bricks, it was very evident that the whole surface would be immediately converted from smooth slags into large clods, which it would be almost impractible to reduce by any means, unless they were a little softened by rain: moreover, I conceived, that by ploughing at this time, a raw, unmellowed soil would be brought up, and the surface, which had so long been exposed to the beneficial influences of the atmosphere, would be buried, so that the advantage it had gained by that long exposure would be almost entirely lost.

For these reasons I resolved to pulverize the slags by other means. It was a work of great labour, for I had, at that time, no other suitable instrument but the brake or heavy harrow. At length, however, I succeeded, after five days labour, of eight oxen and one horse to the brake, and two horses to a pair of harrows, in reducing this stubborn field almost to dust. The expence of man and cattle labour was 31 shillings per acre.

The oats were sown broad cast, and yielded as fine a crop as was then to be seen in this neighbourhood, to the surprise of some of the farmers, who predicted, that as the land had not been manured, it would not yield even the quantity of seed sown.

So manifest a proof of the beneficial effect of a fine pulverization, determined me to try if some means could not be devised for obtaining it at a less expense.'

These means Mr. B. found in an instrument, to which he gives the name of the small, or improved scarifier; and which is, in fact, a harrow frame, covering 27 inches in its track, and armed with four light steel-pointed coulters and shares. The grounds of preference, of this instrument to the plough, are two :

1st. That it requires but one fourth of the animal power, and performs the same work in much less time, and is, therefore, much less expensive; and,

2d. That it performs its work much better, by cutting and crumbling the earth, than the plough does, by cutting, raising and turning it over.

Were these mere assertions, they would have little weight with the public; and, perhaps, ought not to have much-but the following argument, so nearly approaches demonstration, that it cannot safely be called by any other name.

Slowness of operation, is a defect in every species of plough. Even an English plough, taking at once only nine inches in breadth, must pass over at least 12 miles in ploughing one acre and when four horses are employed in drawing it, the journeys of these four horses, considered separately, will amount to fifty miles in ploughing the acre once over; consequently, in ploughing it four times, the spaces passed over by the four horses collectively, will amount to two hundred miles: and, after all, this acre will be left in a rough

and cloddy state,-requiring both harrowing and rolling, before it is in a condition to receive the seed.

'But if a single horse scarifier, which takes a breadth of 27 inches had been used instead of the plough, this acre would have been in a fine state of preparation for the seed, and with even less than one eighth of the power that had been bestowed upon it by the four ploughings.

To illustrate this position, I will suppose that six scarifyings are necessary (although my stiff lands have only four) for completing the pulverization :--this would be the work of two scarifiers for one day. Now, as each horse in the scarifier travels the same distance per day, as each horse in the plough,—that is, 12 miles, it is obvious, that the two horses, collectively, must have travelled only 25 miles, in perfectly pulverizing an acre.

This result (of one eighth of the animal labour, that was expended in ploughing, being sufficient in preparing an acre with the scarifier) is confirmed and clearly made out, by simply multiplying the 4 horses used in the plough, by 4 days labour, which gives 16; and by multiplying the one horse in the scarifier, by two days labour, which gives two; or only one eighth of the animal labour expended in ploughing

In ploughing an acre four times, (according to the practice in summer fallowing) the manual labour expended is that of one man and a boy for four days; or 2 X 4-8 days labour of one person: but in scarifying an acre six times over, and obtaining a perfect pulverization, the manual labour expended, is that of one man and a boy for two days; or 2X2-4 days labour of one person. Hence it is proved, that although the animal labour is diminished, in this new method of preparing land for the seed, in the ratio of 8 to 1yet the manual labour is diminished only in the ratio of 2 to 1.'

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On the improved state of tillage, by the scarifier,' Mr. B. adds, I lately made an experiment with a one horse scarifier, in order to ascertain the depth to which it would penetrate the land. The soil was stiff, and had been previously baulk-ploughed and twice scarified when it had received six additional scarifyings, the tines had gone to their utmost depth, that is, ten inches. Thus the objections started by the neighbouring farmers, to the use of such light instruments, were completely refuted; for, by the power of one horse, a greater depth of pulverization was obtained by eight scarifyings, than by any plough with four horses, and at a much less expense.*

To produce a sufficient depth of filth upon strong stiff land, I will suppose, in some cases, it may be necessary to scarify six times. The expense of these repeated operations would be no more than ten shillings; since it is only two days work of one scarifier, at five shillings for the day's labour of a man, a boy, and a horse and this

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* Mr. B. has shown at pages 8 and 29, that the expense of cultivating an acre in the new way is but L.0 8 6-and in the old way L.5 13 0.

perfect pulverization of an acre, is in this manner attained with the labour of only two horses for one day.

. Moreover, the land after those six scarifyings, would be loose and porous, and in the finest condition for allowing the atmospheric air to introduce itself amongst the minute particles of the soil; for permitting the rain and dews to spread equally; and for giving to the roots the facility of entering into all the cavities.

'Very different from this would be a clodded surface after three or four ploughings; perhaps towards the close of the fallow, or after the last ploughing and rolling and harrowing, some little benefit might be expected; but until these finishing operations, the strong cohesion of the clods would absolutely prevent the admission of air and moisture.'

We again invite our agricultural readers to buy and read this little work, and to make themselves masters of the facts and arguments it contains. We have but touched its leading doctrines, and a few of the illustrations which accompany them; and must here close our exposition, after merely stating an opinion, (long held in common with the author,) that the method best calculated for diffusing agricultural knowledge throughout a state, is to engage a few men having the necessary intelligence, inclination, and pecuniary means, to institute separately, on their own farms or in their own gardens, a course of experiments, on a small scale, in relation to all the contested points in agriculture; and to elect some Monthly or Quarterly publication to give publicity to them. By these simple means, which would cost the public nothing, we would soon have solutions of all the doubtful and difficult parts of the science-founded (as they ought to be) on the peculiarities of our own soil, climate, population, and state of manners.

ART. V. Journal of a Voyage for the Discovery of a NorthWest Passage, from the Atlantic to the Pacific; performed in the years 1819-20, in H. M. Ships Hecla and Griper; under the orders of WILLIAM EDWARD PARRY, R. N., F.Ŕ.S., Commander of the Expedition. With an Appendix. 8vo. pp. 350. Philadelphia: Abraham Small. 1821.

It is a necessary consequence of the nature of this voyage, that a detail of its incidents should be monotonous. There were no new people with their peculiar customs, to give interest to the gloomy days and protracted nights of the arctic circle: No smiling scenes to portray, nor even a sea to roam over to keep alive the expectation of momentary discoveries, that were to reward

both the navigator and the reader, by their importance and novelty. The principal point of interest is in Sir James Lancaster's sound, which the chief of a preceding expedition had pronounced to be only a gulph or large bay; and which the chief of the voyage before us, who was second in command to the other, had fearlessly predicted to be an opening that led into the polar basin. There was such a chivalric enterprise, seconded by much good sense, and many powerful reasons, in the decision given by lieutenant Parry, in opposition to the averment of his late commander, that we confess our feelings were early enlisted in his behalf. We not only wished him success, because we were anxious to penetrate into the geographical mysteries of the north, but because we felt that so much good sense, urged with such modesty, deserved it.

It is now many years since the political state of the world interrupted the voyages, which were unceasingly projected for near two centuries, to discover a north-west passage. No sooner was the peace of Europe again established, however, than England, with a liberal policy that does her ministers great credit, sent out two ships on this service, under the orders of a gentleman in her navy, named Ross. Previously to the return of this expedition, which made the report relative to the sound which we have mentioned-the Davis' Strait whalers had been accustomed to cruise along the western shore of Greenland, seldom reaching higher than two or three degrees to the north of the island of Disco. One consequence of this feeble attempt at discovery, has been to lead the fishermen already across Baffin's Bay under the opposite coast, where they have found a clearer sea and more game-We believe this the amount of all the advantages which the English obtained, from their first attempt since the peace; unless we include the opinions, formed by some of the subordinate officers, that induced the second: And the direction of this second attempt was entrusted to lieutenant William Edward Parry, the gentleman who commanded a ship in the other.

The Hecla and Griper sailed from the Nore, on the 10th May, 1810-The former of these ships was a bomb vessel in the British navy, and was employed in that capacity at the attack on Algiers, under Lord Exmouth: as she seems to have possessed the material property of sailing well, and must, from her original character, have been strongly built, she was probably well adapted to the service on which she was ordered: but the Griper was a gun brig, raised upon!-We know the danger of commenting upon things at a distance, as well as the strong probability that the English admiralty were better qualified than ourselves, who have never seen the vessel, to decide upon her qualities: But the mo

ment we read her description, we anticipated the very faults that she subsequently proved to posssess, viz. that she was uncomfortable for her crew, and slow. When men are sent upon such distant and dangerous expeditions, where there is so little hope of reward, they are entitled to every comfort that is attainable, on the score of justice; and under circumstances where so much depends upon the spirits and loyalty of the crew, from good policy also. The life of a common sailor affords at the best but few motives for extraordinary zeal, although they so often display it; and there is no class of men more sensible of being well commanded, or more alive to the presence or absence of comforts, notwithstanding their ordinary privations and hardships. It is requisite, that a vessel sent on such service, should have size to accommodate her crew with much more than the ordinary comforts of a vessel of war; that she should have strength to resist severe pressure from the ice, and particularly that she have the property of sailing so as to avoid losing time among the floes, or frozen fields, of the Arctic seas. The Hecla, and if we understand the meaning of Mr. Parry, the Griper also, was rigged into a bark: that is, in the place of the square topsail with the yards, that ships carry on their smallest or aftermost mast, was substituted lighter fore-and-aft sails. This alteration was made, in order to lighten the duty of the vessel, by rendering it less difficult to work her. We are a little surprised that it never suggested itself to those who superintended the outfit of this expedition, that this improvement might be extended to the whole rig of the ship. It is all important to a vessel, that is to work her way through narrow and crooked channels, that she can be easily managed, and that, in the language of seamen, she will lie near the wind. Vessels rigged with fore-and-aft sails, will frequently sail within four, and four and a half points, of the wind, and will generally, in smooth water, make good their course within five points. This is supposing them to be good bottoms, and none other should be employed in discoveries. On the other hand, it is seldom that a square rigged vessel will make her course good nearer than six points. It does not require a seaman to see the advantage that the former would possess over the latter, in beating to windward among cakes of ice, in smooth water. The objections to rigging large vessels with fore-and-aft sails, are, the size of the sails-booms, &c. These objections, for all the purposes of a northwest voyage, are easily obviated:-we remember to have seen, and that in the docks of London, a vessel, of between four and five hundred tons, rigged in this manner. She had four masts, and was reported to be a very fast sailer near the wind, as well as a good sea boat. This last property, however, can be of but little VOL. IV.

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