William Lonsdale, of Harrington, in the county of Cumberland, mariner; for an improvement in weighing anchors, fteering fhips, and other advantageous methods of weighing, raifing, and uplifting any heavy burthen or weight, on board of thips. November 4.

Richard Hall Gower, of Leaden hall-street, in the city of London, mariner in the fervice of the Eaft India Company; for a method of rigging vellels upon an improved plan. November 4.

Ralph Gout, of Bunhill-row, in the parish of St. Luke, Old-ftreet, in the county of Middlesex, watchmaker; for improvements on pedometers and pedometrical watches, for the purpofe of afcertaining more accurately, and with greater precifion, the number of fieps the wearer makes in walking; and, when affixed to a faddle, the number of paces the horse makes; and alfo, when affixed to a curricle or other carriage, the number of revolutions of the wheel. November 4.

Thomas Binns, of Great Barlow-ftreet, Marybone, water-clofetmaker; for a machine anfwering the purposes of a portable water-clofet, or bidet, and eafy chair; comprifed in one third of the space occupied by portable water-clofets now in ufe. November 4.

Thomas Foden, of Coventry, cotton-manufacturer; for a loom for the purpose of warping, drefling, weaving, and piecing, filk, cotton, woollen, or any other yarn. No

vember 4.

for an improved method of binding all forts of books. November 4.

William Tunftall, of Nidd, Yorkfhire, gentleman; for a portable handengine or machine, for thrashing all kinds of grain. November 9.

William Lander, of Mere, Wiltfhire, brafs-founder; for a method of railing water, by pumps or other engines, by means of an apparatus for moving the pifton-rod. November 9.

James Burns, of Glafgow, builder; for improvements applicable to fire-grates, ftoves, furnaces, and chimnies. November 23.

James Fuflell, of Mills, Somerfetfhire, iron manufacturer, and James Druglafs, of Church-street, Surry, engineer; for an apparatus, compofed of chains, wheels, rollers, and conductors, for leffening friction in raifing, lowering, driving, and conducting, heavy bodies. November 28.

Edward Thomafon, of Birmingham, manufacturer; for improvements in the cocks of gun-locks, applicable to all kinds of fire-arms. November 28.

John Fofter, of Oxford-ftreet, breeches-maker; for a new-invented bracer or fling, acting by means of a certain fpring or fprings, made of fteel, calculated for the better and more convenient fufpending and keeping up breeches, pantaloons, or drawers. December 2.

John Palmer, of Maxftock, Warwickfhire, gentleman; for improvements in machinery for clearing grain from the ear or stalk, and for breaking or cutting the ftraw into provender for cattle, and other useful purpofes. December 6.

William Reynolds, of Ketley, Shropshire, iron-mafter; for a me. thod of preparing iron for the conD d verfion

to be diftinguished from the reft; but, where the foot lay in larger quantity than ordinary, as was the cafe in the places at which the loads had been fhot from the carts, the fuperior vegetation was very diftinctly marked. I have, on the whole, formed the fame opinion with refpect to this fpecies of manure, as I have already ftated in regard to malt-duft, namely, that it returns the coft price, with very lit the profit.

6. Soap-maker's wafte. I have tried only one load of this manure, on a few rods of ground, in four of my meadows. It has not produced the leaft effect, although it is now three years fince it was laid on. Soap-maker's wafte, potafh, and barilla, are probably held in too much efteem, as preparers of the food of plants, by philofophical chymifts, of whom it might be wished that a little practice were combined with their theoretical ideas on the fcience of agriculture; and that they would try their fpecious theories by the teft of experiment, before they publish them to the world. I am farther induced to confider this kind of dreffing for land as of much lefs utility than is generally imagined, from having been informed by Mr. Ruffel, junior, that his father, who is a foap-maker of great refpectability, at Paris-Garden, has ufed the waste of his own manufactory on his farms in Ellex and Kent, (in the latter on a clay foil,) without difcovering that it was of any material benefit to the land; and that he has confequently difcontinued the ule of it.

The experiments made by Major Velley, as reported in the eighth

volume of papers publifhed by the Bath fociety of agriculture, feem alfo to prove, that Dr. Hunter's food of plants does not answer any of the purpofes for which it has been fo highly extolled; but, on the contrary, that it is really hurtful to corn crops.*

7. Sweepings of London ftreets. I have ufed feveral hundred loads of this manure on grafs land, and have found it to be of confiderable fervice to the fucceeding crops. I have ufually laid it in large heaps, and mixed with it a fmall quantity of horte-dung: in this ftate it generates a little heat, though lefs than might be wished, which helps to decompofe or rot the mixture; when thus prepared, it has been fpread on the land, in the proportion of ten or twelve loads per acre.

Within

8. The foil of privies. the last four or five years, this manure has been fpread on my land, to the expense of about 1007.; the proportion, from two to four loads per acre. The effect produced by it was aftonishing fertility; fo much fo, as to induce me to be of opinion, that it exceeds every other kind of manure that can be brought into competition with it, at least for the firft year after it is laid on. In the fecond, it is of fome fervice; but, in the third year, its effects very nearly or entirely ceate. From thefe premifes I draw this conclufion, that, for land in good condition, the application of two loads per acre, per annum, will continue it in that ftate for any length of time; and alfo, that land which has been much exhausted, might be restored by laying on four or five loads per acre; after which, a repetition of two

loads

loads annually, would be found fufficient to keep it in the highest degree of fertility.

9. Farm-yard dung. This, when it had been once turned, and become about three-fourths rotten, I have ufed in the proportion of about thirteen or fourteen loads per acre; and found it much lefs effective, for one year, than three loads of night-foil. I believe that even a load and a half of foil, would have been equal to the foregoing quantity of dung. In the fecond year, I could not perceive any difference between the dung and the foil.

In the laft volume of the tranfactions of the fociety, page 168, a crop of wheat, amounting to 56 bufhels per acre, is faid to have been raifed by Mr. Henry Harper, of Lancashire; which is fo much above the general average, that Mr Harper was at a lofs how to account for it. I am inclined to think that the night-foil, contained in the mixture with which he dressed the close, was the cause of this wonderful effect.

He mentions, that the quantity of manure (confifting of night-foil, coalafhes, fweepings of tireets, &c.) was eighty tons, and that the clofe contains eleven acres: the proportion per acre was therefore fomething

more than feven tons. He does not fay what part of this proportion was night-foil, but it was probably not lefs than four tons; a quantity which, as I have before obferved, is fufficient of itfelf to produce one immenfe crop.

In fhort, it appears to me that nature, following her general fyftem of re-production, prepares this matter in the most perfect manner for the purpofe of feeding vegetables, and raifing them to the very highest pitch of excellence; and it is certain,

that herbage growing under thɗa circumftances, is capable of ter ing the largest cattle in less time than any other.

The importance of this kind of manure being fo evident, that I am fure the fociety will feel, equals with me, the moft poignant regret, when they take into their confideration, that ninety-nine parts in every hundred of this valuable article is conftantly and most abfurdly carried by the fewers and drains, into the rivers, and thereby totally loft to the purposes of agriculture, for which it is fo admirably adapted.

In Britain alone, the quantity of this manure, and of urine, which is annually thus wafted, is aftorih ingly great; probably not less than five millions of cart-loads, worth to the farmers two millions and a half, and to the community five millions of pounds fterling, per annum.

This fubject is, I think, well ertitled to the attention of the fociety; and it would add much to the creat which they have already acquired by their patriotic labours, if they could devife the means whereby the wafte of this article might be eftctually prevented.

On prefercing Seeds in a State fit fr Vegetation, by John Sneyd, E Belmont, Staffordshire; from t'e fame.

MANY years ago, having o

ferved fome feeds which hai got accidentally amongst raifi, and that they were fuch as were generally attended with difficulty to raife in England, after coming, r the ufual way, from abroad, Ilowed them in pots, within a framing; and, as all of them grew, I comm fioned my fons, who were the

abrosd,