can produce more than amounts to his own confumption, unless he shall be affured of a certain market. Equally vain it is to expect that convenience, but from an open trade; or plenty from any other fource than from unreftrained growth, and unreftrained difpofal. All those who employ their property in jobbing any article, in other words, foreftalling, or regrating it, or fpeculating upon it (for monopoly, in this cafe, is a term abfurd and inapplicable, feeing the market is open to all), are indirectly and virtually furnishing a capital for the growth of that article, and the oftener in a day, or an bour, they buy, and fell, and job the faid article, the greater proofs they exhibit of a laudable induftry; and the more they profit, the greater capital they accumulate, ultimately adminiftering to plenty, and the public benefit. Common fenfe, and never-failing experience throughout all ages, have evinced the abfolute neceflity of thefe middle men, in times of plenty; in times of dearth, they render a material service to the public, by checking exportation, and regulating the confumption and price in a meature proper to the crifis. Let the advocates for control over men's private commercial tranfactions anfwer the following queftion. After a fecond, or third productive year, what confequences would refult, if at that grand depot of corn, Mark Lane, London, no jobbers or fpeculators were permitted to engrofs the furplus? Thefe advocates are probably yet to be taught, that fuch an event would be attended with the certain confequence of total ruin to the inferior farmers, and moft of the country merchants; the fall of rents, the decreafe of culture, and lafly, of famine, or the neceffity of a conftant import of foreign corn.

"It is curious, although fuch an anomaly is by no means uncommon, that certain of the moft violent declaimers against this pretended fpecies of monopoly, are of the ftaunchcft fupporters of the real, and mot grievous, fuffered by the labouring claffes of this country. The liberty too which is affumed by thefe calumniators, of defaming honeft and fair-dealing men, for making the most of their own property, in the true and genuine fpirit of trade, the fame fpirit precifely, in which themselves act, in all collateral

tranfactions, is inconfiftent with the protection which all men have a right to require from a just government. Not only individuals, but even whole bodies of men,, farmers, millers, and cattle-jobbers particularly, are held up to public contempt and deteftation, in a manner to endanger their lives and properties, and to the ftirring up of a favage and ferocious, yet lurking fpirit of revenge, in the minds of the lower claffes, againft which the moft innocent man cannot guard. Nobody can be ignorant, that the fires and the many enormities which have happened, in every time of fcarcity, are to be attributed to the violent and inflammatory harangues and newspaper declamations against foreftalling. This year, pending a trial for regrating, chancing to be amongst fome labouring bricklayers, when the fubject of the trial was difcuffed, one of them remarked to me, that in Queen Anne's reign there was a fearcity of corn, but that on the mob rifing, and hanging up a farmer, corn inftantly fell in price; and that, had he the opportunity, he would hang one up in every county, the only method, in his opinion (and in this they all concurred), to make bread cheap. I overheard in the ftreet an elderly devout-looking perfon inftructing a young man, that those who held back corn in times of fcarcity deferved to be precipitated from the highest story of their houfes, and that their blood, like that of Jezebel, ought to be licked up by dogs! Another perfon related to me, that a man had faid, he knew a farmer whofe barn and granary were full of wheat, that the rafcal ought to be maffacred for it, and that if he could get the opportunity, he would fet his whole premifes alight. There are no doubt fome perfons, who give themfelves credit for extraordinary fagacity, in foftering this madness in the minds of the vulgar, and in goading them to action with their vehement orations, their paragraphs, and their popular ballads. They are cunningly turning out a tub to the whale, without reflecting, that after busying itself a while with their tub, the huge irrational brute may return, and swallow up themselves: that, to be fure, would be a thing to be lamented, but it is not lefs lamentable, that fincere and honeft men fhould lie thus at the mercy of addle-pated blockheads, or defigning knaves, who are

playing

DRAUGHT OXEN.

"SO much controverfial ink has been already fhed on the fubject of draught oxen, that I confefs myself not only heartily weary of it, but not a little apprehenfive of difgufting the reader by a repetition; yet, viewing it as a national queftion, particularly interefting in thefe times of warning or of actual scarcity, I am yet emulous of a farther endeavour to place it in a ftrong, if not in a new light. I remember to have read in fome old French book, that the reafon, why we of this country fo often failed in our enterprifes, was, because we took fuch a length of time to deliberate; and I cannot help thinking, that, inftead of wrangling for forty years, on the queftion of which we ought to prefer, oxen or horfes in agriculture, it would have been much more for the national profit, to have decided the difpute in one quarter of the time, by actual experimental practice. The fame reafoning applies equally to the home growth of Spanish wool; let us fet heartily about breeding the fheep, referring farther difpute to the wool-ftaplers, when the famples fhall have arrived at market.

"As to the draught-ox question, it ought, in the first place, to be viewed as a national one, and not, as it has frequently been, merely in reference to individual profit. Could the major part of our draught cattle be converted into food, the national profit thereby, would be fo immenfe and ftriking, as to exceed all calculation: befide bringing fuch an ample additional supply of the beft flesh provision to market, it would go to take from our general agricultural account, one very heavy funk charge, that of worn-out horses.

"It has been urged, that farmers may indemnify themfelves from any lofs on horfes, by breeding, or purchafing them young, and difpofing of them to advantage, in their prime; granting this, the national difadvantage in the end is the fame, and would be obviated in the ufe of oxen. But I am not difpofed to grant even this, without reftriction; for although I have feen plenty of calculations, in round numbers, of the certain profits to be made in this mode, by the fale of

fail in practice. 'Thefe calculations always fuppofe the horses advantageoufly bought, in the firft inftance, quite fuitable, and well fold in the conclufion; as a novel always ends in a mar riage and a fortune. The truth is, the fpeculation is not without its risks and difficulties, always encouraging a man to keep too many horfes, under the idea, that, being for fale, they therefore must be fed high, with little work; and frequently, the price is but a trifle more, with all the risk of change, than that of a good ufeful horfe, much wanted at home. I have known fiveand-twenty guineas given for a yearling, to be kept in the ftyle of a race horfe, until five or fix years old, on the fpeculation of then felling him at about thirty-five or forty pounds. Without denying the poffibility of individual profit, by this plan of felling labouring cattle in their prime, it furely might be done to equal advantage and far lefs riik, with cxen as with horfes.

"There are, moreover, in this queftion, various common affumptions on very infufficient grounds; the moft prominent of thefe are, the irremediable flownefs of oxen, and their inferiority of performance to horfes, as to quan tity of labour; but fuch objections do not, in the slightest degree, affect the` general queftion, provided credit be really due to the accounts we have of the qualifications (not of individuals), but of four feveral fpecies of our oxen, from which refource the whole country might be supplied, at least, as quickly as the cattle are probable to be demanded, during the existence of prejudice, and according to the gradual pace of improvement. Nor is there the fmalleft reafon to diftruft the often repeated teftimonies of the high qualifications of those famous breeds alluded to, the reporters being practical men, and of the utmoft refpectability. The fpecies are thofe of Herefordshire, Suffex, Devonshire, and part of Wales. Thefe oxen, the Devons being the moft fpeedy, and thofe of Herefordshire the ftrongeft, are equal to horfes, both at plough and cart, and by fome held even fuperior. One of the Turners of Herefordshire a family well known in that county, as farmers and pigdealers, has affured me, that their oxen are fuperior to horfes, in all refpects, in their long journics, at chalk

cart.

cart. I muft repeat, my opinion still remains the fame, of the neceffity and the profit of feeding the labouring ox with corn; nor does the expectation of finding them otherwise equal to horfes appear to me confonant with common fenfe. Here we have obviously the caufe of the alleged neceffity of keeping three or more oxen to do the labour of two horfes, a circumftance which must invariably occur with horfes themfelves differently fed, namely, one team with hay and corn, the other with hay only; but allowing fuch neceffity, it ought not to be forgotten, that the fuperfluous oxen would be all of the productive class, very unlike horses, and that thence would accrue neither national nor individual lofs, but even profit, fo long as beef fhould pay for keep. The faving of corn in the ufe of oxen, is not, or ought not, to be the object, as by fome erroneously fuppofed.

"The conclufions I am difpofed to draw from the above premises are, that in process of time nearly all the flow draught-work of Britain might be performed by the excellent breeds of cattle juft defcribed; and to my own conviction, with very few exceptions, equally in point of expedition as at prefent; but even allowing fome difadvantage in that respect, it must be confiderable indeed, not to be overbalanced by the confideration of employing cattle, which, after their la bour fhall be over, may be converted into the finest food for man. In fine, a mighty difficulty it is truly, for a gentleman farmer to fend into Herefordshire, Suffex, or Devonshire, to purchase a yoke or two of oxen for his own conviction, whether a pair of them, proportionally well corn-fed, will not equal, at plough or cart, a pair of his best horses." P. 101.

PISE BUILDINGS.

"A MOST expeditious and durable method has been for ages in ufe in the province of Lyons, in France, of building the walls of houfes of rammed and comprefied earth, provincially ftyled pife, of which a minute and interefting account may be found in vol. i. Board Communications, p. 387, presented by Henry Holland, Elq. architect.

"On this fubject a material queftion arifes; if it can be antwered favour

ably, the pifé method of building would merit univerfal adoption among us, for cottages and inferior farm-buildings, and alfo for garden and park walls. Will walls of earth be fufficiently dry, and equally durable, in our humid climate, as in the more favour able one of fouthern France? The memoir proceeding from fo able a judge as Mr. Holland, is a prefumption that no objection of the kind alluded to is probable to exift. However it may turn out, nothing can be more eafy than the experiment. Something fimilar to this method of building, being an improvement on the old Englifh mud wall, is fuccefsfully practised at Charlestown, Cornwall, the property of Charles Rafhleigh, Efq. The expenfe in Cornwall is about one third of that of brick-work. Concerning pife buildings, I have only room for a few general hints, and part of the details, referring the reader as above. The French author hints at the probability of fuccefs in this method of building, for even houses and large manufactories of several stories height; I muft own, however, it feems ftrange to me that a practice fo ancient (for an account of it may be found in Pliny's Natural Hiftory), and fo well known in Italy, Barbary, and Spain, fhould be confined in France to the Lyonese only, and remain unpractifed and even unknown in every other part of that country.

"The earth proper for this bufinefs is fuch as poffeffes fufficient tenacity, without too much moisture; good binding loam, or good brick earth, or clay tempered with lime and gritty fand. Of this earth, walls of any fize or height are constructed, fimply by ramming and compreffing it in wooden moulds or cafes. No chopped straw, or hair, or any foreign fubftance, is ever admitted in pife, which might tend to render the earth hollow and crumbling, the defideratum being the closest poffible union of particles, as in the natural procefs of the formation of ftone.

"In the preparation of the earth, dig with a pick-axe, break it fine, and make a heap. Ufe rakes, with an interval of an inch and a quarter between the teeth, that pebbles of the size of a walnut may efcape, and only the large ftones be drawn off. Little more earth must be prepared than can be worked

up in one day, and it is proper to work it under a fhelter, if poflible, at leaft to cover it in cafe of rain, which would make it mere puddle, and ufelefs for the purpofe; being too dry, it may be moistened with watering-pots, or, as I fhould conceive, with fresh tenacious earth: laftly, every foreign article fufceptible of change, confequently liable to rot, must be carefully picked out. On beating a small portion of earth, and weighing it immediately afterwards, it was found to contain thirty-nine pounds and an half; fifteen days after, it had loft four pounds and a quarter; in another fifteen days, it loft one pound; in fifteen more, its weight was diminished only half a pound. In the space of fortyfive days, the moisture was completely evaporated, and its weight diminished by about one eighth; confequently only one eighth of the whole was occupied by moisture. This experiment demonftrates the difference between pifé and mud walls, the materials of the former being originally dry, becomes impervious and folid, and capable of fupporting a heavy fuperftructure, even for a century or two; that of the latter being worked up with water, and mixed with heterogeneous perishable articles, when thofe decay, the walls become full of chinks and cavities, which render it weak, brittle, and of fhort duration." P. 190.

EMBANKMENTS.

"THERE are many parts of the kingdom where wonderful improvements may be made by embankments. Immenfe tracks of valuable land may be gained, not only from the fea, but from large rivers and lakes; and the advantages that would accrue, even by preventing many of thofe rivers from overflowing their banks, and in great floods inundating the whole adjacent level country, are too manifeft to require illuftration.

"In forme places, a bank of only three or four feet in height, might, at a very fmall expenfe, prevent thoufands of acres being overflown, whole crops being carried off, and an immenfe deal of other damage being done. In other parts, very trifling banks might be the means of gaining very large tracks of country, which, in their prefent state, are perhaps of little or no value. VOL. V.-No. XLVI.

"In Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Cambridgefhire (Effex), and in other places, many hundred thousands of acres have been gained by embanking. In Hol-.land, the whole country has in a great meafure been gained in this way. Near Chefter, the River Dee Company have alfo gained fome thoufands of acres from the fea, which are now divided into feveral beautiful farms, one of which pays a rent of 500l. per annum. The others are fmaller, but the whole together amounts to 20col. per annum; forming a very pretty eftate, neatly enclofed, and fubdivided by thriving hedges into fquare or rectangular fields.

"Large fums have been expended by individuals, with a view of guarding against inundations; but owing to the embankments they have made being injudiciously placed, and as badly conftructed, the defired effect has not always been produced; particularly in the northern parts of Cheshire, on the banks of the Merfey, where embankments have been thrown up at a great expenfe, which, from the manner they are placed, may in fome cafes, by confining the courfe of the river, do more harm than good.

"The above embankments are reared fo clofe upon the fides of the river, that in many places it is confined to a space not more than twenty yards over. Owing to this, and to an aqueduct acrofs the river, with only one arch instead of two, which it ought, at least, to have had, the water, fometimes in great floods, rifes to the height of about twenty feet above the ordinary level, and overflows the embankments, although now, by frequent addition, they are about that height.

"Instead of twenty, had these embankments been eighty or one hundred yards diftant from each other, and the river widened in the narroweft places, one third, or one fourth of their prefent height would have been quite fufficient. The space of ground between the embankments and the river, need by no means be kept in a waste or ufelefs ftate; it would produce the richeft pafture, or meadow hay, by its frequent manurings with the fertilizing particles left upon it, when flooded by the river; and thofe fpots, if any, unfit for fuch production, might be profitably planted with aquatics.

"A propofal has been made for the embankment of Lancaster Sands, that Gg is