t-te rea p =—= en ee — N SE nn > — ame a ee a a praia pean K mnenenininnaay says Lord Bacon, is nota couch whereupon to resta searching aod restless spirit; or aterrace for a wandering and volatile mind to walk up and down with a fair prospect; or a tower of state for a proud mind to raise itself apon; or a fort or com- manding ground for strife and contention ; or a shop for profit or sale ; but a rich store house for the glory of the Creator, and the relief of man’s estate. Sranpine Armies.—We cut the following extract —from a lecture before a recent. meeting of the Peace Society in London—from a late English paper : The lecturer said the question to be decided was, whether standing armies were the best security for go- vernments, or the true bulwark of nations. In his opi- nion they were an unmixed evil. He might be told that in this country the standing army was dependent on the House of Commons, and that the Heuse of Com- mons might put it down at any time at the end of the year. But what was the House of Commons? There were in that House 150 officers in the army and navy— could you ask them to put down themselves? There were 200 more in that House, either noblemen or con- nected with the aristocracy,to whom the army was an open field forthe employment of their families. Could you expect them to take the bread out of the mouths of their relations? Therefore they had nothing to expect from the House of Commons, unless such a force of public opinion was brought to bear as it would be im- possible to resist. But for standing armies there would have been no bombardment of Vienna, nor would the King of Prussia dare to invite his Constitutional Parlia- ment to hold their sittings in a fortress, where he might at any moment make them state prisoners. Public opi- nion was beginning to assert its influence. Although the continent was in an uproar, Lord Palmerston dared not stir; and why? Because the people of this country had grown wiser, and would not permit him. He trust- ed that standing armies would eventually be put down, and that sovereigns, by governing wisely and well, would find that the best armies were the affections of the people. Grn. Tartor’s Estimate or War.—It is matter of gratification to find the following paregraph in a recent speech of Gen. Tayior. All may not agree in what it expresses. But as the testimony of a military man, observant of the actualities of war, it deserves being noted: : { cannot avoid the opportunity of expressing my deep conviction of the evils of war, of which, here as else- where, my mind’ receives daily and mournful proof.— Throughout my service, { assure you, the proudest mo- menis of my victory have been darkened and rendered sorrowful by the reflection of the painful occurrences which it produces; of the wives made widows, of pa- rents made childless, of friends bereft of those bound to THE EXAMINER. able source of future profit, The export trade in Tur- nips is very limited, so that if they are extensively grown, the system of farming must naturally be amelio- rated by the necessity of winter feeding, which will of course follow, and fortunately, under all circumstances, the soil of the Island is peculiarly adapted to render this system successful. An acre of Turnips, with tole- rable care, sown in drills to abridge labour, and hoed twice by hand, or what is better and much cheaper, with a common horse-hoe of smal! cost, will produce 500, and in many cases 600 bushels: whilst an acre of Potatoes did seldom return, in the best times, when the growth was healthy, over 300 bushels. It is anticipated that this alteration in the genera] system would cause a great increase in the average quantity of Wheat now raised. Your Committee, however, regret to have to condole with their brother farmers on the low average of this crop last season. The ears were, in many instances, greatly diminished by the ravages of an insect which has been erroneously termed the Weevil, but which is believed to be a fly known in England, by the scienti- fic name of cecidomyjia tritici or “ Wheat Midge,” which lays its eggs in the blossoming eares of corn, where they produce little yellow maggots or larvae, which injure the grain by preventing it from attaining its due growth and swelling to its natural dimensions. Your Commit- tee are not aware that any effectual remedy has as yet been discovered to check the eavages of this destruc- tive little animal. Much Wheat was also injured by the untoward state of the weather for a length of time dur- ing harvest, and the old enemy, the Rust, had its victims. In respect to the latter, the Committee, in the Report of last year, suggested that it would be an experiment worthy of trial, whether there would not be less liabil- lity to Rust if the Wheat were sown without grasses; but they regret they have not acquired any satisfactory information on that point. The successive failure o Crops, whilst it is indeed discouraging, should excite every practical farmer to endeavour to discover in what manner improvement can be made. Ic may be very much doubted whether we are yet in possession of the Seeds best suited to our soil and climate, and your Committee are of opinion that a bad practice prevails of sowing much less Seed in the case of all Crops than is required to insure success, and be it remembered that it is an ascertained fact in husbandry, that the poorer the soil the greater quantity of Seed must be sown. Your Committee have collected from various sources accounts of the profit of a system prevailing generally in the United States, of growing Indian Cora. ‘The ap- plication of this crop varies in different States. In some the quantity grown is as much as 90 bushels of Jorn per statute acre; in others the Straw is used for Fodder, and the return is enormous. The introduction of the practice here would, doubtless, be very profitable, them by the dearest ties. For the awful results of war)and greatly diminish the expense of winter stock, with- are not confined to the bloody-scenes of the battle field ;| out which, or Lime, every farm on the Island, with few 2 OPE Te ro ~ as was kindly undertaken by Mr. Pope, who, feeling a warm interest in the advancement of the agricultural interests of the Island, devoted a considerable portion of his time to making enquiries as te the best stock to be procured suitable to the wants of the Colony, intend. ing to ship them by the Douglas, which was advertised to sail from Liverpool about the end of October, but the owner of that vessel having thought proper to despnic): her from Dublin without calling at Liverpool, accordity to advertisement, and no other opportunity offering either for the Island or any of the lower ports of the Gulf, the advanced season of the year placed it entirely out of the power of Mr. Pope to execute the commission entrusted to him by the Society. The money has been deposited in the Bank of Liverpocl, and arrangements will be made to secure the arrival of the stock in the [gland at an early period of next summer. The attention of our Committee having been called toanew variety of Barley, called the “6 Rowed Black- skinned Barley,” which had been recently grown in the neighbourhood of Cheltenham, England; they ordered 4 bushels to be imported, which will be sown under their directions, and the result made known as soon as ascertained. From a Circular furnished to the Society by Mr. Vaughan, the following particulars are extract- ed :—“ On the 14th February, 1846, 5 pecks were drill- ed on an acre ; it was reaped on the 4th July, and + duced 52 bushels, 2 pecks; weight per bushel, 554)bs., and after having been hummelled by Mr. Hacey’s Ma- chine, 58 Ibs. per bushel. In January, February, and March, 1847, he drilled other land, allowing 85 lbs. of seed to the acre—and the average produce, in spite of severe frost and cold winds, was 68 bushels to the acre, weighing 55 lbs. per bushel. “Tt maits well, and makes good light-coloured Ale— its flour is excellent, and makes very nice bread, whick keeps moist for weeks, and, if mixed with wheaten flour, is very superior as to taste. Its straw is very strong, fine, and fit for plat, and cuts excellent cheff, and ie good for thatching.” 1 In a letter addressed to the President of the Society, Mr. Vaughan states, under date June 11, 1848, “ There is a fine crop now on a farm near this town, which will be ready for cutting about the middle of this month, should the weather prove fine. There have been seve- ral acres sown fora green crop, which was cut on the Ist of May, and produced 124 tons to the acre. 1 think from what I have understood of the nature of the climate and soil of your Island, it will prove highly advantegeous in every respect.” E The Reaping Machine which was imported in 1847, was sold at Public Auction on the 23d August last, and was purchased by Mr. Ewen M:Millan, of Brackley Point, for the sum of £20 10s., leaving a loss to the Society upon the importation, of £33; nevertheless, your Comuwittee are of opinion that its introduction into the Colony may eventually prove to have been advanta- geous, as it may be the means of directing the attention but disease, slow, consuming disease, more than any in- struments of war, scatters death among those engaged in the trying fatigues and exposures of military duty.— Of those who have died in active service in Mexico, the proportion of those cut down by disease to those who fell on the battle-field, is about five to one. For these reasons, a8 a constant witness of all the stern and pain- fal realities of war, 1 assure you that there is no one who rejoices more in the conclusion of the war with Mexico, now hapily terminated, than I do. — AARBUATURE. REPORT, READ AT THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ROYAL AGRI- CULTURAL SOCIETY. Your Committee regret that they have not, at this —_ 72S. exceptions, must become exhausted. Mr. Higgins,|of both Farmers and Mechanics to the construction of - aniversary, any very cheering announcement to make, respecting the state of agriculture and agricultura! in-| teresta: they, however, feel it their duty to notice such then be raised. The potato being now no longer to be’ from Lot 15, reports, that on that Township, upwards of two thousand bushels of Indian Corn have been har- vested this year, and in one instance the return exceeded 90 bushels from one planted. Your Committee would recommend every farmer to plant one acre of the land otherwise intended for Pota- toes, with Indian Corn, believing that if proper atten- tion is paid to the culture of Swedish Turnips and In- dian Corn, the loss of the potato crop will not be so se- verely felt. The experience of scores of farmers on the Island proves that that grain can be raised here with advantage, affording as it does, an abundant supply of the most nutritious fodder for milch cows, and yielding capable of being made use of (for the sustenance of man) in a greater variety of ways than any other grain or ve- getable known. ‘he American Loyalists, who used to raise large quantities of Indian Corn on this Jaland, gave up its culture to any extent, on account of the great facility with which large crops of Potatoes could topics as appear to them to be of the most importance depended on, your Committee would strongly recommend : - 5 i f a : vo the farmer, | The state of the Potato disease is one of prominent. consideration: It does not appear likely that farmers! will have any inducement to plant potatoes largely, as. taose which were shipped in apparently good condition, | and even from farms which seemed free from disease, | nad, in many instances, to be thrown overboard, to the! ruin of the shipper, and discouragement of the grower :| and althongh thie was not universal, it has, ad ‘vst, had a bad effect on the market. It has, however, | bean satisfactorily ascertained, that diseased potatoes | wave no wjurious effect on Pigs, and though they will) not keep, turiners who have ready a proportionate num- ber of those annals may prevent a total loss by 1m- mediately feeding then with the most defective. It. becomes, therefure, a matter for serious reflection,| wuether our farmers had not better cultivate Turnips to, & greater extent than heretofore. The increase in the, cultivation of Swedes during the Jast two yeara, nial been very extensive, and itis presumed the ultimate’ vevetit of their substitution cannot fail to be sensibly! felt in the Crops both of Grain and Grasses, which will! fuilow them in succession. It is an anxiom in good hus- | bandry, that green crops should be used on the farm. aad thereby the manure heap be not only increased in} quantity, but improved in quality, end prove an invula-| the culture of Indian Corn to at least the extent before mentioned ; they would also recommend that the new Committee be instructed to purchase forthwith a quan- tity of seed of Island growth, to have on hand for sale. They would also urge on their successors the propriety of publishing from time to time, the best information to be obtained on the culture of that grain, knowing as we do, that three-fourths of our farmers are entirely un- acquainted with its culture and management. The Hon. Captain Rice has informed your Committee that he has successfully practised the following means of procuring a very valuable Manure: He causes ypsum to be placed on the floor of his Cow House, | , and he calculates that a bushel so employed will daily, take upa sufficient quantity of Urine to produce as much good top dressing as will suffice for at least a quarter of an acre, and this plan is recommended as ex- tremely cheap and practicable. Your Committee regret to state, that owing to circum- stances beyond their control, the Legislative Grant or Loan in aid of the importation of Live Stock, has been rendered unavailable this year. ‘he money wag re- mitted in the month of July last, to the Hon. Joseph Pope, who was then in England, with instructions for the purchase and shipment of three Ayrshire Bulle, and . > , o. . - nf nuinber of ome of th Y picne hro anumverot Rams ofthe Leicester breed Tae task} Machines, whereby the labour of harvest may be both more quickly and cheaply performed. Mr. McMillan has expressed himself much satisfied with its perform- ance—its only fault being that itis too heavy to be worked by one pair of horses. Your Committee regret that the funds of the Society do not increase in the proportion that they conceive its usefulness should ensure; amongst the causes of this fact, it is thought that the dominant one Is a very gene- ral ignorance of its proceedings, and the sphere of its action—the latter is necessarily limited by the small amount of its funds; nevertheless, during the Twenty- ‘one years of its existence, through its agency, and in fi t " grain pe in is}. . rom 40 to 60 bushels of grain per acre, which grain vl importation, there has been annually brought into the Island, and sown, a large supply of necessary seeds, a» consequence of its knowledge of the proper source of well as such as have been deemed worthy of experiment ; and during this period there have also been repeated ‘importations of Live Stock, which have been sold under its auspices, and the benefits arising therefrom must 'be obvions to every farmer. The aid received by means of Legislative Grants, is of small amouut, and its ex- penditure has been usually regulated, not by the Society, ‘but by the Legislature itself, whilst a large portion of ‘such Grants have heen by way of loan to the Society oa special purposes, and have been invariably repaid. All Grants in direct aid of the funds of the Society, have | been accompanied by Grants of similar amounts to the | District Societies, and a great error exists if it 18 sup- \posed that this Society owes its support to Public Money ‘There are debts due from District Societies which re main lost for want of corporate powers. —_ The Seeds imported have been sold with no further reservation of profits than is necessary to conduct the |business, and meet incidental losses and charges, and your Committee claim for the Society a more extended support, in order that its efliciency may be rendered | proportionate to its supposed responsibilities. | As proofs of some advancement among Farmers, yeur \Committee would refer to the number of Threshing | Machines on the [sland, amounting to 246. The cul- jture of Turnips, which, a few years ago, Was little prac: jtused, has extended to near 2500 acres jast Beason ; ‘and the different Ploughing Matches which have taken place, as wel] under the direction of your Committee, as among Farmers in different localities, evince & Spit jof emulation, and a desire fur improvement 10 [his de ‘partment of agriculture. * . eh a wa? It bas appeared to vour Committee that if the Anata; as ¢