tion is neceffary to fupport them in countries expofed to high winds, hunters, &c. The two kinds of ditches which he recommends, viz. five feet wide by four deep, and four by three, the width at bottom one foot, are indeed good. He judiciously approves the method of plafhing the fence by leaving fome part of the quick for flakes, and prefers it to cutting down the whole, in order to re-fpring, when defended by a dead hedge. The addition of pales at the gateways and joining of hedges, the turning of brick or ftone arches, the painting of gates, &c. are points which the bare infpection of the lands of almoft any improver will recommend. Mr. Y. recommends the plafhers of Hertfordshire to teach those of countries unacquainted with the method; and advifes to work the ditch by a frame, and to buy bushes, stakes, and edders, where the premifes do not fupply them. We apprehend moft of this advice might have been spared. His objections to clipp'd hedges of white thorn, feem reafonable, as is the doctrine which he inculcates, viz. a fence infufficient to turn an hog, is no fence.' But we cannot, without confiderable reftrictions, admit Mr. Y.'s affertion, that thorn hedges yield no firing.'-We do not much oppose the permitting of thorns to grow tall and old before they are cut, as they then afford excellent fhelter; but the fooner they are cut the oftener they will furnish, though in fnaller quantities, fire-boot as well as hedge-boot. We heartily recommend the practice of Mr. Y.'s advice, to make the ftakes of the dead fence of fallow, as thefe will generally grow, and fave much expence and trouble of stakes. Letter VIII. proposes a very important object, viz. the proportioning the grafs and arable parts of farms. Mr. Y. obferves, that grafs pays the landlord better than arable; and thence deduces his axiom, 'Tis much better to have too much grafs than too much arable.' His fcheme of converting arable into grafs, may be feen in the following thort directions, viz. Turn in the ftubble foon after harveft. In October plough the ground into three feet ridges. Plough as foon in fpring as the foil admits, fo as to gain a fine tilth by the first week in May. In a fortnight or three weeks all the weeds will sprout. Proceed with the plough through June and July. In the first week of Auguft fow the feeds, harrow and roll.' Mr. Y. recommends 16 lb. of white clover, 10 lb. of burnet, and ditto of rib-grafs, per acre, which will coft about 15 s. 6 d. He adds, that fowing Sainfoine on light limeftone, loam, dry, fandy or gravelly land, will improve it to fix times its value. This we believe to be a very moderate calculation. REV. May 1771. Dd He He obferves, that though the more grafs-land there is in a farm, generally the better, yet a tenant fhould have two fields, if dry enough, for turnips alternately, or if clay, one for cabbages, the culture of which every year with that plant will improve the foil. Mr. Y. opens Letter IX. with recommending to landlords the drainage of wet lands, both arable and grass. He wifely advifes the landlord, that having found a fufficient descent for the water, or made one, he begin with the fmaller drains, which fhould be covered ones, filled to a certain heighth with ftones, wood, or bufhes, fuch as the country affords easiest, and having laid a thin cover of straw, fern, &c. fill them up with earth. He adds, that drains alone can convert bad land to good, to the doubling of the rent.-He fuppofes that this work may coft 30 s. per acre. Letter X. advifes the clearing land of bufhes, brambles, mole and ant hills, as what reduce the land to half value. Mr. Y. rightly advifes the landlord to meddle with no manurings, but fuch as are of the lafting kind, viz. by marle, chalk, or clay, which, laid on light lands, will pay amply. He obferves that, in Norfolk, from 80 to 100 loads, of 30 bushels each, of fat marle, are laid on an acre. The total expence will be 31. per acre when the cart is filled from the pit by the diggers, and when drawn up in buckets 51. Letter XI. recommends to landlords the making of good roads, as what a tenant willingly pays for when he confiders the faving thereby of his cattle, carriages, &c. He concludes this letter. with fetting forth the advantages of water, as the driving of cattle to it at any diftance is in a manner fatal to fatting beasts, and, we think, fcarce lefs fo to a dairy. Letter XII. confiders the aggregate bufinefs of improvement. We think Mr. Y. might have fpared the information, that Lands let at low rents will beft pay for money expended on improvements.' He feems indeed too minute in fome fubfequent pages; but perhaps our own experience in matters of this fort may make his inftructions appear to be too much in detail. There is, however, a piece of advice in p. 89, which may not be needlessly given to every improver, viz. to give higher prices than ufual in winter for fome works rather than defer them till fummer, when the price of all work is dearer. He certainly advifes prudently rather to hire teams to do the neceflary works than to buy horfes, carriages, &c. The Author advifes his improver to calculate the whole expence of the improvements, and then add the intereft of this fum to the old rent; ex. gr. Rife of the rent per acre 3 s. 6d. which is above 87 1. on the intereft of the expences, and fome profit, though trifling. Mr. Y. thinks that few tracts of country would want so large an expenditure as this, and many, we believe, would pay better. Mr. Y. largely (rather too largely and minutely, we think) recapitulates the improvements of various kinds, to lead us to conclude that the rife of rent would be much higher than this, and states the several fuperior advances with correfponding profits, viz. 7 s. is equal to 871. 13 15 17 -237 1. 2871. He judges that a farm thus improved would let for 11. 5s. per, acre; and harangues upon the great advantages of making this improvement, viz. a clear profit of 3371. per ann. Now our duty to the public obliges us, as Reviewers, to obferve, that the reality of this improvement of rent must depend on the nature of the foil, about which nothing can be ascertained to verify the reality of the profit. Indeed Mr. Y. feems confcious, that the advance of rent at 25 s. per acre will appear extravagant, and therefore modeftly finks it to a guinea, and the clear profit to 237 1. and concludes that a gentleman thus improving, enjoys a certain perpetual return of 20 per cent. for hazard and expenditure of a fingleyear- An advantage, he adds, to be found in no trade whatever;' and we agree with him. He proceeds to fhew that there is no fuch great trouble in the execution of this plan, as needs deter any gentleman from carrying the plan into effect himself, or committing the management to fome perfon of knowledge and activity; he omits integrity. To this propofal we have said something in the commencement of this article.-He propofes that the manager fhall have 5 1. per cent. on the real improvements of rent per annum. But we do not at all understand how long this 51. per cent. per annum is to be continued. If during the management only, it seems too little; if for ever, too much. If during the life of the manager, it is a very uncertain premium; as the younger man will be much better paid, while the older has generally much better talents. But now ends the former part of this work, which concerns a cultivated Dd 2 1 cultivated country. The uncultivated country opens æquor majus arandum!. · ART. VIII: A Voyage to China and the East Indies, by Peter Ofbeck ; together with a Voyage to Suratte, by Olof Toreen; and an Account of the Chinese Hufbandry, by Captain Charles Guftavus Eckeberg. Tranflated from the German. By John Reinhold Forster, F. A. S. To which are added, a Faunula and Flora Sinenfis. 8vo. 2 Vols. 10s. 6d. Boards. White. 1771. and Travels are a fpecies of inftruction, which is generally acceptable and amufing: they gratify that love of novelty and variety, which is natural to the human mind, without tiring its attention, and are eagerly perufed by that clafs of readers, who have neither inclination nor leifure for much reflection. It is of importance, therefore, that they fhould be the refult of accurate obfervation, and faithful report. Diligence in obferving, and honefty in relating, are effential to the reputation and credibility of every writer in this department. In fome cafes it may be extremely difficult to correct those mistakes, which their want of attention or want of integrity may occafion; the poifon may have produced its effect before the proper antidote can be applied; and prejudices and errors, which have taken full poffeffion of the mind, may never be wholly fubdued and rectified. We can never fufficiently value and commend the writer, who fpares neither expence nor pains to obtain a thorough acquaintance with the fubjects to which his teftimony refers, and who is faithful in communicating information to others. Whereever we find fuch qualities as thefe, we can readily excufe repetition or minutenefs, which fome may be apt to deem dull and tedious. Imperfections of this kind will be neceffary appendages to fuch a work as that now before us. The ingenious author committed to writing every thing that occurred, and offers to the candour of the public every obfervation his journal contained. His remarks must therefore often coincide with the relations of others; and the form of a journal, under which his obfervations appear, will expofe him to the charge of being too minute and trifling in fome of his details. But these imperfections (were they much more numerous than they are) are abundantly compenfated by the great variety of important and useful particulars which his work contains; and he will be found to excel in that province of a natural hiftorian, to which his obfervations principally refer. It will be a fufficient recommendation of this work, that it is part of the plan of the celebrated profeffor Linnæus for extending and improving natural knowledge;-that it is the refult of the directions he had given for this purpofe in his Inftru&io Peregrinatoris; and that it was originally VOYAGES and Travels are 6 originally published at his defire, and with his particular approbation. You, Sir, fays Linnæus in his letter to the author, have every where travelled with the light of fcience; you have named every thing fo precifely, that it may be comprehended by the learned world; and have difcovered and fettled both the genera and fpecies. For this reafon, I feem myself to have travelled with you, and to have examined every object you faw with my own eyes. If voyages were thus written, fcience might truly reap advantage from them. I congratulate you, Sir, for having traced out a way in which the world will follow your fteps hereafter; and, purfuing this career, will remember the man who first pointed it out.' The editor, whofe tranflation does juftice to the original, gives us, in his preface, the following account of this work. Nothing efcaped the attention of Mr. Ofbeck. The history, the antiquities, the religion, the manners, the drefs, the character, the policy, the government, the military and civil eftablishments of the country, were equally objects of his attention; and what is very remarkable, and will of course prejudice [prepoffefs] this nation in favour of our author is, that we find the judgment of Lord Anson about the Chinese, confirmed and juftified in his obfervations on the character of that nation. 'The merchant will find a minute and accurate account of many commodities brought from the Eaft, with an exact delineation of the whole commerce of China. The oeconomift and husbandman will find many ufeful and agreeable remarks in Mr. Ofbeck's and Mr. Eckeberg's accounts, which might be confidered as good hints even in this country, where agriculture and husbandry have been improved both in theory, and practice, to the great emolument of the inhabitants; while many facts here related are applicable to the English colonies and plantations. In fhort, the reader will find many remarks, in the course of this work, that will affist him in. the ftudy of medicine, hiftory, geography, and almost every other branch of learning. But the natural historian will find the richest treasures in this ufeful performance. The above account, we apprehend, is not much exaggerated; nor is it unworthy of notice, that Mr. Ofbeck was as indefatigable and refolute, as ingenious, in profecuting his obfervations. He wishes that they may procure half as much approbation from the world, as they have coft him trouble and at-, tention. I ventured, fays he, on fhore at the island of Java,. where the woods are filled with tigers and crocodiles; and hazarded my life in China, where the heat of the fun on barren hills, robbers on the roads, and petulant children in back 6 Dd 3 streets, |