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hue which has been defcribed, to the the North of England and Lowlands moft vivid affemblage of tints; beauti- manner. I have feen a small patch

ful to the traveller, but deftructive to the occupier, and difgraceful to the country. Oats univerfally hid under a canopy of weeds in blow, the wild muftard, and the corn marygold predominant; the fpurrey, the corn fcabions, and the thistle were next in prevalency; with a numerous tribe of minor weeds. The every year lands (as they are called) of Gloucefter, may be faid to be clean, compared with those of Breadal bane. Some of the oats, it is true, overcame the weeds, and in their turn overtopped them, thus gaining the appearance of a tolerable crop, while others were chiefly wholly fmothered beneath the ripening crop of weeds; and the only circumftance which faved the beer from the fame difgrace was its being fown a month too late. Husbandry perhaps never appeared in a lower tate, than that in which it is here found: I mean among the fmaller tenantry of the Highland eftates; a few of the larger farms, even of the ordinary tenants, are exceptions from this prevalent difgrace; nevertheless, nine-tenths of the tenanted lands may be faid to be involved in it.

A minute detail of fuch management would be ill placed in this report; it belongs rather to the antiquary to record that fuch a state of husbandry once exitted; nevertheless, as a ground work of improvement, it may be right to adduce a few leading facts.

The arable crops are chiefly oats, and "beer," or big, namely, the fquareeared, or four-rowed barley. Wheat is not attempted. Some peas, however, have, I believe, been always grown; (chiefly as winter fodder for horfes,) and of late years potatoes and flax.

The Tillage of the Highlands is intolerable: no fallow; the foil ploughed once for oats, and twice or thrice for beer (the first a half ploughing; provincially, and properly enough," ribbing.") Potatoes are cultivated in rows, and moftly with the plough, in

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planted on unploughed ground, in fhallow trenches or grooves made with a Highland fpade;" a rude implement with which the balks and interfpaces between stones, &c. which the plough cannot move, are turned over; the ground, it may be faid, is never completely ftirred; the foil is rarely free from hidden ftones, befides the teams are weak, and the ploughmen bad; leaning the plough too much to the left, or unploughed ground; fcratching the furface rather than ploughing.

Nothing feems more extraordinary in the Highland practice, to a stranger, than the time of fowing. In a country where the climate is fpoken of as its greatest disadvantage, one would reafonably expect early fowing, to endeavour to counteract this natural defect; or in other words, to prevent the evils of a late harveft; one of the loudeft complaints of the country. Nevertheless, beer, which might be fown with refpect to climate, the latter end of April or the beginning of May, is, in the ordinary practice of the country, fown the latter end of May, or in the beginning, or perhaps in the middle, of June; at leaft a month later than in England. The only reafon I have ever heard given for this cuftom is, that the beer, if sown early, would, like the oats, be fmothered in weeds; and under the ordinary management of the fmaller tenantry, under which the land has been cropped alternately with pats and beer, for ages. without refpite, and without an intervening fallow or fallow crop, the reafoning may be good; there needs not however a better argument to fhow, that the prefent fyftem of management is improper, and ought to be changed.

The Summer management of Crops, is chiefly confined to flax and potatoes. "Lint" is weeded with great care, by women on their knees or haunches, picking out every weed. Potatoes, too, are kept tolerably, clean; and the grai 3 G 2

crops

III. Reclaim the foil from its prefent ftate of rudeness, and endeavour to render every part of it productive.

crops have fometimes the thiftles picked II. Ufe every means of fupplying, out. Nevertheless, taking one year by art, the natural defects of climature. with another, the quantity of weed feeds must be nearly equal to that of the grain produced. In fome of the oat crops of 1793, the proportion of produce muft have been greatly on the fide of the weeds.

IV. Adapt the productions (whether vegetable or animal) to the foil, the climature, and the prefent number of the inhabitants, taken jointly.

And V. Let the fubordinate branches of improvement grow out of thofe leading principles, which I fhall confider as the ground-work of thefe propofals.

The bufinefs of Harveft is well conducted, the women in this, as in other employments, are attentive and laborious. Oats and beer are univerfally "fhorn" with fickles, and moftly by women, who cut low, level, and clean, to a degree I have never before obferv- Inhabitants.-The argument which ed. These crops are harvested either has been held, about whether the Highin fheaves or stocks of twelve, two of lands fhould be inhabited by the human them being used as hoods, in the ordi- fpecies or by sheep, can have no fufficient nary manner; or in "gaits," namely, ground until the country be rendered.. fingle fheaves tied near the top, and fet fully productive, and fit for the fupporti upon their buts, fpread abroad for the of either. At prefent it may be faid to purpofe of giving them the requifite lie in a state of wildnefs, not unfimilar firmness, agreeably to the practice of to that of the wilds of America;dandora the North of England. certainly the proper time for retrieving e In the harvesting of Lint, one par- it from a ftate fo difgraceful to a civi ticular is obfervable; the capfulesprovincially bolls, or bows,"-are pulled off in the field, previously to the ftems being carried to the fteeping-pit. The operation is performed by uneans of a large wooden comb fixed in a box, the upper parts of the lint being drawn to their native foil; but this is a fpecies through the teeth, as through a flaxdreffer's tool, the bolls dropping into the box. Thefe bolls are dried, and laid up as Winter provender for cows; or if the feeds be fufficiently matured, they are fold to the oil mills.

Lint is now univerfally dreffed with mills, which have been feveral years in troduced into the Highlands. Indeed, in the management of the flax crop, throughout, the Highlands may be faid to excel. Its culture is altogether modern, the beft mode of management was therefore the more eafily introduced, as there were no prejudices to be got

rid of.

PRINCIPLES OF IMPROVEMENT. I. Permit the present inhabitants to remain in the country, and to endeayour to make it the intereft of every one to affift in its improvement,

lized nation, is, while there are people in it. For, fhould the Highlands of Scotland be once depopulated, it might be found difficult to re-people them, The prefent race of inhabitants, its riser true, have an extraordinary attachment

of attachment which cannot be formed by a stranger; whom it might be found difficult to induce hereafter to take up his abode in a depopulated, neglected, mountainous country, unless he were led into it by exceffive encouragement. Hence, to depopulate the country in its prefent ftate, would not only be cruel, but impolitic.

the

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Climature. The natural defects of
Climature of the Highlands, are,
The feverity of Winter.

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The backwardness of Spring.ubeng The lateness of the Harveftily to Soften the feverities of Winter, byl fheltering the lower farms with freeno plantations, and by dividing them, intoni fmall inclofures, with well-trained hedges.ft Protect the wintering grounds of the sheep farms, by fimilar plantations t

raifees

raise furze, broom, juniper, or other evergreen shrubs, within the fhelter of thofe plantations; and keep the more expofed part of the wintering ground in a full bite of herbage, previous to the approach of winter.

The great difficulty of introducing improvements in agriculture, among men prejudiced in favour of ancient practices, is that of fetting them examples, in such a way as to convince them, that certain profit accrues to men of their own clafs, from the alteration. The improvements of men of fortune, though ever fo great and evident, are pafied as matters in which they have no concern. Upon the Highland estates, and upon eftates divided into officiaries, an eligible mode of introduction feems evident. Make choice of a ground officer, who is capable and willing to fet the requifite examples; no matter where he is found, nob what encouragement, within reafon is given him. Set out a fuitable farm Dear the centre of his officiary, and fix

him there by fuitable inducements. What-
ever example required to be introduced,
and whatever new to be tried, furnish
him with the means of executing his
defign. If an improvement in the
breeds of stock be required, furnish him
with a male, and perhaps females, of
the best quality. If a new fpecies or
variety of crop, a new implement or o-
peration, be thought fit to be tried,
confide the trial to him; and if it fuc
ceed, let him fhow the refult to his
neighbours, and inftruct them, if re-
queited, in the due culture, performance,
or use of it.
Thus, from the centre of
each officiary, the
each officiary, the rays of improvement
would expand; while, by furnishing
the feveral officers with the fame means
of improvement, an emulation among
them would give each attempt a fair op-
portunity of fuccefs; and by their joint
efforts, even the largest citate might be
rapidly improved.'

(To be Continued.)

A NEW VIEW OF THE CITY OF COPENHAGEN;

WITH OBSERVATIONS ON THE CHARACTER AND MANNERS OF THE DANES.

THE diftance from Elfineur to Copenhagen is 22 miles; the road is very goody over a flat country diverfified with wood, moftly beech, and decent manfiohs There appeared to be a great quantity of corn land; and the foil looked much more fertile than it is in general fo near the fea. The rifing grounds indeed were very few; and around Copenhagen it is a perfect plain, of course has nothing to recommend it, but cultivation, not decorations. If I fay that the houfes did not difguft me, I tell you all I remember of them; for I cannot recollect any pleasurable fenfa tions they excited or that any object, produced by nature or art, took me out of myfelf. The view of the city, as we drew near, was rather grand, but with out any ftriking feature to intereft the imagination, excepting the trees which fhade the foot paths. ༦༽༼༡.,

Just before I reached Copenhagen, 1 faw a number of tents on a wide plain, and fuppofed that the rage for encamp

ments had reached this city; but I foon difcovered that they were the afylum of many of the poor families who had been driven out of their habitations by the late fire.

Entering Loon after, I paffed among the duft and rubbish it had left, affrighted by viewing the extent of the devaltation; for at least a quarter of the city had been deftroyed. There was little in the appearance of fallen bricks and ftacks of chimneys to allure the imagination into foothing melancholy reveries; nothing to attract the eye of tafte; but much to afflict the benevolent heart. The depredations of time have always fomething in them to employ the fancy, or lead to mufing on fubjects. which, withdrawing the mind from objects of fenfe feem to give it new digni ty: but here I was treading on live afhes. The fufferers were fill under the preffure of the mifery occafioned by this dreadful conflagration. I could not take refuge in the thought; they fuffer

ed

ed-but they are no more! a reflection 1 frequently fummon to calm my mind, when fympathy rifes to anguifh: I therefore defired the driver to haften to the hotel recommended to me, that I might avert my eyes, and faap the train of thinking which had fent me into all the corners of the city, in fearch of houfelefs heads. 1

This morning I have been walking round the town, till I am weary of obferving the ravages. I had often heard the Danes, even thofe who had feen Paris and London, speak of Copenhagen with rapture. Certainly I have feen it in a very difadvantageous light, fome of the best streets having been burnt and the whole place thrown into confusion. Still the utmoft that can, or could ever, 1 believe, have been faid in its praife, might be comprifed in a few words. The ftreets are open, and many of the houfes large; but I faw nothing to roufe the idea of elegance or grandeur, if I except the circus where the King and Prince Royal refide.

The palace, which was confumed about two years ago, muft have been a Handfome fpacious building: the ftonework is ftill standing; and a great number of the poor, during the late fire, took refuge in its ruins, till they could find fome other abode. Beds were thrown on the landing places of the grand ftaircafe, where whole families crept from the cold, and every little nook is boarded up as a retreat for fome poor creatures deprived of their home. At prefent a roof may be fufficient to fhelter them from the night air; but as the feafon advances, the extent of the calamity will be more feverely felt, I fear, though the exertions on the part of government are very confiderable. Private charity has alfo, no doubt, done much to alleviate the mifery which obtrudes itself at every turn; ftill public fpirit appears to me to be hardly alive here. Had it exifted, the conflagration might, have been fmothered in the beginning, as it was at laft, by tearing down feveral houfes before the flames had reached

them. To this the inhabitants would not confent; and the Prince Royal not having fufficient energy of character to know when he ought to be abfolute, calmly let them purfue their own course, till the whole city feemed to be threatened with deftruction. Adhering, with puerile fcrupulofity, to the law, which he has impofed on himself, of acting exactly right, he did wrong by idly lamenting, while he marked the progrefs of a mifchief that one decided step would have ftopt. He was afterwards obliged to refort to violent measures; but then

who could blame him? And, to avoid cenfure, what facrifices are not made by weak minds!

A gentleman, who was a witness of the fcene, affured me, likewife, that if the people of property had taken half as much pains to extinguish the fire, as to preferve their valuables and furniture, it would foon have been got under. But they who were not immediately in danger did not exert themselves fufficiently, till fear, like an electrical fhock, roused all the inhabitants to a fenfe of general evil. Even the fire engines were out of order, though the burning of the palace ought to have admonished them of the neceffity of keeping them in conftant repair. But this kind of indolence, refpecting what does not immediately concern them, seems to characterize the Danes. A fluggish concentration in themselves makes them fo careful to preferve their property, that they will not venture on any enterprife to increase it, in which there is a fhadow of hazard.

Confidering Copenhagen as the capital of Denmark and Norway, I was furprifed not to fee fo much industry or tafte as in Chriftiania. Indeed, from every thing I have had an opportunity of obferving, the Danes are the people who have made the feweft facrifices to the graces.

The men of bufinefs are domeftic tyrants, coldly immerfed in their own affairs, and fo ignorant of the fate of other countries, they dogmatically affert that Denmark is the happiest country

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in the world; the Prince Royal the beft before the people, ripe for the change, of all poffible princes; and Count Bern- had fufficient spirit to fupport him when ftorff the wifeft of minifters. ftruggling in their behalf. Such indeed was As for the women, they are fimply the afperity fharpened against her, that notable housewives; without accom- I have heard her, even after fo many plishments, or any of the charms that years have elapfed, charged with licenadorn more advanced focial life. This tioufnefs, not only for endeavouring to total ignorance may enable them to fave render the public amusements more elefomething in their kitchens; but it is gant, but for her very charities, because far from rendering them better parents. The erected, among other inftitutions, an On the contrary, the children are spoilt; hofpital to receive foundlings. Difas they ufually are, when left to the care gufted with many cuftoms which pafs of weak, indulgent mothers, who hav- for virtues, though they are nothing. ing no principle of action to regulate more than obfervances of forms, often their feelings, become the flaves of in- at the expence of truth, fhe probably fants, enfeebling both body and mind by ran into an error common to innovators, falfe tenderness. in wifhing to do immediately what can only be done by time.

I am perhaps a little prejudiced, as I write from the impreffion of the moment; for I have been tormented to-day by the prefence of unruly children, and made angry by fome invectives thrown out against the maternal character of the un. fortunate Matilda. She was cenfured, with the most cruel infinuation, for her management of her fon; though, from what I could gather, she gave proofs of good fenfe, as well as tendernefs, in her attention to him. She used to bathe bim herfelf every morning; infifted on his being loofely clad; and would not permit is attendants to injure his digeftion, by humouring his appetite. She was equally careful to prevent his acquiring haughty airs, and playing the tyrant in leading-ftrings. The Queen Dowager would not permit her to fuckle him; but the next child being a daughter, and not the heir apparent of the crown, lefs oppofition was made to her discharging the duty of a mother.

Poor Matilda! thou haft haunted me ever fince my arrival; and the view I have had of the manners of the country, exciting my fympathy, has increased my refpect for thy memory!

Be

Many very cogent reasons have been urged by her friends to prove, that her affection for Struenfee was never carried to the length alledged against her, by those who feared her influence. that as it may, the certainly was not a woman of gallantry; and if she had an attachment for him, it did not difgrace her heart or understanding, the King being a notorious debauchee, and an idiot into the bargain. As the King's conduct had always been directed by fome favourite, they alfo endeavoured to govern him, from a principle of felfprefervation, as well as laudable ambition; but, not aware of the prejudices they had to encounter, the fyftem they adopted difplayed more benevolence of heart than foundnefs of judgment; as to the charge, ftill believed, of their giving the King drugs to injure his faculties, it is too abfurd to be refuted. Their oppreffors had better have accufed them of dabbling in the black art; for the potent fpell still keeps his wits in bondage.

I cannot defcribe to you the effect it had on me to fee this puppet of a moEsam now fully convinced that fhe narch moved by the strings which Count was the victim of the party fhe difpla- Bernftorff holds faft; fit, with vacant ded, who would have overlooked, or en- eye, erect, receiving the homage of ncouraged, her attachment; had her lover courtiers, who mock him with a fhew not aiming at being ufeful, attempted of refpe&t. He is, in fact, merely a to overthrow fome established abuses machine of state, to fubfcribe the name

of

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