FOREIGN CORN MARKETS. DURING the last three months great dulness has prevailed in the corn market in all parts of the Continent, and prices have been constantly declining. This arises in consequence of the low state of the averages in this country, occasioned by the poor condition of the grain, and the consequent prohibitory duties. We give the following account of the prices and stocks of grain in various places of the Continent, from the latest information which we have received. HAMBURGH.-Winter has set in with unaccustomed severity, and which may be attended with much injury to the young wheats. In this neighbourhood, and through Holstein and Mecklenburgh, the agriculturists complain that the crops will suffer considerably from the ground not being covered with snow, leaving both the wheat and cole plants thus totally exposed to the inclemency of the weather. Owing to the early appearance of the frost, much ground has been left unsown, and in many places wheat has been harrowed in without ploughing. In the lower parts of Silesia the harvest has sustained considerable damage, and yielded very short, in consequence of the floods, which have, in several instances, this season, prevented the sowing of the lands; and wheat has actually been sent back again from Stettin into Silesia to supply the home consumption. In Magdeburgh, Anhalt, the Saale and the Marks, wheats must suffer in proportion, and according to the continuance of the frost. In Holstein, wheat has come up very irregularly, and the cole plants are generally stunted and backward. Offers of Magdeburgh, Saale and Anhalt, qualities of grain, to be delivered in spring, are made as follows :— COPENHAGEN. In this quarter wheat is generally bolder than it was last year, but fully as soft; and though of better colour, is still very faint. Owing to the wet season that was experienced here, the weight of the wheat, though heavier than last season, is not such as we have had in former years; what we have seen only averaging 58 lb. @ 59 lb., and but few parcels will reach 60 lb. The quantity of wheat which will be spared for exportation is estimated at about 240,000 barrels, or about 114,000 quarters, as the unfavourable weather has not affected the quantity. Rye, from the seed time till harvest, has suffered severely by the weather, and the produce may be estimated at one-third less than usual, and much has been spoiled and sprouted. In place of being able to export any rye, Denmark will require foreign supplies, the consumption there being very great. Barley, the chief article of export, is of bold grain, but the colour is by no means fine, being dark, and but ill suited for the maltster. Some samples weigh 52 lb., but this is by no means the general weight, the average pro VOL. II. NO. VIII. X bably not exceeding 50 lb. The quantity likely to be spared for exportation is taken at 750,000 barrels, or about 350,000 quarters. Of oats the crop is abundant, which may be, in some measure, attributed to many fields having been sown with oats after the rye had failed in the spring. The colour is but middling, and the average weight not above 35 @ 36 lb. It is estimated that about 650,000 barrels may be spared for expor tation. The corn, when shipped in spring, owing to the wet summer, will be very liable to become heated, and it will require the utmost care to select parcels fit for shipment. NEUSTADT.-Farmers being obliged to sell their stocks for want of money, prices of all kinds of grain are low here, and the trade has been extremely inactive, with the exception of barley, which has been freely taken for Dutch account. The quotations are as follows: DANZIG. Several samples of wheat from the interior and from Poland have been received, and the following opinion is formed of the crop: The weather has been so changeable, that a variety of qualities may be expected. That from the hills is generally of a very good quality, but that from the low countries having grown very fast, and having been pressed down by the heavy rains before it was ripe, is very thin and glassy, in some instances, quite like the Odessa wheat. These remarks apply to the wheat up to Warsaw. From Sendomir the samples are of excellent quality, and contracts are expected to be made at 35s. free on on board, delivered in spring. Rye is heavy and good, as well as barley. Oats come to market in soft condition, but of good colour. Sickness being prevalent in this and the adjoining countries, in consequence of the inundations in spring, the number of hands occupied in the fields and in thrashing are very limited, and, in consequence, little new grain has been brought down. The stock here of wheat is reduced to about 5000 lasts, of which very little is left fit for shipment. Quotations are as follows : We regret that the extent of our matter in the present Number, has obliged us to delay the insertion of several interesting communications,— amongst the rest the continuation of the essay upon the Agriculture of the Romans. CONTENTS. 1. By James Blaikie, Esq. Advocate, Aberdeen, 2. By the Rev. Gavin Hamilton, Minister of Ashkirk, 3. By Mr Joseph Udney, Land-surveyor, Moffat, 4. By Alexander Macleod, Esq. Surgeon, North Uist, II. ON THE CULTIVATION OF LUCERNE, BY MR JOHN CUNINGHAME, Dolphingston, near Tranent, III. ACCOUNT OF EXPERIMENTS ON PLOUGHING DOWN BUCKWHEAT AS A MANURE, BY MR ROBERT THE QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. ON THE HABITS OF THE DOMESTIC RAT, AND ON A METHOD OF DESTROYING IT. IN common language, the name Rat is applied generically to a multitude of animals belonging to the tribe of Gnawers or Glires, which are grouped by naturalists into different genera. Thus the musk rat of North America, the water rat of Europe, and the common rat which infests the houses of almost every country in the globe, belong each to a distinct genus. We have here to speak only of two species belonging to one of these genera, the Brown Rat, and the Black Rat. The former is the Mus decumanus of Gmelin, the latter the Mus Rattus of Linnæus. To the same genus belongs the common or domestic mouse, Mus musculus, the only species known to the ancients. The principal characters by which the Rat genus is separated from the others are derived from the teeth, which are sixteen. The size is generally small, although some species, the Mus giganteus, Mus sumatrensis, and Mus javanicus of India and its islands, are of nearly the size of a pole-cat. The Black Rat (Mus Rattus of naturalists, Rat noir of the French) is about seven inches long, from the nose to the termination of the body, with a tail of about the same length. The colour is a dull brownish-grey, intermixed with blackish hairs on the upper part, paler beneath, with the fore part of the feet whitish. It is omnivorous, feeding upon roots, seeds, fruit, the flesh of other animals, bread, tallow; in short whatever affords VOL. II. NO. IX. Y |