historians, and writers in every department, would then start anew in the career of literary fame, and a new era would of course commence, which might realize the dreams of the golden age. "It is no objection to this plan that numbers of our fellow countrymen without heads, but whom Nature has provided with mouths, were thrown out of employment from this cause. If their former la bour was unproductive, it was (according to the politico-economical views of the present day) the same as no labour at all. But they might be provided for in many species of domestic industry, where the di rection of a head is of no material consequence. Besides, as the law at present stands, there is no disability of holding or acquiring property in those who want heads; they might still be permitted to continue in the enjoyment of all animal gratifications, as if this discovery had never taken place. Or, as it is not necessary for armies to have heads, provided their generals be amply provided, they might be embodied as soldiers, or converted into living machines for navigating our fleets :dispersed in manufactories or employed in subterranean industry in our coal mines. "Having given these loose hints to the Society, I shall postpone entering into further details till a future occasion. Mean while, to complete the view of the subject, communications from all the learned and other public bodies, stating the actual number rated on their lists, and the computed number of those who are supposed to have heads, will be essentially necessary. Similar notices from the teachers of youth, and from our universities, will also be required, to enable us to estimate the intellectual strength of the British empire in the nineteenth century." The next article in the volume, with which we shall close our present quotations, is one which must be of particular interest to those who encourage improvements in rural industry, and, indeed, may eventually be of importance to the whole country. We regret that the breeders at the late eattle shows in England were not aware of this improvement; but our faith in the experiment which the Colonel has now made public, leads us to hope that, next season, black cattle will be produced as large as elephants, and sheep will be exhibited equal in size to the present races of oxen. ly deserve well of his country who should carry through a bill for the conflagration of the remainder. VOL. V. "An Account of a new Discovery in Sheep Farming.Read by COLONEL COCKLECOOTS, 21st November 1818. "In a country, the temperature of which is so variable, the general prevalence of consumptions, catarrhs, and rheumatisms, which annually carry off such numbers, and embitter the lives of those whom they do not kill outright, has long suggested the necessity of taking measures to counteract the vicissitudes of the climate; and many plans have been suggested by medical men to remedy, by appropriate clothing, this serious defect of northern latitudes. Flannel has, in consequence, been recommended to be worn in this country in all seasons; and, although this preventive is very generally adopted by a great proportion of our citizens in the winter months, it has not been observed that the diseases supposed to be occasioned by cold and variable weather have been materially lessened. If alternations of temperature induce such diseases in Man, whose constitution is found, better than that of any other animal, to withstand the extremes of heat and coldwho lives and increases from the torrid zone to the frozen regions of the Pole-what must be the case with the inferior animals, many races of whom seem confined to certain latitudes, in which alone they live and propagate? We do not find elephants in England, nor rein-deer on the plains of Indostan. The animals of the torrid zone would die of cold even in our temperate la titudes; and the inhabitants of the arctic regions would suffer from heat even in our coldest summers. The vegetable kingdom seems to be regulated by the same general law, the plants of one region refusing to vegetate in another, and all of them from countries more genial than our own requiring to be preserved in the green-house, or kept in health by artificial heat. This conclude, that one-half of the animals kilbeing the case, it is not unphilosophical to led for food in this country may, from the vicissitudes of a climate to which they are exposed without shelter, be actually suffering under complaints analogous to the consumptions, catarrhs, fevers, &c. of human beings; and, if brought to market, and eat up in this state, one cause of similar diseases in man may be naturally traced to this source. Though, perhaps, a great proportion of the animals whose mangled limbs wave have been suffering under complaints which in the air in our butcher markets may thus might make them fitter for interment than any thing else, yet I am not prepared to say that a cow in the last stage of dropsya sheep labouring under consumption of the lungs or a hog cut off in the paroxysm of a fever, are absolutely poison when dressed as food: for it has become matter of fashion not to eat certain animals until they are actually putrid; and Ff it is well known that game, which, if coming into contact with a scratch in the hand of the cook, would occasion gangrene and death, may be taken into the stomach with no apparent or immediate had consequences. The Pestis bovifera, or murrain, however, a kind of plague among horned cattle, which occasionally appears in Europe, and carries off whole herds, has been attributed, and not without cause, to their eating damaged or diseased grain; and there seems no reason for concluding, that the human maw is of less delicate organization than the digestive apparatus of the ruminating inhabitants of our pastures. this source, "Happily I have discovered a very simple mode, by which, if danger really exist, and if many of our diseases be derived from it may be effectually prevented. This plan is, that all animals exposed to the vicissitudes of our climate should in winter be provided in comfortable clothing; and although, at first view, it may seem odd to clap a sheep in petticoats, cover an ox with a dreadnought,- -or put lambs in shoes and stockings-yet I have no doubt but that both farmer and butcher will be amply compensated for the extra expence of such clothing, in the additional quantity of wholesome food which will thus be procured; as it is a fact well known, that the Cape of Good Hope sheep, and others of warmer climes, have tails which alone would weigh a whole carcase of mutton of our northern regions. "At a late sale of military stores, having procured, at a low rate, five hundred suits of regimental clothes, (that is to say, coats and pantaloons, for I do not consider shirts as at all material,) and having previously ascertained that a well-fed soldier and sheep are pretty nearly of the same circumference, I immediately set about having them altered, so as to suit the bodies of as many Cheviots. As a covering for the head, the cylindrical hats were not found to answer; but foraging caps, tied with tape under the chin, succeeded' remarkably well, and, by pulling them over the eyes, which may be done at pleasure, the disposition of this animal to wander is effectually checked. These clothes have only been in use for two months last winter, owing to the mildness of the season; but the improvement in wool and carcase for this short period is immense. The wool, in particular, has improved so much as far to excel that of the best merinos. It is soft and glossy as silk; and I conceive, that, by next shearing, I shall be able to produce an article of a fineness hitherto unknown in this or any other country. "Farther, when all the spare clothing of our disbanded armies shall be exhausted on the more peaceable and profitable armies of sheep, something of a coarser fabric might be manufactured for the same purpose; and in this way might all the less valuable parts of the wool be wrought up. And if every sheep in this country were to require every third or fourth year a few yards of cloth of this description, what a stimulus would this give to manufacturing industry, and how independent would it render us of a foreign market for our coarser cloths! "The same plan might. perhaps, be extended with profit to black cattle; but I have not been able to procure grenadier dresses of sufficient size to make the experiment. The annual saving which the protection of such clothing would afford would also be considerable; for no inducement could tempt the accustomed dogs to go near the sheep when accoutred as I have described. And it might occasionally serve other useful purposes; for upon its first adoption on my farm, a cart of smuggled spirits was secured to the revenue, by the accidental peeping over a dike of a few of the flock; and though divine service was upon one occasion interrupted, and the congregation kept prisoners in the parish church for two hours by the irruption of a few of those harmless animals into the churchyard, such a circumstance cannot possibly often occur." A biographical memoir follows the paper of Colonel Cocklecoots, and other interesting papers, of which our limits do not permit us even to copy the titles. The book, it is necessary to mention, seems only to be printed for the use of the Society, there being no bookseller's name attached; but, any person residing in Edinburgh can easily procure a sight of it from a member. TOUR INTO THE DISTRICT OF HARZ. (Continued from page 138 of last Number.) WE now entered upon the Lowerharz, a paradise compared with the wild country through which we had been travelling. This pass is almost shut up by a range of large blocks of granite scattered about, but still preserving the appearance of a wall called Teufelsmauen, (Devil's Wall.) The story goes, that God had agreed to divide the world with the devil, provided the latter would finish the wall of division within a certain time; but Satan, finding that, after he had begun, he could not finish it, was so enraged, that he scattered it in all directions. At one end of this wall there are a number of rocks heaped together, which, at a little distance, have the appearance of a mill, called the Devil's Mill. The devil was to build a mill here for a miller, who engaged to sell himself, on condition, that between the hours of midnight and first cockcrowing, the mill should be finished and at work. Satan began at the appointed time. The work went on so rapidly, that the miller, fearing it would be finished within the time, contrived to place the millstone upon its round side, and let it roll down the hill. The devil scampered down after the millstone, but just as he had brought it to the top of the hill the cock crew. In his rage against the miller, (who hoped to have a mill gratis,) the devil overthrew it; and the millstone is still shown at the bottom of the hill. Walking along the edge of this wall, we came to the Rosstrap, the most romantic spot of the Harz. It seems as if the world had been intended to have been split in two at this place. The rocks seem to have been torn asunder by some great power, leaving a chaos below. On all sides this wild spot is covered with perpendicular rocks shooting up in many places like Gothic churches. At the top of this chasm is the Princess's Dancing Place, which is remarkable on account of its black burnt appearance, and the total want of trees, while all around is covered with the finest natural wood. The view from this point is very extensive, while, in the frightful chasm below, a fine river flows, with a very beautiful waterfall at a little distance. On the opposite side of the river, on a level with the Dancing Place, is the mark of a horse's hind hoof, which is supposed to have been impressed by the exertion of a horse in making a leap over this chasm, a distance of 500 yards. The story is, that a Princess of Bohemia was beloved by a giant, whose great power obliged the father to give his consent to the marriage. The young lady had another lover, who advised her to take flight before the ceremony. And as she could not procure her father's horse, she bethought herself of the giant's charger. The obstacle of an altitude of about 30 feet to this courser's saddle was overcome by the lover's ingenuity, and they mounted and set off, taking care that the lady's jewels and her father's should not be forgot. They were not long gone before the giant set off on the pursuit, and was about to seize them at this chasm, when the lovers cleared it by the leap which struck this mark upon the rock, while the poor giant tumbled with a hideous crash into the river below. She and the prince had a triumphal dance on this spot. But in the leap her father's golden crown was lost in the pool of the waterfall, and the value of it is supposed so great, that a few years since some students of Halle spent many days in trying to fish it up, but a certain dog, with fiery eyes, who watches it, was found to sink deeper and deeper as they approached it. The Leaving this extraordinary place, we passed the village of Suderode, which was a sort of Botany Bay in Frederick the Great's time. There were few of its first inhabitants who had not left an ear or a hand in the hands of justice, and none that had not a remember imprinted on their backs. A great proportion became brushmakers, while the rest carried on a trade which commonly finishes between heaven and earth. whole neighbourhood, however, became so unsafe, that until that generation was extinct, no traveller dared to pass in this direction. Winding along the bottom of the hills, we came to a high conical mountain, covered with the most luxuriant fruit trees. The ascent is so steep, that the road is made to wind round the hill. Upon getting to the top, we found a comfortable inn, where we were gratified with a very fine view. Here we got some birkenwasser, manufactured by the landlord, and which is so famous, that it is sent to all parts of Germany. It has much the appearance and taste of Champaigne. It is made during the spring from the bark of the birch tree, which is stripped off, and infused with raisins, sugar, and lemon skin. It was Sunday, and as the hill of Stubenberg is the general resort of the people from Quedlingburg and Halberstadt, our society was numerous and amusing. There was dancing in the large saloon, and, as we were strangers, the greatest attention was paid to us. In the gar den the gentlemen were employed in shooting with rifles at a wooden stag, which was moved with great velocity by machinery, and the one who shot it through the heart was considered as captain of the club. This is the Sunday's amusement through almost all the towns of Germany. Leaving this, we skirted along the bottom of the Harz, touching upon Quedlingburg and Halberstadt. At every mile there are watch towers resembling our martello towers. These were erected in the 30 years' war, to give warning to the low country of the first irruption from the Harz mountains. They are now very properly changed into windmills, and this perhaps is the only real advantage the country received from that long and bloody war. We came next to Blanhenburg. This lovely town is built as an amphitheatre round a high woody hill, upon the top of which is a fine old castle, seen many miles around. In winter, during the frost, the streets are quite impassable, except with ice shoes; as the small rivulets which run down the streets become a solid sheet of ice The inn in this town is fitted up as comfortably as an English one. This town is celebrated for its well informed pleasant society, and from the little I could judge from seeing them at the table d'hôte, they seemed fully to deserve all that has been said of them. It was here that the present king of France resided after his first retreat from France, under the name of the Count de Lille. About an hour's walk from Blanhenburg, we perceived, towards the flat country, a single large rock, called the Regenstein, formerly a celebrated fort. The bottom of it is now thickly planted. After scrambling through the bushes, we came to a narrow passage cut in the rock. We entered, and winding up a narrow stair, came at last into this extraordinary fort. The commandant's house, the soldiers' barracks, the guard-houses, the kitchens, cellars, and likewise the embrasures, are all hewn out of the solid rock. It is in every respect a most singular place, and one regrets to see it falling into decay. Our road now lay through a very rich country, until we came to the castle and town of Wernigerode, situated very much like Blanhenburg, but lying at the bottom of the Brochen. We went to visit the castle and the grounds, which are laid out with much taste. Here we were shown a very fine library, and, I understand, a most valuable mineralogical and botanical collection: here are shown as the ribs of a giant dug out of the Brochen, what certainly is nothing else than the bones of a whale. Passing two or three nunneries which are now used as schools for young ladies of rank, we came to the village of Ilsenburg, which lies prettily at the bottom of a valley called Hell. The Brochen, which overhangs it, gives it a very sombre and melancholy appearance. This valley is most remarkable for the Ilsenstein, a large rock, which rises about 230 feet perpendicular from the centre of the valley. This stone is of a very beautiful appearance, a sort of clear flint, with fine veins of different rock crystal running through it. It has a very sensible effect in changing the direc tion of the magnetic needle. It now serves as a sort of monument to those of this neighbourhood who perished in the war of liberty in 1812 and 1813. Their names are all carved upon an iron cross which is fixed upon the stone. Our return from Hell was impeded by a number of young girls holding strings across the passage, but these fair Proserpines were not insensible to the influence of gifts, though of less value than gold. We now entered into a very thick and dark forest, but our eyes were oceasionally relieved by beautiful peeps of the fine country below us. The mountains are here so steep, that we were often obliged to use our hands as well as our feet. After all our labours we halted at the village of Harzberg, where we had most uncomfortable beds. You know the Germans sleep between two beds, which in general in private houses are more comfortable than blankets. The lower bed is made of perhaps a dozen of small pillows, nicely arranged, and the upper bed of the finest down, which combines lightness with a pleasant heat. The bedcase, or sheets as you may call it, generally consists of printed cotton, which has a dirty appearance. But nothing can be more disgusting and disagreeable than the beds in the inns of Germany. The bed that co vers you is generally so short, that at either end appear your head and feet, while you are almost suffocated by the weight of the heavy featherbed lying on your body. As the sheets or slips are seldom changed, I generally carried four large silk handkerchiefs, which I pinned over the bed most carefully before lying down. Gladly quitting Harzberg, we arrived at Clausthal, the chief town of the Harz, both from its size and from being the place where all the different metals are refined. The town has a very poor appearance. The only inhabitants are the miners, and no slaves can be more miserable. They live in small charred wooden houses. Fires, of course, take place very often. A few days before this, a whole street had been burnt to the ground. The town is completely surrounded with mines, which are here excessively deep. We descended into one of them, which presented a scene of the most abominable misery and dirt. I am sorry that my memory is unequal to the task of giving a clear account of the different processes through which the metal passes before it is given out as coin. The stuff that was taken out of the mine at first appeared to me like very bad coal mixed up with a quantity of clay. There were some men at the mouth of the mine who picked out the best bits of this earth, which was then put into a mill and broken into very small pieces. These were shaken in different sieves. The smallest dust is put upon an inclined plane of wood, over which water flows, carrying away the sand and leaving the heavier metal. What remains upon the board is again bruised, and the same process gone through. When it is tolerably pure, it is put into a large furnace, and the different metals are separated in the common way. All the smoke of the furnaces is confined in a chamber above, and I was informed that the soot is cleared away every fortnight for the purpose of getting the very pure metal which is incorporated with it. From the furnaces we went to the mint, where we saw the metal softened, and pressed into sheets, the manner of stamping the coin, and marking the edges. Having now seen almost every thing of consequence, we resolved to be present at the cracking of the rock in the silver mine of the Ramelsberg, in the neighbourhood of Goslar. The town of Goslar is very prettily situated on the skirts of the Harz, on the banks of a small river, and in a most romantic country. The town was at this time a scene of the greatest gaiety and amusement. At a certain season of the year, generally in the summer months, all the burghers in the towns of Germany assemble with rifles for the purpose of firing at a target, and he who is captain or best shot is freed from duties and taxes of all sorts for the next year. During the time when the French were in Germany, they would not permit any of these assemblages, and as this was the first for nearly twenty years, its novelty attracted great crowds. The Freischiessen, or free shooting, generally lasts a week or ten days; and every evening there is a ball. This is the only occasion on which nobles and burghers are on a free footing with each other, and the only time when the French and German character appear in any degree similar. The poorest families rival the richest in dress, and perhaps one of the prettiest sights I ever beheld was the assemblage of nearly 500 girls in the large hall. As no introduction is necessary, we had only to walk round and choose the young ladies whom we most admired. It was most extraordinary to see upwards of 200 couple waltzing with the greatest animation round the hall, while the spectators were assembled in the centre. The other amusements very much resemble those of an English fair, only that you never see people drunk or fighting. After dancing till three in the morning, we left the ball-room and set off for the mine, about two English miles from the town. It has been worked for nearly 800 years. After ascending a high steep hill, we came about half way to a small opening into which we entered, provided with lamps; walking direct into the hill for at least 500 yards through the narrow passage hewn out of this extreme hard rock, we were astonished at the sound of water, and on approaching we found a large mill erected here, at once for pounding the metal rock into smaller pieces, and for clearing the deeper parts of the |