouragement of Arts, &c. has been, for (on account of the space which will then be several years, let at a greater rent, as a sheep occupied by the larches), be worth more than pasture, than I could have had for it before I£27 a year, we may add to the preceding planted it; nor are the trees injured in the slightest degree, by the sheep. As this was the first effort made in Westmoreland of planting very high ground with larches; and as I Asas dissuaded from planting there, by the ge-years, peral opinion, that no tree would ever arrive in that sitnation at the thickness (as was said) of knife haft, I have great pleasure in being able sum £9,612, the amount of £20 a year (the supposed diminution in the value of the pas ture) improved for fifty years; that amount will be £4,186, and the whole loss in sixty by planting 322,500 larches on 379 acres of land, worth half a crown an acre, will be £13,798. Having thus stated, with sufficient minute Great quantities of waste lands, (says he) and of commons appurtenant to cultivated lands, and of open fields, have for some years past been annually inclosed by acts of parlia ness, the amount of the whole loss which can probably be sustained by this undertaking in sixty years, I might proceed to make a circumstantial estimate of the profit which will probably be derived from it at twentyment, and the lands thus brought into seveyears hence, when one half of the trees, viz. 161,000 (supposing 500 to have perished) should be cut down; and at forty years hence, when one half of the remainder, viz 80,000, (supposing another 500 to have perished) should be taken away; and at sixty years hence, when (though another 500 should have perished,) there will be 80,000 trees of sixty years growth, and not more than 302 on an acre to be felled, if the then proprietor should have the heart to do it. There is a quantity of land, both in Great Britain and Ireland, of very little value in its present state, and which cannot be converted, with profit to the undertaker, either into arable or good pasture land, but which be ing planted with larches, would immediately pay a rent of above thirty shillings a year. This assertion requires some illustration...... ralty have been so improved by planting in some places, and by mending the pasturage in others, and by converting much into tillage which had never been ploughed before, that the whole kingdom is in these respects, as well as in its commercial relations, far more flourishing than it was forty years ago. I indeed am not one of those who consider the increased luxury of the country as a public benefit, or as any proper criterion of public strength and prosperity; yet, when I see the great bulk of the people (I speak not of the vicious refuse of an overgrown capital), to be better fed, better clothed, better lodged, and better educated, than the same class either ever was, or now is any other part of the of this country to be extremely prosperous. world, I cannot but look upon the situation I am not ignorant that our commerce is the parent of our national opulence; and It consists in cutting down the whole at that our opulence, rather then the number of twenty or thirty years growth, and replanting the ground. A reasonable doubt how- tional strength. But should commerce ever our people, is the present sinew of our na ever may arise, whether the same will yield a desert us, as it has deserted all other coun➡ second crop of larches as valuable as the first; tries in which it once flourished, I am aux but supposing experience to prove this doubt ious that we should still be able to maintain to be ill founded, and five hundred acres to our station as a free people, among the desbe planted with larches at six or eight fect potic powers of Enrope. It would be far bet distance, after twenty-five years let twenty acres be cut down, and the land be replant-peasants, than a nation of gentlemen, wearter for us, to be a free nation of labouring ed; when the whole is thus gone over, the ing chains of slavery gilt by the gold of com first replanted part will be twenty-five years old, and be ready for the axe; and all the other parts will be ready in succession, twenty acres every year, for ever; affording a rent, after the first twenty-five years, of £1,500 a year from 500 acres of waste land. This rent is founded on the supposition of an acre of larches of twenty-five years growth being worth only £75 though there is good reason to conjecture, that it will be worth more; and a certainty that for the first twenty-five annual falls, its value will be increasing on account of the increasing age of the wood. This hint, may perhaps be of value to some of our readers.--Why should any land be waste? As we pay great deference to the opinion of those who have passed many years in the world, and have had opportunities of estimating present times by comparison with former, we are happy to find his lordship differ strongly from those who indulge a kind of despondency, on the contemplation of evils among mankind, which while every reasonable mind laments, it should meet with fortitude. merce. Certainly we would not have com merce supplant the national attention to agriculture; and as trade is proverbially fickle, let us not rest our dependence unreservedly on such a basis. Mr. Willis relates with approbation the cautious experiments of his neighbour, Mr. Clapcott. We heartily join in recommending equal prudence, at first, to others, who may intend to adopt more energetic measures and to conduct their operations on a widen scale after they have profited by results obtained with little labour and hazard. In March 1804, Mr. Clapcott inclosed with an earth bank 3 feet high, 5 feet at the bottom, 4 feet at top, at 1s. 3d. per, lug, part of which is planted with furz, part with quicksets, a square field of six acres covered with short heath and a few furz scattered on his experiments, was neither the best nor the the surface. The soil he made choice of for worst part of his allotment; it was such an average quality, as would faitly and honestly try the value of the lands, in the different shapes of management, as might be employ- I have found the wool of his majesty's ed on lands in the state of nature. The re› ram much degenerated, from the compari. salt of these experiments, expenses, product, son ofspecimens in 1803 and the present year. and all things considered, were to regulate He has been kept in the highest state possible, his conduct, and determine the fate of the on the best pastures in the summer, and with extent of his future inclosures. This is a wise corn in the winter, and has been very hard and prudent method of commencing heath cul- worked. I do not fad such depreciation in tivation. I have ever recommended my friends the wool of the female produce from his mato begin with small quantities, to proceedjesty's ewes; they have not been kept in such gradually, and not to attempt to break up at high condition, and their fleeces are as fine as any time, a greater breadth then they can these of the original ewes, which died after faithfully attend to in all its branches of cul- bringing two lambs each. ture. By thus feeling their way, before they advance too far, they can retract or pursue their undertaking, according to the success of it. However, contrary to this doctrine, and I speak it with regret, many of my friends have speculated too largely in their endeavours to fertilize these wastes, without paying a due and proper attention to the culture or quality of the soil, without a sufficiency of manures, and with little judgment, have consequently fallen into errors and mistakes, attended with a heavy and fruitless expense. This inconsiderate way of proceeding has brought the system of heath farming into disrepute; lands that have been broken up have been relinquished in disgust, and suffered to return to a state of nature, when the failure may be attributed, not to the inferior quality of the soil, but to the inferior jugment of the cultivator. Although some modern writers, and, amongst others, M. De Lasteyrie, in his Treatise on Spanish Sheep, have asserted, that the quality of the wool does not depend upon the nature of the pasturage, I cannot think they are borne out by tacts or by sound reason. That, to a certain degree, as far as being essential to the health of the animal, nutritive pastures are necessary to the production of good and healthy wool, I readily admit; having frequently observed, that the wool of a half-starved sheep is sickly, and void of proof in manufacture. But, when the animal is kept high, and, by nutritious food, pushed forward in its growth, I am convinced that the fibre enlarges with other parts of the frame, and that, whenever an increased weight of wool is so produced, a deterioration in quality attends it." It is possible that in some places the ve The advantages of irrigation were un-getation may be forced by culture, and known in Yorkshire, in 1800; and the this again, may force the sheep that first attempt at the practice by Edward feeds on it; a principle of deterioraWilkinson, esq. of Potterton lodge, near tion from which the more natural pastures Witherby, was ridiculed by the country would be free. around it. The success of the method has completely repeiled that unwise prepossession against a nevelty; and we hope that no gentleman will be deterred from making any experiments that he thinks Fikely to succeed, by the fear of encountering the laugh of those who are little able to comprehend his reasons, or to estimate his intentions. Mr. Durno's paper on the management of hemp and flax is well entitled to consideration. As the cultivation of these plants is less likely to be adopted on a large scale, in Britain, than in some of her colonies, we recommend this paper to those who have connections in Canada, or other parts. The succeeding paper on the culture of flax, by the late Robert Mr. Curwen speaks of schistus, hither- Somerville, esq. is interesting at home: to considered as an enemy to vegetation, but while the raising of food is of such as being completely pulverized, by a mix- extraordinary consequence to Britain, as ture of hot lime; and in this state, when it is at present, we know not how to rethinly spread, as making a good top dress-commend any diversion of our agriculing; such incredibilities may ingenuity ef-tural strength from that necessary labour. fect! even almost in opposition to nature. Mr. S. however, affirms, that there is no The interest we take in the improve-need " to employ good arable lands in ment of British wool, has been manifest- this way, but that very large crops, of ed on many occasions, we have, therefore, read with attention Mr. Sheppard's account of his experiments made with the Merino breed of sheep. One particular will engage the attention of the naturalist. both hemp and flax may be obtained from moors, mosses, swamps, wastes, &c. with little labour and at small expense, while the tillage and other operations, given for the flax crops, will greatly facilitate their im |