May Friendship's ray ftill fparkle in thine eyes,
And heav'n's unceafing care be fixt on you.
Father of all! eternal pow'r fupreme!

My prayer for this, thy nobleft work receive,
Around his brow let all thy mercies beam,
And each new fun fome new-born bleffing give.
To heav'u's high orb his deeds, ye angels, wing;
Where peace eternal reigns, his feat
Where he may grateful hallelujah's fing,
Nor mortal pains or fears his blifs impair.

prepare:

"The Invocation to the fame.

"Ye facred pow'rs, from whom all bleffings flow,
On my loy'd friend each human blifs bestow!
Sorrow and pain far from his bosom fly,
Nor let him know but by its name, a figh:
Virtue watch o'er him, never quit his fide,
But thro' life's dang'rous wilds be thou his guide.
Honour, do thou his ev'ry thought inspire,
And gentle Pity crown its facred fire.

Calm be his fleep and free from dreams of ill,
While pleafing vifions each idea fill:

Watch ever round his couch, ye heav'nly band,
And guard his flumbers from each hostile hand,
And when the lark tunes first his matin-lays,
Awake his foul to found his Maker's praise;
Oh, fill his breaft with energy divine!

While to admire, revere and praise be mine."

It would be invidious to particularize fome trifling defects in her verfe, further than to recommend to her more care in her next plea for our favour.

Lufus Nature: or, the Sports of Nature: a Poem. 4to. 6d. Evans.

From the title we imagined a pleafing and entertaining performance was before us. But, alas, we were difappointed. A fubject that would afford matter for a volume, is crowded into the extent of a fixpenny pamphlet. What a degradation of nature? However, in the following extract. there is a trace or two of imagination which bespeaks a genius capable of doing more justice to nature than is done in the prefent inftance.

"What thread of filver, and what wire of gold,
Do we in glitt'ring ificles behold!

VOL. XI.

Τι

How elegant her drapery in the hoar!
What lofty plans of buildings we explore!
How many fairy landskips do we fee,
Where all is fanciful and bold, and free!
How thro' the eye does nature reach the heart!
How grand the execution of each part!
Which made Praxiteles in rapture cry,

*

Gods! I'm outdone, and threw his chiffel by.
On Teneriff† how daring are her flights,
Where Statue-like, fhe glories in the heights!
Here he fands tiptoe, painting at her will,
Wide fpreading all her canvafs o'er the hill.
What fhocks of battle, and what fieges here,
What fields of carnage, and of death appear!
Or if the choofe to shift the varied fcene;
What vistas open on the fylvan green!
Hamlets and villas here promifcuous fhine,
And ruftic temples deck'd with many a fhrine;
What heaps of pearls upon the drifted snows!
Brighter by far than California fhews!
And will you call it chance-work, if her wand
Shall bid the still creation ftand;

As if the nothing meant, but flumber'd o'er,
What the had wrought, or mus'd to fancy more?
Like him, § who eager to attain the froth,
Flung at the horse in disappointed wrath
The painting-brush; when wond'rous to behold,
Upon the mouth and bit of fhining gold,
Defpair had finifh'd what he fought in vain,

A chance-work foam wide spatt'ring all the rein!

* A famous ftatuary of ancient Greece.

The

be

The Pike of Teneriff (one of the Canary-Iflands) fuppofed to be the highest hill in the world, its height is 20,274 feet. middle is covered with a cloud, and the top with fnow ; it may feen at fea 240 miles off; Though the celebrated voyager Dampier tells us, that the Andes or high mountains in Peru and Chili far fur pafs the Pike of Teneriff or any mountains in the world for altitude.

California the largest island in America, lying along the coast of New Mexico, fouthwards. The Spaniards have there feveral harbours, and upon the coast there is a pearl fishery.

§ This anecdote of the painter is variously related; Andrew Mar, well defcribes him as painting a hound instead of a horse.

The painter who so long had vex'd his cloth, (1)
Of his hound's mouth to feign the raging froth,
His defp'rate pencil at the work did dart ;
His anger reach'd that rage which pafs'd his art;
Chance finish'd that which art could but begin;
And he fat fmiling how his dog did grip.

(1) Canvass

A touch

A touch of nature, no defign of art;

'Tis in fuch freaks as this fhe ftrikes the heart!
Haft thou not feen of various forms the ftones,
Shap'd like triangles, pyramids and cones;
And thofe of greater breadth faw'd o'er and o'er,
Retaining curious draughts thro' ev'ry pore;
Of ev'ry order buildings you behold,
Doubtless first pourtray'd in the fofter mould?
Her various petrifactions on the hills,
Shells of all forts, of cockles, oysters, fquills?
What curious Striæ in her fports divine,
All æquidiftant, regular and fine!

Then underground her foffil world review,
Inventing, varying, fomething ever new!

Letters and Papers on Agriculture, Planting, &c. felected from the Correfpondence-Book, for the Encouragement of Agriculture, Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, within the Counties of Somerfet, Wilts, Glocefter, and Dorfet, and the City and County of Bristol, To which is added, an Appendix; containing, a Propofal for the further Improvement of Agriculture. By a Member of the Society. And a Translation of Monf. Hirzel's Letter to Dr. Tifot, in answer to Monf. Linguet's Treatife on Bread Corn and Bread. By another Member of the Society. 8vo. Dilly.

To give our readers a true idea of the prefent publication, we cannot do better than to lay before them the whole of the preface prefixed to it.

"That the public may with greater clearness apprehend the fcope of the prefent work, it is thought neceffary to prefix the fol lowing fhort account of the nature and the occafion of its publication.

"In the autumn feafon of the year 1777, feveral gentlemen met at the city of Bath, and formed a fociety for the encouragement' of agriculture, arts, manufactures and commerce, in the counties of Somerfet, Wilts, Glocefter, and Dorfet, and in the city and county of Bristol.

"This fcheme received immediate approbation and great en couragement, not only by liberal fubfcriptions, but alfo by many ufeful communications of knowledge, both fcientific and practical, from ingenious and fenfible correfpondents.

"On application to the London and provincial focieties in this kingdom, inftituted for the like purposes, they very politely offered their affistance, in communicating what might be generally useful;

Tt 2

and

and to fome of them we are indebted for much interesting intelligence.

"As the diffufion of ufeful information in general is one end propofed by this inftitution, the fociety think they cannot fulfil this intention in a more effectual manner than by the publication of fuch papers as appear to contain what is most likely to be of public utility. Indeed, this is the only method by which the various improvements, and practical information, fuggested to them, can be generally difperfed, even among those whom from the nature of their inffitution, they are under particular obligation to ferve.

"In felecting the following papers regard has been principally had to fuch as relates to matters of practice. Useful hints, however, of the fpeculative kind, which may, in their confequences, lead to practical improvements, have not been neglected; fuch will always be efteemed as valuable communications, although inferior to those that have already been submitted to the test of experiment.

"In the fubfequent letters, every thing complimentary has been purpofely omitted, as the fociety with not to make this publication the vehicle of their own praife. The many civilities paid them are duly acknowledged; but in these the public are not interested.

"In a work of this kind, to be explicit and intelligible, are all the requifites with refpect to language; and, therefore, the thoughts of our correfpondents are generally given in their own words." The prefent volume contains letters and papers on the following fubjects.

"On Setting wheat in Norfolk-On ditto-Answer to the fociety's queries on fetting wheat-On fetting wheat as practifed in Norfolk and Suffolk-Brief account of the Norfolk husbandry-On the culture of potatoe-On the fame-On the fame-State of agriculture in the Ifle of Wight-On the disease called the Goggles in fheep-Defcription of Mr. Bofwell's newly-invented machine for raking fummer corn-ftubbles-On the cultivation of clover The fociety's queries, with answers thereto, from the Sheriff of the county of Suffolk-On the effects of marle in Norfolk-On feeding wheat with sheep in the fpring-Method of making Refervoirs in dry countries, for watering fheep and cattle-Experiments on plants eaten or rejected by cattle, sheep and hogs-On the bulk and increase in growth of fome remarkable timber trees-Mode of farming purfued by a member of the Bath fociety-On the best method of raifing elms for fences; manuring fallows for wheat; and preventing the ravages of the fly on young turnips-On a peculiar fpecies of grafs found in Wiltshire-Obfervations on thistles-On a difeafe the flock lambs in Norfolk are liable to from eating felf-foun barley in autumn-Obfervations on the mynum mofs-On the fuperior quality of grain produced from fet wheat, to that fown broadcaft Account of the cultivation of Sberian barley-On the effect of fern afbes as a manure for wheat land-On the cultivation of

I

heathy

heathy ground Instructions for the prevention and cure of the epizooty, or contagious diftemper among horned cattle-On the conAtruction and ufe of machines for floating paftures, and for draining wet land:On the ufe of foaper's afhes and feathers as manures -On planting boggy foils with ab; and the flopes of hills with foreft trees-Mode of cultivating turnips in Suffolk-On raifing potatoes from feed-On the mode and advantages of extracting the effence of oak bark, for tanning leather-On drilling pease-On the culture of Siberian barley-On a new oil manure-Mode of weaning and rearing calves, by a Norfolk farmer-On raifing a crop of white oates and grafs feeds-Anfwers to the fociety's printed queries, from Gloucestershire-On the great increase of milk, from feeding cows with faintfoin-On the fuccefs attending the planting moor land with ash trees-On the use of ftagnant water as manure. Of the management of clover in Suffolk-Thoughts on the rot in fheep-On the mode of cultivating and curing the rheum palmatum, or true rhubarb-On the cultivation of rhubarb-On the cultivation and cure of rhubarb-The fame continued-Dr. Lettfom's letter on rhubarb Dr. Hope's letter on rhubarb-On the growth and application of rhubarb-On the extirpation of plants noxious to cattle on dairy and grazing farms, &c. with hints on the breeding and rearing milch cows-on the culture of carrots, with thoughts on burnbaiting on Mendip hills-Dr. Falconer's report to the fociety, on examining fome of the rhubarb cultivated in SomersetshireOn the best method of deftroying vermin, and preventing the deftruction of young turnips by the A-An abridgment of feveral letters published by the Agriculture Society at Manchester, in confequence of a premium offered for difcovering by actual experiment, the caufe of the curled difeafe in potatoes-Description of, and obfervations upon the cockchaffer, both in its grub and beetle state.

In June 1778, we are informed, the fociety at Bath formed the following circular lift of queries relative to agriculture; and directed them to be tranfmitted to the High Sheriff of every county, requesting him to procure anfwers thereto from fome of the beft farmers, and fend to the fociety.

Queries from the Bath Agriculture Society.

1. What are the kinds of foil from which you generally obtain the best crops of wheat, barley, peafe, oats, beans, vetches, turnips, carrots, and cabbages? and what are the ufual quantities of feed fown, and the average annual produce per acre, Winchester measure?

2. What is the ufual courfe of crops adopted by your best farmers on the different foils?

3. What manure now generally in ufe do you find ferviceable, on the following foils refpectively, viz. ftiff clays, light fand, gravelly, moory, cold and wet, or what is called stone brash land?