Ila meet the demand of 1852, the Society has impor-

ted of Clover and Cow Grass Seed, 27,685 lbs. In I350 there was sold of Turnip Seed, 796 ll)!- In [851 there was sold of Turnip Seed, I3-I5 lbs.

but which was quite insufiicieiit to meet the demand. To meet the demand for 1852, the Society has inipor-

ted, of Turnip Seed, - - ‘.3554 lbs. Neither the clearance of new land, nor the increase in population in three years, can account for this

reagtly increased demand for these Seeds. What t en‘ has caused it? The reason we believe is, that Farmers are beginning to find that to procure good crops ofIIay, they must sow clover seeds plentifully; and that having experienced the benefit of Turnips In feeding Stock, they are rapidly extending its cul- tivation; and your Committee feel, that the fact ofthe reatl ‘ increased demand for these seeds, may be {bake at, as si nificant of that improvement, which the operations o the Society are gradually effecting In the husbandry of the country. Your Committee have already remarked, on the “almost total failure of the wheat crop in some locali- ties, owing to the attacks of the midge. Indeed, be- tween this insect and the rust, the impression seems to be gaining ground, that the cultivation of this grain will in a great measure have to be abandoned. The land does not now produce such crops as it formerly did; the cry is raised that the climate has changed; farming here won’t pay; under this impression many are sacrificin their property, and their farms, and flying to Cali ornia and Australia, for gold; or emi- grating to Western Canada, thinking on its soil they will escape the evils that beset them here. This has caused your Committee to turn its attention to the History of Cro s, and particularly the Wheat crops of other countries; and from the investigations they made on this subject, they feel confident, that in the falling off of the wheat crops, this Island only feels what all new countries have experienced.

The States of America are considered excellent wheat countries, many of them formerly averaged 25 to 30 bushels of wheat per acre, but with them, as with us, it is now changed. This will appear from the following tables, prepared by Professor John- ston. shewi the average yield, per acre, of three of the mostnlgrtile States in the Union:

Onto. New Yoalt. Miciiioix. 14 10}

Wheat, 15}

Barley, 4

Oats, 335 96 Buck Wheat, 1 20 14 Indian Corn, dlf % Potatoes, 69 90 Turhips

88 Cxruna Wcsr IN 1848.

Wheat, 12:} bushels per acre, Barley, 17‘ do.

Oats, 24 do.

Rye, 11} do.

‘Indian Corn, 2|! do.

Buck Wheat, I6} do- Potatoes, 8! d

o. From these tables it appears that the VV‘heat Crop in Ohio now averages only 15* bushels per acre; in

New York, 14 bushels; in Michigan, 10} bushels;

and Canada West, 12 bushels. The following} x-

tracts from‘ Professor ohnston’s Notes on America,

gives so close apicture ofthe Wheat crops, and the cause of its decline in the older settled portions of the

Continent, that your Committee cannot refrain from

inserting them, trusting that the interesting nature

of the subject will excuse the length of the extract.

To the Farmers we would merely observe, that Pro-

fessor Johnston travelled through the United States

and Canada: had access to the best statistical in- formation: is a man highly qualified to form correct conclusions, and what he says deserves their most serious consideration. Speaking of the I‘ armers of

America, as a body, he says— . ‘

“ They labour, therefore, those who till the soil, to make as much, and take as much out of the land, as they can in the least possible time. The result or effect thereof of this condition of the rural art, and of the Agricultural population, _upon the state of the soil, is to bring it by degrees into a state of, more or less, complete exhaustion; whatever be its quality or natural fertility, this is the h_nal and inevitable result. In land which is very rich, the effect is produced more slowly; so slowly, that those who hold land which for fifty-or one hundred years has yielded crops of corn, ‘without the addi- tion of manure, will scarcely believe in the possi-

bility of its ceasing at last to give its wontcd re- turns; but old experience, and modern science, alike demonstrate that the richest soils, by con- stant cropping, without the addition of mitnuring substances to replace what the cm a carry otl, must ultimately arrive at a state 0 comparative barrenness. It is not to be wondered at that men should be faitliless on this point, when it is consi- dered how grateful the soil is for kind treatment; and how very long it is, in some cases, before it begins to resent a contrary course of procedure. .The lifetime of one man may be spent in gradually improving and enriching a field by skilful manage- ment, and the whole lives of _two successors may be employed in impoverisliing it agnlni ‘V|lh°_“‘ '9' dueing it to the low condition from whence it had originally been raised. The 5"‘ P"*;‘°"“' °' f°°.; nomical consequence of this exhaustion of the an is, that it gradually ceases to ‘produce I l’9m|"|¢' rative return of those crops which have been espe- cially cultivated upon it. In North Ammcli 39' nerally, this crop has been wheat. As the exhaust- ing culture roceedod, therefore, the quantity of wheat raise beyond the demands of the_State or Colony, that is, the surplus for exportation, gra- dually decreased. I need not enter into details upon this point, the grand conse uence II.I|.lcIl as 1 1,". dgggfibod; an the genera roof of it is that gh. ‘hug exporting regions 0 North America have, as I have already stated in my remarks on Wm." Ngw York, been gradually shifting their locality, and retiring inland, and towards the west. The flats of the lower Saint Lawrence were the granar of America in the times of French domi- nion. estern New York succeeded these. N ext came Canada West; and now the chief surplus exists, and the main supplies for the markets of Europe are drawn from, the newer regions beyond the Lakes. These in their turn, as the first virgin freshness passes away, will cease to be productive of gbundsnt wheat; and Eastern America must then look for its suppliell of ‘hi! 8"‘l"- °l‘l‘" ‘° ' better culture of its own exhausted soil, or to re- gions still nearer the setting sun." _

" This natural consequence of an exhausting system of culture has been aided and hII¢¢||_°d Y °‘,l'°|' causes, the history of which is full of instruction. 1 may advert to one of these When a soil be-

parasatic plants, whether as a natural consequence ofthis kind, arising naturally from exhaustion of the soil, and the weakening of the wheat plant, or as the effects of some other cause not understood, it is an important fact that the attacks ofthe wheat iiiidge have, in Lower Canada, been lending their aid for many years to diuiinish the wheat crop in quantity, and to render it less certain. Agradual revolution, therefore, has been taking place, not only in the husbandry, but in the food ofthe peo- ple; also in the kind, as well as the quantity of surplus produce they have been able to bring to market. The following Table, published by the Canada Board of Statistics in 1319, exhibits the amount of. this Produce, in bushels, in the years 1827 I831 ' IS-l~l

\Vheat 2,931, 149 3,401,756 940,835 Barley 363,1 [7 391,795 I, l95,~l56 Oats ‘..’.,3~t 1,529 3,142,274 7,238,758 Rye $217,543 ‘.23-L529 333,4-I6 Indian Corn 333,150 339,633 141.003 Buck VVlicat i-2| ,397 100,050 374.809 Pens 8'23,3l8 ,7 1.219.490 Potatoes 6,796,300 - 7,357,416 9 918 349

“ In this Table we see that from I827 to’ 183,1. and

probably somewhat later, it similar state of things

existed, and that a gradual increase took place in

the amount of all ci-ops raised, a natural conse- quence ofincrensing population, and ofthe larger breadth of land every year subjected to the plough.

'l‘hc wheat crop increased by 500.000 bushels; the

Oat crop by 800,000 bushels, and tho Potatoe crop

by 500,000 bushels.

“ In 1814, however, a very different state of things presents itself. During the interval of thirteen year, from 183! to 1814, the Wheat crop, instead ofincreasing 2,000,000 bushels, as it ought to have done, had diminished from 3,500,000—It8 amount in 1831-to less than 1,000,000. The Barley crop, on the other hand, had increased by 800,000 bush- els; that of Peas by 400,000 bushels; of Potatoes, by 2,500,000 bushels; and of Oats, by the enor- mous quantity of 4,000,000 bushels.” _

“ Whoever is acquainted with the practical. opera- tions of husbandry, will be able to conceive how many anxieties and losses, and repeated failures of crops, must have beset the unhappy farmer before his course of cropping could be so changed its al- most entirely to substitute Oats for Wheat, in the fields he had set aside for grain. The case of Lower Canada illustrates, in an exaggerated de- gree, what I believe is the natural consequence in countries where the Agricultural practice for a series of generations is such as it has hitherto been in North America enerally-—the staple crops, the supposed staff anfi agricultural strength of the country, first fall off, and then change, and with this change the food of the masses, and the rela- tion of the country as a whole, with foreign mar- kets, change also. This has already been the case in the longer settled portions of the North Ameri- can continent; and the same consummation is pre- paring for the more newly settled parts, unless a change in the system of husbandry take place."

Your Committee would not convey the impression that the Midge, or Rust, is caused by the impover- ishcd state of the land; they, like the pestilence which sweeps thousands of human beings into the grave, are visitntions from an All-wise Being, from which no country is exempt; but as increased clean- liness and prudent suuatory regulations greatly miti-

ate the horrors of the pestilence, so does skilful cul- ture lessen the injury of the Midge and Rust on our crops. Nor is there any reason to suppose because the Midge has appeared, it will continue a constant scourge; its history in other places leads us to think otherwise. It appeared in New Brunswick in ISII and 1812; year after year it gradually spread itself over the Province; in many parts they for a time gave up growing \Vheat. In [818 it disappeared, and the crops are now uninjured b it. There is little doubt it will spread over this Island in the same manner, and alter a time, in the same manner disappear.

From what has been said, your Committee would

offer the following practlcnl suggestions:

Fiasi-.—-In Districts which have been affected by the Midge, we would recommend that very little VVlicat should be sown in the coming spring.

Si:co.vni.v.—-Late sowing, by allowing the season at which the fly deposits its eggs to pass away before the \Vhcat blossoms, seems a preventative. Your Committee are informed that during its prevalence in New Brunswick, VVheat sown at the end ofMtiy escaped, and yielded a good crop; when that early sown was destroyed. Every one would do well to reserve a portion of the wheat intended to be sewn, and try the ex erimcnt on a small scale.

Ttitaot.v,-— rocurc VVheat from Districts which have not been affected.

Foua'rui.v,——Let our Farmers be warned by the Agricultiual history of the older settled portions of the United States and Canada, and not subject ‘them- selves to loss and disappointment, by struggling to raise Wheat on lands, which an exhausting system has rendered unfit to produce it, at least for some years to come. Let them depend less on Wheat and more on other kinds of Grain. And, in the mean time, exert themselves to restore their exhausted lands by due care in saving and collecting manures, b extensive culture of Tumips, as food for Stock.

he judicious a plication of lime, ashes, charcoal, muscle mud, an sea manures, and the adoption oi proper rotations; they will effect this and in time restore the Wheat-bearing ca abilities of the soil.

The observations of our ommittee, on this sub- ject, may be considcre lengthy, but, at a time when many are thinking of change, the diffusion of correct information is important, and we earnestly desire those who would quit the Island for re ions fancied more fertile, seriously to reflect on w at has been said. They will find that Prince Edward Island has not changed its climate; that the Mi e Rust, and such vexations, will occasionally meet t em in other lands, as they have done here; and that wherever they go, constant cropping, without manunng, will gradually diminish the yied of the land. Let them “be wise in time, and remain contented with the “ capabilities of the soil they possess, and give them- “ selves up to the develo meat of its latent resources, “ rather than forsake it or other parts which appear “incapable of yielding larger crops than they can “ easily reap at home !"

Your Committee were pleased to observe that two Ayrshire and two Angushiro Heifers, and an Aug shire Bull were imported by His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor last Autumn. Had these ani- mals been imported by the Society, they would not have cost less than £l50. Fina Stock cannot be introduced into a Country without doing much good, whether it be imported by an A ricultural Society, or a private individual, the bone to the Country is

: T

copies unfavourable to the growth of a plqnt,_ if Iaadstogrewspoait, ooniosupwsah, sadistic- ble to disease, and to_ the attacks of issectlzfilul

eventually the same. And your Committee feel that this importation is a most valuable acqiilaitioii to our

Stock, and should be viewed as a mark of the interest felt by His Excellency in the prosperity of the Country over which be presides.

Your Committee would here direct attention to another subject, the opening a Market for our aur- plus produce.

The large Towns on the Sea Board of the United States will, probably, be the best customers for our surplus Grain and Potatoes ; but, by the introduction of an improved system, Farmers will soon be able to bring much larger quantities of Meat to Market than they now do. The neighboring Colonies will soon more than supply themselves ; and the Newfou 'idland Market is too uncertain to be depended on. It is evident that we must look to Great Britain as the cliiet' consumers of our surplus Meat. To fit it for that Market it must be well fed. Your Committee would recommend that, at the Easter Shows, Prizes should be given for the best carcasses of Beef and Pork. The object being, to induce Farmers to im- prove their mode of feeding. None but those whose sole occupation is forming should be allowed to compete.

The Socicty’s influence, however, can only operate in improving the system, and pointing out to Furinci-s the means of producing a merchantable article. The Meat Merchant must spring u to purchase and tick for the British Market, or the Ii‘armer's labor in ced- ing will be thrown away. The Legislature should here stcp in to assist the Farmer.

Your Committee observe that, during the past year, neai-ly £l000 has been claimed for Bounties on

‘ish. The object of these Bounties is to induce

Merchtints and Capitalists to embark in the Fishery, and thereby open a valuable trade. \’Ve ask the Legislature to give the same encouragement to the Farmers, by giving a Bounty of 10s. or l9s. per bar- rel on Meat ex rted to Great Britain for sale. This would induce Capitalists to embark in the Meat trade. Establishments for buying and packing Meat would soon spring u .

‘hc farmers, instead of hawking tlieirfieef and Pork about as they now do, bartering it for goods at cxhoi-bitant prices, which they do not want, would find a ready Cash market. This would induce them to feed more—more manure would be made, and the farm which now feeds but one beast badly, would soon feed two beasts well. We would not under- value the fisheries, but very mistaken ideas seem to be entertained by some in attaching greater importance to them than to agricultural interests; the last being, in the opinion of your Committee, vastly paramount to the fisheries. The rocky coasts of Nova Scotia, and the barren lands on other parts of the Atlantic shores, may compel their inhabitants to draw their cliiefsupport from the sea, and to them the fisheries are of primary interest; but the easily tilled land of the Island is so inviting, that no large portion of its people will embark in the fisheries until a greatly in- creased population renders land more difiicult to be obtained. The prosperity of the Island must conse- queiitly, for many years, depend on the exertions of our tigriculturists; and the advancement of their in- terests should therefore occupy the greatest share of attention.

The legitimate object of Bounties should be to open a trade that will afterwards support itself. The meat packing business once commenced, by the encour- agement of Bounties, would soon sustain and extend itself. The demand would induce exertions to meet it, and the exertions to keep up the supply, would en- nblc the country to meet a larger demand; this demand and supply would react on each other. In the United States and Canada, immense quantities of meat are packed for the British market. Professor Joliston states, that in one establishment in Cincin- nati 30,000 hogs are annually disposed of in this way. How much capital must be employed, and how much money must such an establishment circulate among the rural population ?

It may be objected, that the Canadians and Aine- ricans can afford to sell their meat for less than we can. The following return from the Toronto Market, in October, l8l8, certainly shows the range of prices at that time:

Beef per lh., 2} to 3,} Mutton “ 3} “ 3} Pork “ 3 “ 3 Butler fresh, per lb., 82 “ 93

“ ficrkii “ 5 “ 5 Cheese “

undergoing revision, your Committee would again call the attention of the Legislature to this subject. Latin and Greek may be polite accomplishments, and Mathematics is, no doubt, most useful; but to nine out of ten of our farmers’ sons, sound agricultural nowledge will be more useful in after life than either. \Ve trust that in the new School Act, this important subject will not be forgotten. our Coniiiiittee each year tell more sensibly the‘ want ofa properly qualified Agricultural Lecturer, to assist in the Society's operations. There are, your Coiiiniitteo belive, in Scotland many young men edu- cated as professional Agricultural Chemists, who, in commencing life, might be content with small sala- ries; probably £150 a year, might induce sach _s. person to accept an eugageincnt in this Island. This person, with the assistance of a Clerk, to manage the

Secretary. The Clerk would cost about £50 or £60 a year, so that with the additional expenditure of £ll0 or £I‘20a year, the country would have the services ofa regularly educated Agricultural Chem- ist. 'l‘he benefit would be immense. The Professor could then lecture twice a month in the country, and twice in or about town. Ifagricultural instruction

were introduced into the schools, prizes given by the Society from £2 to £6, to the masters whose scholars were found most proficient in that branch, would stimulate them to exertion. ' ‘

The Professor would be a competent person to ex- amine the scholars, and adjudge the prizes; and the masters would find in him, a person able to assist them in qualifying themselves as instructors in the rural art. Analysis of the soil might be made, and any one by the payment of a small fee to the Profes- sor, could obtain a correct analysis of the soil of his fields, and directions as to the kind of manure it re- quired. The expenditure may be considered an ob- stacle, but the addition of l or 2 per cent. to the eel- ling price of the Society's goods would nearly, or, perhaps, quite cover it.

Your Committee would urge upon farmers in gene- ral, the great necessity of enclosing and constructing homesteads or farm-yards, where material for the manufacture of manure can be carted and accumu- lated. Every farmer should have an enclosed yard, into which he ought, thrcugh the summer, to cart some two or three hundred loads of peat bog, sods, cradle-liills or head land of fields, to absorb the liquid portions of his manure; and also to form a bed for his manure heap, the whole to be mixed together in spring. It is painful to observe even now, that on the setting in of winter not more than one farmer in ten has one single load of manure prepared, or in course of preparation; while at the same time, if the above recommendation was generally adopted, double‘ the quantity of land could be enriched, and far great- er crops raised, and as a natural consequence, the circumstances of our farmers be much improved. \Vc would also recommend, as an auxiliary to the manure heap, the taking up the cattle stable floors every spring, and take from underneath some two feet of soil, which would prove to be manure of the very best description, to be replaced again by common earth from the sides or elsewhere.

Your Committee are aware, that some of the re- commendations in this Report, if adopted will lead to a considerable expenditure of the Society's funds, but they hope, not greater than they will be able to bear. Although your Society ’s subscriptions may not be so large another year; we trust the Legislature will continue the grant of £500, without making it depen-

\\'hcn our meat comes into the British market, we cannot expect to obtain more for it than they do. VVc iidniit, the States and some parts of Canada, possess advantages we do not; they have a milder climate. Cattle pasture longer, and much of their corn fed off in the fields, by which labor is saved; but by reference to the preceding table it will be found, that in the yield per acre of meat, making produce the advantage, is all with us. The average yield of Indian Corn, the great dependence in many States, is only 25‘ to 30 bushels per acre; of Pota- toes, from 70 to00 bushels; turnips not over 100 bushels per acre. While our farmers can easily ob- tain 40 bushels of oats per acre. cultivated at much less expense than Indian com; 200 to 300 bushels of potatoes; and 600 bushels of turnips per acre. These advantages being fairly balanced.

Your Committee feel confident, that the trade once opened, our meat can be sent to the British market with as much profit to our fariuers as the American or Canadian meat is to theirs. We therefore re- spcctfully but earnestly commend this subject to the attention ofthe Legislature, and the farming popula- tion, ifalive to their own true interests, will back our request.

The potato disease seems to be wearin away, but farmers should be cautious not to p ant too great a breadth of this crop lest they again should meet with disappointment. They are necessary to our domestic comfort,but for other piirposes the Turnip is a safer ally ‘and more powerful friend, and your Committee would again recommend its more general cultivation. They were sorry to see man fields of Turnips last ear, overrun with weeds, whic would reduce the yie d to nothin compared to what it otherwise would have been. Those who thus ne- glcct them should not complain of smallcrops. They should be hoed at the proper time, and well hoed; there is some art in hoeing well; a common error is in using a dull hoe, many weeds are then onl scrap- ed down, their roots not cut off, nor their hold of the

round entirely taken away; the consequence is, that in a few days they re ain their uprigpvth position, and the field is nearly as dirty-as ever. e hoes should be round sharp every day; and the hoers should stri s with a quicker cut, and deep enough to sever the root of the weeds below the ground, nor should one weed be left in the ground after the hoe has pas- sed over it.

In the Report of last year, the importance of iatro-