entering upon the peculiarities of Devons, IIerefords, fat, and to over-feed is to produce surfeit, if not death, short-horns, and Scots, the utmost we can do being to or else dyspepsia, dropsy, obesity, &c., as consequents, silence a common objection brought against it by super-yielding a quality of butcher-meat which falls under the ficial or inexperienced observers, who erroneously impute third class: the whole to over-feeding. Some of our Christmas Show beef and mutton is no doubt over-fat. The lean and fat are both good, and tolerably well mixed occasionally it may be, but the latter preponderates in quantity. The proportion of fat considerably exceeds what it should do. The animals were not only fed to the greatest pitch while growing, but they were also fed after bone and muscle had ceased to grow; so that dur. The objection being a common one, is on that account deserving of special refutation. It has reference both to the food consumed by the animal, and to the quality of the article manufactured from it. Too much food is the cause of the over-fat meat. The farmer puts too many raw materials into the ox-skin, the result of which is an inferior article. Four bushels into the sack and the wheat is good; but if you put in five you spoiling the latter period they only manufactured fat. the whole (?). The argument is altogether inconclusive, because the fat and lean of the butcher-meat in question are both of good quality, comparatively speaking. The question just resolves itself into this :-If a pound of muscle mixed with a pound of fat makes the best beef when properly grained, would the same pound of muscle and the same pound of fat not mixed, but lying in layers, the one united to the other by cellular tissue, make over-fat meat? Our objectors answer in the affirmative. The ox which produced the former was fed as he ought to have been; but the one which produced the latter was overfed. The case is often worse than this, for it is no rare thing to see such parties object to one piece of beef upon the butcher's stand as over-fat, shaking their heads and condemning it as blubber," and all sorts of stuff unfit for food, and yet to purchase another piece, well mixed, but containing proportionally a much larger quantity of fat than what they had just condemned. They are, in short, often the parties who understand how teas and sugars should be mixed, but they unfortunately have not yet learned how farmers should mix the fat and the lean in the feeding of stock, and the information these derive from public exhibitions of fat stock for doing so, or they would be more cautious and charitable in their opinions. Where the ox has arrived at maturity of growth before being put up to fatten, any additional weight afterwards gained is no doubt fat; so that less food would produce less fat: and it is more than probable that many examples of this kind ought to be slaughtered sooner than they are, because they often only mix fat with the muscle partially for a certain length of time, and then afterwards lay it all upon certain places, which rather diminishes than adds to the value of the former. But examples of this kind are the exception in our fat stock markets, or on butchers' stalls generally; for before parties could get rid of the fat against which they complain by less food, the lean would be of a quality they would then turn their backs upon. The above argument is only applicable to old cows and ewes, with a few Scotch and Welsh beasts, including also much of our Christmas Show beef, which we shall further notice separately; for the majority of oxen and sheep are now fattened while growing, being often slaughtered before they have arrived at full growth. Hence the work of feeding becomes of much more im portance, and tenfold more difficult to perform; for to give less food is to grow less bone and muscle, as well as If we suppose that at three years old they had attained maturity of growth that at that age they belonged to the first class-the fat and lean being finely mixed in due proportion, or yet to the second-class, where fat and lean did not so mix, but were, nevertheless, in just proportion to one another, supposing the best quality of each; that at four years old the beef had increased 20 stones (160lbs.) in weight, the fat and lean being still good in quality, and mutton in a similar ratio to weight; and that at five years old it increased other 20 stones, but that the quality of both lean and fat had depreciated-then we arrive at a series of facts easily disposed of; for if we further suppose that the eight examples are lying before us-four of beef, and four of mutton-on a butcher's stall, then we conclude that the beef and mutton of the first and second class, forming the first and second examples of each, were slaughtered when ripe; that the third example was fed one year too long, and exhibited 20 stones of extra ox-fat, and mutton fat according to the weight of the carcase of sheep; and that the fourth example belongs to the third class of meat. During the first three years, neither of the last two examples of each were over-fcd; during the fourth year, both consumed less food, manufacturing what was not required for the immediate use of animal life and the reparation of the system into fat, depositing it in thick layers and masses in various regions of the body, without in the slightest degree injuring health, nature being always able to store up to a certain extent provision for future emergencies; and during the fifth year, health, in the fourth example, had to a certain extent given way. The economical functions of nature are limited to her wants; and in this case art had ambitiously decoyed her beyond these, for the ox and sheep were not only fed too long, but pampered and overfed during the last year, when no more food ought to have been given than was necessary for keeping up the weight of the previous year. It is but proper, however, to notice here that there are comparatively few cases where the ox or sheep will eat to injure health. Third.-Beef and mutton belonging to this class are of an inferior quality both as regards fat and lean. We cannot have the one good, and the other bad. The well-known laws of sympathy exclude the possibility of this. They may be of any age and degree of fatness, and the lean and fat may be well mixed, as in the first class, or they may be badly mixed, as in the second. The quality may have been bad from calving and lambing, or it may have arisen from injudicious feeding or management afterwards, or any of the many maladies to which flesh is heir. The shortest and most satisfactory way of discussing a subject so comprehensive and important will be by a few examples, for which purpose we shall include or follow the arrangement given in the preceding paragraph. 1. Let us suppose it the beef of a two or three-yearold ox of the first class, of the maximum degree of fatness. Ten days, we shall say, expired between the time the animal left the feeding-box of the farmer until it was slaughtered, during which it was half starved and in a state of excitement from travelling by rail, fatigue n marketing, and exposure to the vicissitudes of the weather; consequently the stomach and bowels became deranged, the transpiration stopped, or nearly so, and in short, the whole system was in a febrile state-a complication of maladies which the animal may have got over by resolution, had it not been slaughtered in this state, the virus of the complaint being carried off in the urine, or by a discharge from the nostrils, or by some affection of the skin; but not being so carried off, it remained in the meat-inoculating it, converting the mass into a complete state of corruption in a very short time, in warm weather, so far as not sold and consumed immediately when slaughtered; and to add to the calamity, animals in this state never "die well" (bleed well). When they leave home they may promise the best beef a grazier ever fed; but three days after, being slaughtered in the heat of summer, it is sent to the knacker's caldron and tallow-chandler for "cats' and dogs' meat" and candles; or the depreciation of quality may scarcely have been perceptible; or it may have been in any of the onehundred and eighty degrees between those two extremes. 2. The beef of a two or three-year-old ox of the second class of meat, exhibiting the fat and lean in just proportions, but not well mixed, is similarly situated to the last, only more liable to suffer injury from the animals being less active and hardy to stand the fatigue of marketing, exposure, &c. The odds are considerably against them, and the quality of the meat is affected accordingly. The lean is often watery, as it were; and the fat soft and badly coloured-the two requiring a good deal of skewering to keep them together in the cooking. As in the first example, nothing can be said against the grazier for his hands are clean, the ox having been fed in the best manner possible. 3. Following the order already given of the beef of a four-year-old ox carrying twenty stones of extra fat exclusive of loose fat on the viscera, which does not come within the question at issue in any of the cases, and where the fat and the lean were both of good quality up to the time the ox left the stall of the farmer, but where both are deteriorated by the time they fall under the hand of the cook; then this deterioration is easily accounted for-the ox being greatly more susceptible of injury than in either of the previous two cases. In many instances-we may safely say the majority—butcher-meat of this quality always sustains less or more injury even at our Christmas Shows, where farmers pay all attention to their oxen, personally sparing neither labour nor expense to avert the calamities of which we complain (for the task is too much for them to perform), considerable deterioration being always sustained. The ox, for instance, always loses fat, supposing his bowels, stomach, and transpiration not injured; and this fat is not first taken from the detached masses, but from the fat in the immediate vicinity of the muscles and nerves, reducing the quality of the lean; and not only the lean, but the fat also, which acquires a yellow or darker colour from the presence of residuary matter which the system was unable to remove so fast as the fat itself was pulled down, so to speak. The building was faster pulled down than the rubbish was removed. Hence, the consequences which follow. Now, if such is the case with butcher-meat from our Christmas Exhibitions, where so much attention is paid to the comfort of animals, what must be the case with the bulk of the butcher-meat from the great Monday's market of Smithfield? The answer is obvious. 4. We shall include under this example every case where the health of the animal, and hence the quality of the butcher-meat, had been injured prior to leaving the stall of the feeder, from the poorest skeletons which appear in Smithfield Market to the grossest cases of obesity from the Bazaar, Baker-street; so that our observations must necessarily be very brief: for which purpose we shall divide the whole into two classesfirst, cases falling under obesity, and, second, all others. Obesity, or Polysarcia, is a genus of disease in the class Cachexia, and order Intumescentice of Dr. Cullen, involving a vitiated state of the solids and liquids, and swelling of the body. Dropsy, or anasarca, belongs to the same genus of diseases, being an accumulation of lymph in the cellular system; whereas obesity is an accumulation of fatty matter. Cattle are liable to be seized with it at all ages and degrees of fatness, but the more so the fatter they are; while, after they attain to a certain weight, it is scarcely possible to avoid it. It is more likely to arise from any of the other causes which derange the system than the popular notion of too much food-such as badly-ventilated houses when fed in doors, sudden changes of temperature when fed outdoors, injury in any of those frolics to which high-fed and healthy cattle are apt to indulge in at times, or even the want of a diet. The avenues to bad health are many ; and whenever cattle manifest a disposition to obesity, the sooner they are slaughtered the better, if fat. Diseased meat of the other class, which finds its way occasionally to the market, is of various qualities--some not having sustained much injury, while others are altogether unfit for food. It may have arisen, for instance, from diseases of the skin, or lungs, worms in the prime vic, tumours, &c. A few cases may arise from surfeit and improper feeding, but they do not form a tithe of the others. Turn an ox or sheep into the richest pasture or turnip field, and they may injure themselves at first; but after the first ten days are over, it is impossible to make them eat too much, so that cases of over-feeding are the exception, | Formerly the great level and the contiguous lands were rife in and very rarely found. It will thus be seen that a very large quantity of butcher-meat must be less or more diseased, but that less of this is to be attributed to over-feeding, or injudicious feeding, than popular notions would lead us to believe; while the extra fat, so loudly complained of, arises more from the improper mixing of it with the lean than an excess of quantity. The waste of fat thus deposited separately in layers, instead of being grained in the lean, is great in the butcher's-shop, and still more so when placed before the fire. The quantity of fat which the butcher daily cuts off from such, and sends to the tallow-chandler, is considerable, reducing the value of the carcase much below what it would otherwise be. In cooking, again, before the lean is roasted, the fat is almost all melted, leaving the tissue a tough indigestible substance to the majority of stomachs; while, if the fat is cut off, a vast amount of lard must be used. Thus situated, it is no wonder that complaints are made against the quality of Christmas beef, which invariably comprises the largest and fattest description of beasts. ARTERIAL DRAINAGE. Whoever was an eye-witness of the devastating floods of last year must feel their sympathies rise as the rains of the past few days have fallen. They were exceedingly disastrous, and the damage sustained incalculable. If the small river Nene will overflow from 10,000 to 15,000 acres between Northampton and Peterboro', as stated in the valuable extract given below, what must have been the number of acres overflown throughout the kingdom during the floods of last year-and that overflowing twice repeated? The damage must have been immense. This is a subject demanding the most serious attention of the Government. Large sums are continually voted by Parliament for improvements in London-widening streets, building bridges, making parks, and the like. Surely it is time some public measure was brought to bear upon the arterial drainage of the country. Improvements are imperatively demanded for every river in the United Kingdom-improvements in straightening, widening, deepening, and embanking the rivers. These will never be effected by proprietors or companies; it must be done by Governmental aid and authority. If the amount lost last year had been laid out in these improvements, the great probability is that the waters might have been conveyed away without damage; at present the flow of the waters is stemmed by innumerable obstacles. We have much pleasure in inserting the following extract from an able review in the British Quarterly on the origin and improvement of the Fens : "The unceasing rains which have but lately steeped our fields, brimmed our brooks, and deluged our valleys, have led us to consider more energetically than at any previous time, whether the general trunk or arterial drainage of the kingdom cannot be put into a more perfect condition. Our chief rivers, burlesquing the Nile and Jordan, have been flooding the wide flats of meadow bordering their course, and in every county smaller watercourses have deluged pastures, crops, roads, and towns; destroyed buildings, drowned sheep, floated away hay, &c., &c., with immense damage and loss of property. But it is not alone the tenant-farmers, landed proprietors, and other classes, whose capital is destroyed or deteriorated in value, that suffer by the liability of so much ground to these overflowings; sickness invariably follows upon the assuaging of the inundant waters, so that the health of the entire population is here concerned. fevers and pestilential miasmata; but these, with the dreaded 'fen ague,' have in great measure disappeared, and in its general salubrity this district now compares favourably with the rest of the kingdom. Aud experience in other districts tells us that, with a further reduction in the amount of surface evaporation, by means of drying and warming the soil to a greater depth, a still greater amelioration of climate and additional healthfulness would result. How greatly, then, must our sanitary condition as a nation be injured! how many lives shortened or emasculated by reason of our frequent floods! If we could form an accurate estimate of the areas of land in England now suffering from the inability of their main channels to carry off sudden or protracted downfall, we should procise information, we know that our wet valleys must occupy a large proportion of the country, because of the very general character of the late floods, and the existence of overflowing brooks in every county, and upon every geological formation. The Nene, in its frequent swellings, often overspreads 10,000 to 15,000 acres between Northampton and Peterborough before it enters the Fens; the Ouse probably damages a greater extent; and the Welland, and other fen rivers, inundate in a similar manner. The Severn, the Thames, and innumerable smaller streams, have each a district of its own in the state we are referring to, sometimes amounting to some thousands of acres, in a situation that we should have supposed would have freed them from such inconvenience. A remedy becomes highly important when our beehive population need that every square foot of soil should, if possible, be wrought to its highest capability of productiveness. We have seen how the drainwater is drawn off, or, if need be, actually bailed out from our low-lying fen lards; but from our inland valleys, far more favourably situated, the waters are not conducted: they are too often left to feel their own way out, groping circuitously this, they are purposely retarded in their descent by human among all kinds of natural obstructions. And, far worse than agency-by dams and weirs, by water-wheels and locks-so that for want of a systematic arterial arrangement and management of our water-courses, an individual may hold back our drainage to grind his corn, float his barge, or sometimes even to swell his lake or feed his fish-pond. There is no physical difficulty to prevent our clearing, enlarging, and deepening our rivers, so that they can discharge speedily and safely into the sea the heaviest rains that clouds can let fall, and the most rapidly oozing subterranean springs. Engineers can calculate, from the excess of downfall and spring-water over that evaporated, how great a volume must be provided for, in any season; sectional area of channel able to emit the flood. But when we and, knowing the fall of the river bed, they can determine the come to the actual performance of the work, we meet a host of rights and interests conflicting upon the banks of our stream: mills mentioned in Domesday refuse to lose their water-power; navigation or canal companies will not have their 'head' in any way lowered; irrigators of meadows demand our noninterference with their drains and 'carriers'; towns obstinately oppose our alteration of their strangulating bridges and wharfings; and even a large portion of those lands we seek to bene fit persist in declaring their satisfaction with the present state of things, miserable as it is, and their disbelief in the ultimate profitableness of the expenditure to be incurred. To reconcile opposing interests, therefore, there must be either compensa. tion offered them for injuries and removals, or their river may be left to moisten their meadows, turn their mills, &c., by the drainage being formed independently, and carried by culverts underneath it; or, what is still better, the new works may often be contrived so as to augment the water-power of some of the mills, and benefit all other interests concerned-a boon, coupled with a proportion of the labour and charge, thus falling to each. And, of course, all claims must be finally regulated and appeased by the authority of a special act of Parliament, In the Vale of Pickering, in Yorkshire; in the Test and Anton Valleys, in Hampshire; and in the valley of the river Nene, we have examples of such an improvement, either completed or in progress. bably be surprised at their aggregate extent. Without pre "Why should not all the many districts of similar character abundant over central England, and scattered in every county, be likewise ameliorated? Why do not more of our maritime lowlands-such as the marshes of Somerset-fulfil their duty to the inland tracts, by perfecting their river mouths?" 66 THE ADVANTAGES OF A CENTRAL FARMERS' CLUB." The usual monthly meeting for discussion took place | spread of useful knowledge in their various spheres of on Tuesday, December 5, at the Club Rooms, Blackfriars; operations. Trade, commerce, and science are prosubject-introduced by Mr. Ramsay, of Newcastle-on- moted and benefited by such means, without any disadTyne "The Advantages of a Central Farmers' Club." vantage to the community, as wholesome competition and The chair was taken by Mr. TRETHEWY, who in demand and supply eventually regulate prices and proopening the proceedings said, when he stated the fact tect the consumer, who is so necessary to us all. that Mr. Ramsay travelled from Newcastle-on-Tyne Why, then, should not agriculture have its Chamber for the purpose of introducing the question, they must of Agriculture, especially as in every country agriall feel that the club was deeply indebted to him culture is of the first importance (Hear, hear)? (cheers). He begged, therefore, at once to introduce It is true that it has already many valuable institutions him to the meeting. of immense advantage to its interest in various ways. Among these the Royal Agricultural Society of England, instituted in 1838, stands pre-eminent, being equalled by no other institution of the kind in the world for its magnitude, its annals of agricultural knowledge in every department, and its wide-spread circulation of truth. Next in extent and importance is the Highland Society of Scotland, which bears date of precedence to the English society, viz., 1784; there are few agriculturists who have not received valuable instruction in the results of its great exertions, and its well-framed code of rules. There are also the rising agricultural Irish societies, by which agricultural improvements of every kind are pushed on with such vigour, enterprise, and talent, as to press hard on the heels of the two former institutions. We have, moreover, agricultural societies and farmers' clubs in almost every county, and innumerable cattle-shows in every part of the United Kingdom. These, however, seem to be spread about without any organisation or order. This leads me to think that there is still need of a great central club, where the abundant requirements and information of the whole may be centralized, analyzed, corrected, and distributed with renewed power and vigour, through every part of this great empire. London at once points itself out as the place above all others for centralization in a great agricultural club; the place where most men of talent meet, where information of all kinds can be most easily obtained, and where we are most likely to have the services of those who hold a large stake in this question. As to the formation of a club, much depends on the reception of the measure. A committee must be formed, to draw out rules for its government; the number of subscribers must be large; local clubs will have to be invited to join, and to send deputations on particular occasions; the proceedings and debates must be published; talent and perseverance in secretaries and agents, and above all, a working committee, will be important features. All farmers' clubs, &c., should be requested to contribute papers and information on agricultural affairs; many other arrangements will be necessary which it is far beyond my power to advise upon, and which can only be brought into play by united efforts. The Central Club should not be composed of tenant farmers alone (Hear, hear); its ranks should include landed proprietors, men of science, and others who feel an Mr. RAMSAY said: Mr. Chairman and members of the London Farmers' Club, in bringing forward the paper I am about to read, I confess I feel my own inability to grapple with so large a question successfully. I find it not an easy matter. I cannot divest myself of the feeling, that the London Farmers' Club might have selected from amongst its many talented members a gentleman who would have introduced the subject for discussion in a much more able manner than I can. It requires profound knowledge, great energy, and more experience in agricultural affairs than I possess, to frame a constitution for a great central farmers' club; but as my time through life has been much mixed up with other weighty affairs, I feel that my great reliance must rest, not on this paper itself, but on the various opinions which may arise in discussing it, as well as after it has been given to the world by the public press. I shall endeavour to give offence to none; I will make no invidious comparisons between agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, believing that the interest of each is also the interest of the others, and that they are bound up in one common cause for the benefit of the whole. Should this paper lead to beneficial results, I shall think myself fortunate, and amply repaid for my trouble. Without further preface, I shall now proceed to bring forward my subject, viz., The Advantages of a Central Farmers' Club. In the first place, I may be met by a cry against centralization generally, which sometimes carries away with it those who will not take the trouble to form opinions for themselves or to think seriously on any subjects. I hope that in the present case this will not happen, but that every one will judge for himself with regard to the question before him, and assist me in perfecting this attempt at improvement. On looking around, I see that almost every large interest in the state has its central form of government, each in its own way, according to its requirements; and as an interest increases in magnitude and importance, the more this seems necessary. Merchants have their Chambers of Commerce, where they deliberate on their weighty and wide-spread transactions; most large manufacturers have their quarterly or half-yearly meetings; mining and other interests have periodical meetings; scientific men have their societies and lecture rooms; all for the purpose of securing wholesome regulations, and the in their hearts their own rules. United Kingdom of Great Britain, and the islands in the to have been 100 per ct.,, 1801-1851 as follows: Per cent. Enumerations. May 29th, 1831 May 28th, 1821 March 10th, 1801 June March 31st, 1851 7th, 1841 Great Britain and Islands in the British Seas. Wales. Islands Scotland. British Seas. 10-21355 Years 1801-1811 1,506,687 1,298,358 205,592 2,737 10. 1811-1821] 1,978,523 1,718,135 253,281 7,107 10. 1821-1831 2,161,495 1,879,322 268,285 13,888 9-8137 POPULATION OF GREAT BRITAIN, AND OF THE ISLANDS IN THE BRITISH SEAS. Persons. interest in the progress of agriculture; and then it may be hoped that in a multitude of counsellors there will be wisdom, and that all will be benefited. There are many questions of political economy in which agriculturists are deeply concerned, and which may respectfully be brought before the legislature. Time was when agriculturists could not trust them. selves to speak on such things, or indeed were not allowed to do so at meetings of clubs or 80cieties; though I fear they often committed adultery (laughter), and broke through It may, however, be hoped that there is now less difference of opinion amongst them on many weighty questions, and that they can, like other sections of the community, bring their case forward with discretion, judgment, and knowledge. Religion and politics have always been hazardous topics, tending to create disunion; but surely the enlightened men of the present day have sufficient information to form a well-regulated society without allowing these subjects to prevent their deliberations when their great interests are at stake. In referring to important measures for the consideration of a Central Club, I may enumerate a few which, in my opinion, are fit subjects for discussion, viz.: the malt tax; the equalizing of county rates, police rates, poor's rates, and highway rates-whether they should be local, union, or national-whether to be borne by the state or by separate localities; weights and measures; corn averages, which are now very fallaciously taken (Hear, hear); above all, agricultural statistics generally. Why, indeed, I would here ask, should we not have a Minister of Agriculture like our neighbours, the French? (Hear, hear). One can scarcely think it possible that our many talented Chancellors of the Exchequer have so long gone on making budgets without taking stock, as it were, of the human food on hand to meet the increasing wants of the people. Some slow steps are now being taken in that direction; but, in fact, information on all these points can easily be had, and might have been had long ago; but where is it more likely, or more legitimately to be obtained than through the assistance of the members of a well-constituted Farmers' Club, composed of leading men from all parts of the kingdom? Agricultural statistics ought to be known by every person of intelligence; they are, in truth, only known to a few, and I question if they are correctly estimated by any. Agriculture has now brought science to its aid, and gigantic improvements have been brought into play by geology, chemistry, &c., in every direction. It has become absolutely necessary that the possessors TABLE, showing the Importations of Grain to the United and tillers of the soil should take the position they are entitled to, and form themselves into a Club upon a large scale, in order to multiply in every way the produce of the earth. This seems to be their duty to their country, as well as their own interest; especially when we consider that, with all our skill and industry, we are not able to produce corn, butchers' meat, &c., sufficient for the increasing consumption of the people. Surely, gentlemen, there is a fine field of enterprize before us, and it is to our own interest to cultivate it to the best advantage. The following table shows the population of the You will observe that this table shows an increase of 10,204,534 in fifty years, or nearly double the population. The following is the population of the United Kingdom as given by Porter at three different periods:-1821, 21,282,966; 1831, 24,410,429; 1841, 27,041,031. Porter remarks that this rate of increase could not have been maintained without a concurrent increase in the powers of production arising from the progressive application of capital to the land; and great as has been the effect produced by this cause, far greater results must follow in future years. We next come to the important question of importations of corn and cattle from abroad. The following table, taken from the Times of May the 11th, 1852, will show that, with all our recent improvements, we are sadly deficient in the production of sufficient human food: |