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THE NEW CONGREGATIONAL COLLEGE.
THE NEW CONGREGATIONAL COLLEGE. We have the satisfaction of announcing that a most eligible site has been obtained for the new Congregational College which is to take the place of the three separate institutions at Homerton, Highbury, and in Torrington-square. The ground, for which E2,800 has been given, is situated in the Avenue- road, St. John's Wood—a situation conveniently accessible and particularly salubrious. All the preliminary difficulties being now over, this spirited and important undertaking will be proceeded with, we feel assured, without any unnecessary delay. In fact, ten architects have been invited to send in plans for the adjudication of the committee on or before the 1st of July. In a former article, we adverted to the circumstances which have long rendered a consolidation of the smaller theological institutions desirable, with a view to those improvements in the system of academic training which could be effected only in a college upon a larger scale. Hitherto, too much has been attempted in these institutions, and too little ;—that is to say, too much instruction of a rudimental or preparatory nature has been found necessary and this has left too little time for a proper academic curriculum. At a time when even our ancient Universities, slowly yielding to the spirit of reform, are ex- tending the range of study, and requiring a higher standard of proficiency in Biblical and theological literature, it would, indeed, be a disgrace to the Protestant Dissenters of this coun- try had they made no effort to place the theological and secular education of candidates for the ministry upon a level with the advanced state of general knowledge and with the acquirements of the times. It can no longer be disputed, that the standard of ministerial qualification must be raised, in order to retain a hold upon the educated mind of the country. The champion of evangelical truth, the Biblical teacher, has, in the social ele- ments around him, that to compete with, on the one hand, and to contend against, on the other, which may task and worthily engage the highest scholarship, the acutest intellect, and the most strenuous exertion of all the mental powers. Actual progress, it has been remarked, will not save us from serious relative decline and not to advance will be, to be left behind. We are not among the number of those who, with an excess of candour which runs into detraction, concede that the Dissent- ing ministry has declined in respectability and efficiency: we believe the fact to be far otherwise. But we are not the less deeply persuaded, that there is a very urgent necessity for ren- dering the Nonconformist pulpit an organ of greater power, as an instrument of popular impression and of sound instruction. Xo academic training can either impart the requisite native gifts, or atone for the absence of them but natural talent in the present day asks for aid and appliances without which it will be foiled and discouraged in its best efforts to cope with the errors and adverse tendencies of the age. What arrangements are in contemplation in reference to the plan and course of study, the number of tutors, the conditions of matriculation, &o., we are not able to state. Indeed, we have reason to believe, that not a single appointment has yet been determined upon. It may be assumed, that one object which has been kept in view in this important movement has been, the obtaining of a larger and more complete staff of Pro- fessors, as well as an extension of the academic curriculum. Each Professor, instead of having to superintend the studies of some ten or twenty young men of different grades of attain- ment in two or three distinct branches, will have his proper department, with classes of sufficient extent to call forth and repay the utmost pains and assiduity. Lecturing will become, under such circumstances, a very different thing from the mere formality into which it is apt to degenerate, when without a stimulus that may be brought to bear upon both tutor and pupils. In the choice of Professors, regard must be had less to personal respectability, or even to reputed attainments, than to aptitude for the specific business of teaching, including the power of interesting and influencing the mind and heart of the student. In connexion with the College, there is to be a Congrega- tional place of worship, which is much needed in that rapidly increasing neighbourhood. The whole cost of the proposed building, exclusive of the purchase of the site, is estimated at about £ 10,000. The students are not to reside in the Institu- tion, but in the families of approved persons, as at Glasgow, and in the instance of the University College classes. This part of the plan has not been decided upon without mature con- sideration and we believe that all experience goes to prove, that the collegiate system is unfavourable to morals and piety. The housekeeping has ever been the bane and plague of our Academies and the domestic superintendence supposed to be secured upon the present system, consists too much in rules which tempt evasion, prohibitions which stir up resistance, and forms which become irksome, without the essential comfort and softening influence of domestication in a family. We con- gratulate the Congregational Body upon this advanced move- ment, from which we cannot but anticipate the best results and which will furnish an emphatic reply to the absurd mis- representations so" industriously circulated as to the decline of Dissent.—Patriot..
PROVIDENCE AND SELF-HELP.
PROVIDENCE AND SELF-HELP. Though many of the ills of life are the result of circumstances pver which individuals have little control, many also are caused by the want of proper reflection, care, foresight, and economy on the part of those who suffer. We are all too much disposed to blame others rather than ourselves. We blame, above all things, Go- vernment, forgetting how very small a part of the ills of life Government Can either cause or cure. A Government cannot make a drunken man sober, a thoughtless man prudent, a waste- ful man thrifty. It cannot make him moral, virtuous, or reli- gious. The highest sources of human happiness and improve. ment lie altogether beyond its reach. These are within the power of the people themselves, and they, as individuals, can bring im- proved circumstances to bear upon their own social condition and well-being for, each man has within himself the capability of free will and of free action to a large extent- to a much larger "btent than most men are disposed to admit, or at least to act upon and the fact is proved by the multitude of men who have successfully battled with and overcome the adverse circumstances of life in which they have been placed, and who have risen from out the lowest depth of poverty ,\nd social abasement, as if to prove what energetic man. resolute of purpose, call do for his own elevation and advancement. Now, we would not ignore the abuses and oppressions of Go- vernment—far from it; but to discuss such matters in these co- lumns would be out of place. Our object at present is, to point out what individual men can and ought to do for themselves. And the greatest of all reforms-the reform of a nation -must be effected through in (livid rotigh individual improvement, individual reform, individual elevation. Nations are made up of peisons; and as the individuals are, so will the mass be. Every man's first duty is, to improve, educate, and elevate himseif in the social scale, helping forward his brethren at the same tune by nil reasonable means. Let him resolve and determine that lie will advance, and the first step of advancement is already taken. The first step is half the battle and in the very fact of advancing himself, he is in the most effectual possible way advancing others. He is giving them the most eloquent of all lessons—that of exam- ple which always teaches far more emphatically than words can do. He is doing what others are by imitation incited to do. Be- ginning with himself, he is in the most emphatic manner teaching the duty of self-reform and of self-improvement; and if the ma- jority of men acted as he did, how much wiser, how much hap- pier, how much more prosperous as a whole, would society soon become. For, society being made up of Ulllts, will be happy and prosperous, or the reverse, exactly in the same degree that the individuals which compose it are. Society only reflects individual conditions. If we are bad as men, we are also bad as society and if we are good as men, so will society be good in th" same degree. We spy again then. that the reform and elevation of society is to be accomplished by the reform and elevation of and if men would really ad- vance society, they may begin at once—with themselves. We fear that most men are readier to begin with their neighbours while some are particularly anxious about persons, communities, and tribes, very much further off. Let us reiterate the maxim — that the tirst thing for the zealous reformer to do is, to resolve well astohisownimoroyenient.and then perform resolutely what he has so resolved. Tlie first thing which a man so resolved has to do, is, to prac- tice self-denial. "A h." says some one, I have enough of that already!" Well, perhaps this one is right but there are others. 'many others, among the working classes, who have yet to learn what self-denial means. Think of the millions of pounds sterling spent by the working class every year in drink and tobacco, and how very far this means, so wasted, would go towards enabling individuals to improve themselves, and to Jay the basis of inrie- pendence and comfort for I Ife. We know of several institutions, in one large town in the manufacturing districts, where, for three jiftillirigs a year, or one shilling a quarter, working men may secure admission to excellent lectures, a library, a news-room, and mutual improvement classes. A shilling a quarter is less than half a far- thing a day; and yet all these benefits are given for so small a Mm'. Such are the advantages of co-operation for a noble object, Why, an ounce of tobacm, -or a glass of beer weekly, costs four times more than the admission to all the high and intellectual advantages just named. If you take the intrinsic value, they are worth one hundred times the sum charged f)r them. If we look rilso at the excellent mechanics' institutions throughout the couitr' l-y -and here is now scarcely a town or village in which such institutions are not now founded-we find that advantages of the same kind are given at not much higher charges. The admirable institutions of Manchester, Liverpool, and Leeds offer advantages superior to those of many of the best colleges of the olden times and they are open to the working classes, at rates, the highest of them, not above threepence a week The excellent Mechanics' Institution at Leeds, containing a library of 7,000 volumes, sup- plied with the leading periodicals of the day, with its varied lec- tures and classes, is open to the use of working men for less than threepence a week, or less thau the cost of a pint and a half of beer! Then arithmetic, algebra, mathematics, and mensuration, are taught for a penny a week extra, in the evening classes, or for less than the cost of half an ounce of tobacco! Grammar, and composition, geography, and history, are also taught for a penny a week; and so on with other branches of knowledge. Nearly the same advantages are now offered by other first class mecha- nics' institutions throughout the country. Now, to have access to these branches of education—to have a free admission to the mighty store of knowledge that lies in books —to hold communion with the great spirits of this and of past ages-to cultivate the mind under the direction of competent in- structors-is it not a very small sacrifice to ask of a working man that he should give up one glass of beer daily, or say three glasses weekly, when, by so doing, he can accomplish objects so great, so truly elevating and ennobling ? What will he lose by giving up the one indulgence, and how much will he gain by entering on his new pursuits P He will lose headaches, but he will gain self-re- spect. He will deny his throat some unnecessary moisture, but he will elevate his calling, and improve his character by the culti- vation of his mind and the acquisition of knowledge. And let a man be once well educated, and he cannot be deprived of its con- sequent advantages. He must rise, as an individual and let all working men become so educated, and they, in like manner, can- not fail to rise as a class. An enlightened people must be an ad- vancing people; a people possessing intelligence must be superior to any other power, and their progress and advancement cannot be withstood. Another important point for working men to aim at is, to place themselves in a position above the accidents and ills of 1ife- above poverty, and all the misery and evil that it produces. It must be admitted that men of all classes are, as yet, too little pi- fluenced by this consideration. We are all apt to live beyond our incomes-at all events, to live up to them. The upper classes live too much for display they must keep up their position in society"—they must have fine houses, horses, and carriages—give good dinners, and drink rich wines-their ladies must wear costly and gay dresses; and thus the march of improvidence goes for- ward, over broken hearts, ruined hopes, and wasted ambitious. The vice descends in society-the middle classes struggle to ape the patrician orders; they flourish crests, liveries, and hammer- cloths their daughters must learn accomplishments"—must see" society '-play at cards-frequent operas and theatres. Dis- play is the rage-ambition rivalling ambition—and so the vicious folly runs on like a tide. The vice still descends-the working classes, too, live up to their means—much smaller means, it is true, but even when they are able, they are not sufficiently care. ful to provide against the evil day and then only the poorhouse offers its scanty aid to defend them against total want. Now, we are not blind to the numerous instances of working men acting the part of prudent and far-seeing economists. If we look to the savings banks, to the building societies, to the benefit societies of the Odd Fellows Order, we indeed find the most cheer- ing examples of provident economy on the part of working men. But we say it advisedly, and it will be confessed to be true, that a very large proportion of the working classes allow their means to run to waste and that a very large number of them, who, by frugality and careful economy, might lay up a store of savings, which might secure for themselves an honourable independence for their old age, waste their means, often spending them on drink and when their years of health and strength have passed away, they are left stranded on the stern shores of poverty and want, destitute and desolate. The gains reaped in times of prosperity are not garnered up, but spent nothing is saved, and what is the consequence? Frightful misery in the time of need. Instead of its being one of the first thoughts, when a man marries, and in- volves others in his fate, it is one of the last-that he should make such a provision for these other beings dependant on him for their subsistence, as his means will fairly allow. From the very first earnings of every man a small portion should at once be set apart, as a matter of course, as a fund for misfortune, sickness, or old age. And those who have not observed, would be astonished to find what a few pence set apart weekly will do towards establish- ing the perfect and noble independence of the working man in all the vicissitudes ot life, and, on the failure of his strength, in its decline. A saving of sixpence a week will amount to forty pounds in twenty years, and to seventy pounds in thirty years. By pru- dence and economy, it would not be difficult for many working men to save that sum, or double, or treble that sum and such a sum, as a capital, would add to his self- respect, to his dignity and independence, and remove the evil day far from him, or keep it away altogether. There is a dignity in the very effort to save with a worthy purpose, even though the attempt should not be crowned with eventual success. It produces a well-regulated mind -it gives prudence a triumph over extravagance; it gives vinue the mastery over vice. it puts the passions under control; it drives away care it secures comfort. Saved money, however little, will serve to dry up many a tear-will ward off many sorrows and heart-burnings, which otherwise would prey upon us. Possessed of a little store of capital, a man walks with a lighter step-his heart beats more cheerily. The face of nature will assume, in his eyes, a more joyous character the fields will appear more green the groves more vocal. When interruption of work or adversity comes, he can meet them he can recline on his capital, which will either break his fat!, or prevent it altogether. By such prudential economy, we can thus realise the dignity of man, life will be a blessing, and old age an honour. We can ultimately, under a kind Providence, surrender life, conscious that we have "been no burden on society, but rather, perhaps, an acquisition and ornament to it conscious, also, that as we have been indepen- dent, our children after us, by following our example, and avail- ing themselves of the means we have left behind us, will walk in like manner through the world, in independence and happi- ness.—Eliza Cook's, Journal.
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THE DEATH OF MH.. FIELDEN.-Thousands of our industrious population will be saddened when they learn that on Monday, the 28th of May, their old and devoted friend, Aly. Joliii Fieldeii, breathed his last breath in a spirit of tranquil resignation. Once a labouring man himself, his sympathies were with them always. THE NORTH-WESTERN RAILWAY.—The cost of the hall and offices at the Euston station of the London and North-Western Kail way is understated at £ 125,000, the interest of which, at 5 per cent., is £ 6,250 per annum. The company must, therefore, earn more than £ 17 per day for every day in the year, including Sundays, simply for the use of these new buildings, exclusive of the cost of repairs.—The Builder. As American correspondent of le Populaire asserts that the Mormons, by the extraordinary ardour of their proselytism, are making rapid, unceasing, and considerable progress. THE I„ATR REAK-ADMIHAL SIR. NESBJT J. WILI.OUGHHY, K.C.B.—This officer was a singular instance of an individual escaping the most imminent dangers. He was thrice ship- wrecked once upset in a boat, and kept himself afloat on an oar for nineteen hours. He was two years in slavery at .Tripoli, and escaped by beating out tlie brains of two Moors, and swimming on board a French ship in the bay, lying two miles from the shore. He entered the harbour of the Isle of France with a single frigate, and cut out two rich ships, though opposed by sixty pieces of cannon. He was eleven times wounded with balls, three with spinters, and was cut in every part of his body with sabres and tomahawks his face was dis- figured by explosions of gunpowder, and he lost an eye and had part of bis neck and jaw shot away. When unemployed he joined the Russian army under Kutuzoff, and was made a colonel; he was thrice wounded, and at Leipzig had his right arm shattered by a cannon shot. He had pensions from the Russian Government. Amongst sailors in his day he was called" The Immortal; at any rate, he seems to have pos- sessed more lives than a cat with all the courage of a British lion.-Lucal Paper. THE LrvER FOUNDRY, an extensive establishment in Liver- pool, was destroyed by fire on Wednesday night, with a loss of property estimated at 95,000. IIow many turnpikes do you think," asks the Daily Neivs, there were "in London ? Ten or fifteen will probably be guessed. The real number is one hundred and sixty exclusive of the gates upon the bridges." A NEW MACHINE has been invented for, making printing types. The ordinary mode of casting is superseded, and the letters are cut out of a hard and durable metal, by means of powerful pressure and the use of steel dies. WE are requested to state that Lord Nugent has been suffer- ing for the last few days from illness in the country, and was consequently prevented from voting, on the Parliamentary Oaths Bill, and is also obliged therefrom to defer his motion relative to the maintenance of the destitute poor of England and Wales till Thursday, the 21.sr day of June.. Sun of Wed- nesday.
BROUGHAM IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS.
BROUGHAM IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS. As for Lord Brougham, he was illustrating the doctrine of per- petual mation. When he is not speaking, or watching the oppor- tunity to speak, that noble lord is on the move. Sometimes you will see him posting towards the bar, as if about to take somebody into custody next you will perceive a movement at the steps of the throne, and, if you keep watch for a second or two, you will find that the noble lord has become the centre of a lively group then he will throw himself headlong among the bishops and anon you will discover him among the peeresses in the gallery. Lord Brougham is in his seventieth year; and if the marks of Time's inroads are to be sought for, the search must be in the direction of political status, for assuredly the corporeal parts look as perfect as ever. He is strong and flexible and, had it been his fortune to have exercised his fists as actively and as frequently as he has applied his tongue, I would have trembled for Mr. Bright, had they met each other in the ring and contended for the champion- ship of England. Look at Lord Brougham's hair! It is white and grey, but it looks as crisp as though it were composed of the same materials as the forensic wig. His very nose is full of life. There he stands at the table, arrayed in black neck'chief, black surtout, and dark-coloured trousers his voice is on the scream his arms are squared, as if defying his opponents to come on he is denouncing some unpatriotic sentiment in words which burn. This is Henry Brougham." He will appear in many other characters before he sits down but over these I will draw a veil. -Aitaus, in J err oWs Weekly Neivs.
MR. HUDSON IN PARLIAMENT.
MR. HUDSON IN PARLIAMENT. It was George's custom, of an afternoon, to bustle up to the second row behind the Opposition, and keep calling out quite loud, Granby," Brackley," "Bentinck," "Burghley," "Chandos," "Hamilton," "Hotham," ''Lennox, Mandeville, "Sea- ham," Worcester," or anybody else with a handle to his name, who happened to be within hailing distance and these Corinthian oaks, obsequious to the moneyed mushroom, were wont to nod their patrician tops, and respond with an approving and deferential chuckle, much to the envy and admiration of all the surrounding world of senatory snobbery, and to the perplexity of Mr. Speaker, who called" Order" with much less than his customary effect whenever the Iron Rex was railing. On Monday night he sneaked in, a truly sad dog. As he entered the lobby, the policemen see.med as if they had suddenly sniffed the ghost of Lundyfoot, for their noses respectively became curled up at an angle of 45, like men on the precipice of a sneeze, after a thumping pinch of high toast. On coming into the House, all his once familiars, who were crowded about the gangway, appeared to be either profoundly interested in Dr. Reid's plan of lighting the apartment from above, or to be absorbed in the contemplation of the mechanism of their watches, or else afflicted with an awful cold in the head, re- quiring the immediate application of pocket handkerchiefs. Some, on the contrary, began to gaze intently on their boot-tops; while others looked through the Banquo of the share market, as if they were playing Macbeth, and couldn't see a spectre-weighing In stones, for all that, spiritual as he was. George, however, twigged them fast enough, and on that twig he hopped into the extreme back bench, in a line with the Sergeant-at-Arms, Lord Charles Russell, who quietly turned himself round, and fixed his eyes on the mace on the table. No shaking hands all round—no horse-laugh—nothing to recall the gross, rude, vulgar autocrat of the share-market now. There he sat—alone, avoided his hat pulled down over his face his face resting on his hands his hands on his stick his stick on the edge of the bench before him-as precarious a foundation as the bloat bubble that had bolstered him up all this while bick, and which the stroke of a straw would have at any time pros- trated. Talk of Bajazet in his cage, Marius amidst the ruins of Carthage, Napoleon on the rock of St. Helena, and Louis Philippe in a pea jacket, and calling himself Bill Smith Why, how poorly do these point a moral, and how slenderly do they adorn a tale, compared to this Great Snob becoming the Great Snubbed
PARLIAMENTARY PERFORMANCES.
PARLIAMENTARY PERFORMANCES. The Whitsuntide recess marks the close of the second act of the parliamentary drama. It is a breathing time so let us take a glance at the state of the public business. As regards the bill department the practical results of the ses- sion, so far as it has yet advanced, are to be found in the measures which have received the royal assent. These are 24 in number; but, as the bulk are composed of routine bills, and bills of minor interest, T shall restrict the enumeration to those measures which excited the most discussion. Bill to suspend the Habeas Corpus Act in Ireland. Bill to advance £ 50,000 in aid of Distressed Irish Unions. Bill to make further Loans in aid of Land Improvement in Ireland. Bill to levy a 6d. Rate in the Irish Unions in aid of Irish Poor Law purposes. The following may be considered as on the eve of becoming law :— The Navigation Bill. The following ministerial bills are advancing slowly towards the point at which they will branch off to the Lords :— To amend the Oaths taken by Members of Parliament (best known as the "Jew Bill"). To facilitate the Sale of Irish Encumbered Estates. To amend the Irish Poor Law, by fixing a maximum rate. About 20 other bills appear on the list, but they are not of suffi- cient interest to call for specification. As to the bills introduced by independent members, and which are making their way at snails' pace through their stages, the following call for enumeration To Substitute Affirmations where Oaths are objected to on re- ligious grounds (Mr. P. Wood's). Has been read a third time, but another discussion is challenged on the question that the bill do pass." To Legalise Marriage with a Deceased Wife's Sister (Mr. Wortley's). Has not yet been read a second time. To Relieve Clergymen of the Church of England and Ireland who become Dissenters from certain penalties (Mr. Bouverie's). Has not finally passed through committee. To Prevent Bribery at Elections (Sir J. Pakington's). Has not passed through committee. About sixteen other bills, under the charge of private members, have advanced a stage or two, but they possess little general in- terest. Under the supposition that no more bills are to be introduced, the House of Commons has yet to dispose of: — Ministerial bills 23 Mei-nbers' bills 20 As matters stand, the only means of testing the attendance of members is by the division lists and from these I find that the number of divisions since Easter has been 44, and that the num- bers present were- Divisions. 7 fewer than 100 present; more than 553 absent. 12 150 503 11 „ 2UO „ 4,53 6 ,,250 „ 403.. 2 300 „ 35: 3 ,,350 „ 303 1 „ 400 „ 253 2 500 jj 153 44 This gives the old result, viz., that at more than one-half of the divisions which have taken place within the period not 200 membel's were present. Owing to the illness of Mr. Hume, less progress has been made in disposing of what, may be called the ''stock" motions of indi- vidual members of the radical school than would otherwise have been the case, Mr. Hume having the most on hand. The list, of actual doings is meagre, but the resutt.s are as hopeful as there was any reason to expect. Mr. Ewart's abolition of death punishment motion (rejected by 75 to 51 last year the numbers were 122 to 66). Mr. D'Eyncourt's motion for leave to introduce a bill to shorten the duration of Pnrliaments is carried b^ 46 to 41. Mr. Berkeley's motion to introduce a bill to establish vote by ballot in electing members of Parliament is lost by 136 to 85. (Last year a motion, affirming that vote by ballot was desirable, was carried by 86 to 81.-Jerrold' s Weekly News.
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BREVETS IN THE ARMY AND NAVY.—A return moved for by Mr. Hume, M.P., gives some account of the various brevets in the army, navy, and ordnance. Those in the army made between the years 1837 and 1846 amounted to 1,616, and the < gross total annual charge thereby incurred to E53,931, The brevets in the ordnance military corps during the same period entailed an increased annual charge on the public of £ 33,612, and those in the navy (amounting to 900) entailed an addi- tional annual burden of £ 84,904. THE CODE DE MONTEMOLIN.—It was rumoured, a few days since, that this illustrious person was about to marry an English lady, but it is now understood that the treaty for the rumoured alliance is at present at an end.—Morning Chro- nick.
ON PLOUGHING UNDER GREEN CROPS…
ON PLOUGHING UNDER GREEN CROPS FOR MANURE. BY PROFESSOR DONALDSON, OF HODDESDON. The ploughing down and covering in the land of the croptb of green juicy plants, to act as a manure, is a practice of the ancient Romans, and is yet followed in Italy and other parts of Europe. This mode of fertilising suits warm countries, where vegetation is rapid and luxuriant in our colder latitude, where culmiferous productions are more the object of cultivation, the advantage of the practice has not yet appeared. The plants used for that purpose are the leguminous kinds-tares, vetches, clovers, pease, buck- wheat, and spurrey; and in Italy the harvest is early, and the crop is removed in time sufficient to allow the maturity of the green plants. Our climate does not allow such suc- cessions, and a crop of any kind must be unprofitable that yields in return only what it has extracted, and leaves the land as before in point of fertility. In order to apply the practice profitably, a very full crop must be supposed; and land that will produce a full crop of these substances will yield crops of a more valuable kind. On poor lands, a scanty crop will be expected, which will be of little service for that purpose, and almost invariably fills the land with weeds. Rape is reckoned very good for the purpose, as it is oily and mucilaginous. Sorrel has been recommended to be cultivated, and ploughed down with lime, in order to pro- duce a chemical combination but few soils will yield sorrels in abundance, and the chemical result may be too uncertain to justify the process. The decomposition of vegetable matter below or in the soil has been put forth in favour of this practice, as produc- ing a soluble matter, and also mould, by continued decom- position. The gradual decay of substances above or below ground is certain; the formation of those that may be use- ful in promoting the growth of vegetables is a very different question. Fermentation is a sensible internal motion of the constituent particles of a fluid, moist, or mixed compound body, by which they are removed from their present situa- tion and combination, and are again joined together in a ne\v or different order and arrangement, forming new compounds, with very different qualities from the original body or sub- stance. It results from the combined action of air, heat, and moisture, and the first agent is oxygen, afforded either by the atmosphere or by the decomposition of the included water; oxygen gas being absorbed, and caloric separated during the process; carbonic acid is one of the results, and fermentation is the natural process for reducing vegetables to a simple state of combination. The first change is the vinous or saccharine fermentation, the conversion of the in- sipid matter of stems and seeds into a saccharum substance, in which process the presence of water and saccharine are indispensable, and some other things must be added. The gramineous and herbaceous plants are generally stored with saccharum, and the acetous fermentation follows, which is succeeded by the putrid, or the last stage of the process. This last stage is always certain, though the regular gradation of the others may be interrupted. During putrefaction, vege- tables emit ammonia, phosphuretted hydrogen gas, and con- stantly carbonic acid gas, and hydrogen gas, impregnated with unknown vegetable matters. The colour changes to a dark brown it swells, and becomes heated, and is reduced to an earthy mass. The constituents enter into new com- binations the hydrogen unites with the oxygen, and is either volatilized in water, or separated in a gaseous form, and carries with it a portion of carbon. A part of this prin- ciple unites with the azote in those plants that contain it; a part remains in the putrid mass, giving it odour and colour a portion of carbon remains in the magma, and a part unites with the hydrogen, and a part with the oxygen, forming, with the latter, carbonic acid. The brown mass, or earthy residue, contains the primitive earths, metals, oils, and salts, which are found in vegetables, forms vegetable mould, and constitutes the principal means by which the earth receives back the principles it loses by the support it affords to vege- table life. In this process, air, heat, and moisture are in- dispensable, and a quantity of the substances laid together. Green or dry vegetables ploughed into the land will lie in too small a quantity to generate heat; air and moisture will be nearly excluded, and no active fermentation will l.l'J:'°' to afford aeriform matters in the soil, as may be daily seen in the case of stubble and other dry substances. The conver- sion to mould by a gradual decay is undeniable, but activity for present benefit is wanting, unless an incipient fermenta- tion has been effected before the application to break the texture by a disintegration of the fibrous texture. It may very justly be reckoned a wasteful practice to apply for manuring substances that can be used as food for animals, and thus effect a double purpose. The second crops of clover and tares have been ploughed under for manure, and in that case the first crops must t, be cut early to allow the second crop to attain a bulk of plants for the intended purpose. If any of these succulent plants be used as a manure for wheat, the bastard fallowing will dissipate the enriching matter, and if it be covered with the last furrow, the land must be in an unwrought state, and it can only be reckoned a catch crop. The only plausible ease of application is on places that have failed to receive the due portion of farm- yard manure; but the season being occupied in bringing forward a crop for the benefit of the land as dung, wholly excludes any effectual working of the soil, and in any case such unmanured lands may be partly wrought and sown with crops that will afford food to animals, and also to the land, by the subsequent application of the excrementitious matter. The use of green crops as manures will not fail to constitute very foul farming; and though a successful iso- lated case may occur, an extension of the practice will not be expected. The green crops may be harrowed and rolled before ploughing, which will render them more convenient for being covered, and a compost of lime and earth has been added, which will also aid the covering of them in the land, and tend to promote the putrefaction. It may be supposed that in the countries where the practice is said to be so very beneficial, the soils may be more loose and friable, the vege- tation more rapid and luxuriant, and the plants more juicy and succulent, and consequently more tender and easier of decomposition than in our country, and that a variety of circumstances may combine in rendering the practice very useful in some countries, and inapplicable in others. The plants may be ploughed under when in full blossom, and, > if possible, in moist warm weather; and the latter circum- stance may constitute an advantage in favour of the custom in the warm countries were it prevails.- Scuttis It Agricul- tural Journal.
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THE COUNTESS OF BLESSINGTON died at Paris on Monday, of appoplexy. CADVERTISEMENT.]—TRIUMPHS GREATER AND YET GREATER STILI,It has been well for suffering thousands that John Kaye, Esq., of Dalton Hall, near Hudderstield, consented tw hØTÇ his Vegetable Restorative Pills made extensively known. Few diseases are more disqualifying and distressing than the dropsy, and yet over this disease their power has been wonderfully demonstrated. The following specimens are furnished to inspire with confidence those who are thus afflicted :-The case of Mrs. Wilkinson, Bow- street, Oldham, is-very remarkable. She was grievously afflicted for years, during a portion of which time she was confined to her bed, her body being enlarged to double its size, and her breathing having become so difficult that existence was a burden. After taking a few boxes of Kaye's Worsdell's Pills, she was so relieved as to be able to walk about, and she was at length enabled to at- tend, as formerly, to her household duties.—William Klyes" a yoiDig man residing Uc-ar Moneygall, Ireland, was afflicted with dropsy, and increased in size so rapidly that the doctors pro- nounced his case hopeless. He resolved, however, to resort to the use of Kaye's Worsdell's Pills, and soon obtained complete deli, veranee from his complaint.—Mrs. Dodd, Seal-street, Liverpool, was so dreadfully swollen with dropsy, that her legs were almost as large as her body, and her face so swelled that her eyes could scarcely be seen. She had ilso a violent cough attended with spitting of blood. After the faculty had pronounced her incurable, she was restored to perfect health, in a very short time, by the use of these pills. What, an encouraging case is that of Mr. Lus- conibe, of Deptford, near Totnes. He was so swollen with dropsy as almost to have lost the human form. But though he was given up by the doctors and his friends as incurable, to the astonishment of all he was completely cured by taking one box of Kaye's'Wors- dell's Pills.—Sold in boxes, Is. Id., 2s. 9d., and 4s. 6d. each, by Barclay's, Fiirringdon-street Sutton's, Bow-churchyard Ed- wards, St. Paul's-churchyard, London and all Medicine Venders.