moft cafes, confider any great injury done to the fame, in the fame manner as if it had been done to the fortune of another. If a fair and honest name is dear to the meaneft individual, I prefume it is equally fo to thofe who fill a high ftation, and are charged with affairs of government."

Now, not to object to the authority of the twelve tables, or the fuffrage of Cicero, we fhall only obferve, that there is a very material difference in this refpect between the character of a private man and that of a Minifter of State. Private individuals are equal and independent of each other; a Minifter, tho' fuperior in rank to each, is dependent on all, being a fervant of the public, who have a right to enquire into, and judge of, his conduct. Again, the reafon why private perfons should not be defamed is clear; becaufe, if they act unjustifiably, the courts of law are open, and they may be readily profecuted for their offences but how difficult is it to bring a public Minifter to juftice, tho' he fhould betray his country, and violate the facred truft repofed in his hands! A man, by accepting thattruft, alfo, gives up, in a great degree, his independence as an individual; if a private perfon is, therefore, to be cenfured for infolence to his fuperiors, how much more is a fervant of the public to be cenfured for his infolence to those whom he ferves! We must acquaint this Writer, alfo, whatever opinion he may have of the governed, that no Governor on earth is invested with prerogatives for his own fake, but for the fake of those over whom he prefides.

"What the conftitutional liberty of the prefs is, fays Mr. Dobfon, it may be difficult to fay with precision: perhaps, like the privilege of the peerage, it is more fecure by not being ftrictly and minutely defined and every one who wishes well to this liberty, (as I very cordially do) fhould wish also, that the blafphemy and licentioufness of the prefent age, the wanton abufe of religion and government, may not render it necefiary for the legislature to determine its boundaries, by a clear and poffitive law." If by determining the boundaries, our Author doth not mean exterminating the existence, it may be on many occafions, however, much better to know precifely how far the liberty of the prefs extends, than to have it left to the decifion of a venal bench of puifne Judges, or an over-bearing arbitrary Lord Chief- Juftice. But how cordially our Author wishes well to the liberty of the prefs, may be gathered from the following paflage, wherein he undertakes to determine what it is not.

The conflitutional liberty of the prefs, fays he, is not "the overflowing of perfonal calumny and invective; it is not the fowing of fedition in the hearts of the people, and the feducing

of

of their affections from their native Sovereign: it is not the torturing of texts of Scripture to the moft profane fenfes, in equal defiance of the laws of God and man." Now, tho' we cannot but subscribe to the literal truth of thefe affirmations; yet who is fo blind as not to fee through the artifice of thus linking together moral and political, civil and religious fubjects, without dependence or connection? Who doth not fec, that for want of an infallible criterion to determine what is calumny, what fedition, and what is the true meaning of Scripture, the most upright man, the most loyal fubject, and the most fincere Chriftian, may incur the penalties annexed to the most enormous crimes? We difmifs this Writer, therefore, with an utter deteftation of his principles, which, we think, are calculated, under the fpecious fhew of juftice and moderation, to anfwer the purposes only of oppreffion and arbitrary power.

A Treatife of Agriculture. 8vo. 5s. bound. Edinburgh printed for Donaldson, and fold by Dodfley, &c. in London.

MONG other improvements which mark the character of the prefent age, the attention beftowed by men of sense and education, on this highly useful and liberal fubject, and the difcoveries they have made in many of its most important branches, cannot but afford fatisfaction to every lover of his country, every friend to the welfare and profperity of mankind. Several valuable tracts have been published within these few years, relating to the culture of the earth, in order to allift her in the production and nourishment of ufeful plants; fuch as those by Lifle, Maxwell, Home, Hitt, Lee, &c. with the best of which the prefent production may juftly rank. The Author has made many judicious, and fome new, obfervations; and hath, moreover, conveyed his fentiments to the public, in a clear and accurate style.

In his prefatory account of his work he informs us, that he had the management of a confiderable farm for many years; that he applied himself early to the ftudy of Agriculture; read almost all the books which this age has produced on the fubject; converfed frequently with the moft intelligent practical Farmers; and kept a Journal of every thing relating to his operations and experiments.

In Scotland, we must conclude, from the whole tenor of the work.

The Edinburgh-Society for the Improvement of Arts and Sciences having, fome years ago, propofed Prize-queftions on the fubjects of Vegetation, Tillage, Manures, and Soils; our Author began to reduce into fome order, the materials he had collected, with a view to prefent to the Society his obfervations on the foregoing fubjects; but his differtations not being finifhed in due time, he changed the form of them, and put them together into one treatife.

In this treatife he has attempted a regular Syftem of Agriculture, and endeavoured to afcertain the principles on which the practice of it is founded. His method is different from that of other fyftematic Writers on this fubject. Inftead of treating on Soils, in the beginning of his work, he referved that branch for the end, and has begun with Vegetation. His reason for this difpofition of his materials, he gives in the following terms:

"As foil is the part of the earth by which vegetables are nourifhed, one is apt to imagine at firft fight, that, in a treatise of agriculture, it should be the firft thing examined; but when the matter is confidered with attention, it will appear obvious, that it is impoffible to treat properly of foils, without treating firft of vegetation. Without knowing any thing of vegetation, we may, indeed, make a diftinction in foils, find out the qualities of each, and the principles of which they are compounded; but without knowing the methods by which vegetation is promoted, it is impoffible to determine whether the qualities of foil are good or bad, what kind of foils are most valuable, what are the defects of any of them, and how there defects may be remedied. Dr. Home, in his treatife, begins with foils; and any person that reads with attention what he has wrote, will be convinced of the impropriety of beginning with this part of the fubject. Though he mentions very few things befides the properties of the different foils, and the experiments he made upon them; yet in thofe few things which he mentions, he fuppofes, that there are fome vegetables that require oil to nourish them, that fand contains few nutritious principles, and that fermentation produces thefe; that clay is not richly ftored with vegetable food; that woollen rags contain a great quantity of mucilaginous juice, which ferves to nourish plants; and that mofs is a good manure, because it contains more oil than any other vegetable. Now, all thefe fuppofe, that we are already acquainted with the principles of vegetation; and, indeed, it is not poffible to treat properly of foils without a knowlege of thefe."

The general divifion of his performance is into four books;

of

of the contents of which the ingenious Author has himself given the following brief and honeft compendium.

In book I. he treats of vegetation; explains the different ways by which vegetation is promoted; mentions the impediments to it; and points out the proper methods of removing these impediments.

He attempts to fhew, that there are different ways by which vegetation is promoted; that it is promoted by communicating the food of plants to the earth, by enlarging their pasture, and by diffolving the vegetable food in the earth, which is in an uselefs or hurtful ftate.

He enquires into the nature of the vegetable food, and attempts to fhew, that it is compounded of feveral ingredients; that it exifts in the earth, in water, in the atmosphere, and in all vegetable and animal fubftances; that it obferves a conftant rotation, is communicated to the atmosphere by corruption, and returns to enrich the earth in dew, rain, and fnow. He fhews, that vegetable food may be added to any particular fpot of earth; that all foils are more or lefs abforbent; that when any foil is left to itself, and no crops carried off, the vegetable food is always on the increafe; that any foil may be managed in such a manner as to enable it to attract this food in greater plenty from the atmosphere; and that the vegetable food in any foil may be increased by mixing with it vegetable or animal fubftances.

He enquires into the nature of the vegetable pasture; and fhews, that it is enlarged by ftirring and turning over the earth, by expofing the earth to the influence of the air, and by the application of fuch manures as raife a fermentation.

He attempts to fhew, that vegetable food may exift in the earth in an ufelefs, even in an hurtful ftate; and propofes methods for diffolving this food, and rendering it proper nourishment for plants.

The impediments to vegetation, which he mentions, are weeds and too much water; the bad effects of which are reprefented.

He divides weeds into three claffes. In the firft he places. the weeds propagated by the feed; in the fecond, those that are propagated by the root; and, in the third, the fhrubs by which fome of the land in Scotland is greatly infefted. Methods are propofed for deftroying the weeds belonging to each of these claffes.

He enquires into the caufes of the wetnefs of land, and endeavours to fhew, that this may be owing to its fituation,

liable

liable to be overflowed by water from higher ground; to the nature of its bottom, that forces out, in fprings, the water that runs below the furface; to the climate in which there is too much rain; and to the nature of the foil, which retains too large a quantity a water. Methods are propofed for removing the wetness of land arifing from all these causes.

In book II. the Author treats of tillage.

He divides foils into fuch kinds as require a different management with respect to tillage.

He mentions the different inftruments employed in tillage, and fhews the manner of conftructing and ufing thefe inftru

ments.

He examines the different ploughs ufed in Scotland, and fhews the advantages and difadvantages of each. He gives a very particular defcription of the Scots plough, of its feveral parts, their uses, proportions, and pofitions; and he proposes fome alterations for its improvement.

He enquires into the designs propofed by tillage, and fhews how this work is to be performed, fo as to answer thefe.

He confiders the ufes of ridges, and points out the kinds moft proper. He fhews that all ridges fhould be straight and equal, and that they ought to be broad or narrow, high or flat, according to the nature of the foil.

He alfo treats particularly of the altering of ridges, their pofition, and the different ways in which they are ploughed.

He defcribes the different kinds of harrows and rollers, and reprefents the advantages of harrowing and rolling.

In book III. he treats of manures.

He enquires into the nature of manures, and the manner of their operation; and fhews, that they operate in all the ways by which vegetation is promoted.

He examines feparately the manures ufed in Scotland. He reprefents the qualities of each, the manner of their operation, and their effects upon foil. Dunghills are alfo particularly treated of, both the ordinary dunghills of the farm, and the compound dunghills made in the fields.

In book IV. he treats of foils.

He divides foils into fuch kinds as require a different management with refpect to the application of manures.

2

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