times agriculture was little understood. It required more labour and expence, and was more precarious, than it is at prefent. Indeed, notwithstanding the high price of corn in the times we are fpeaking of, the raising of it fo little anfwered the expence, that agriculture was almost universally quitted for grafing; which was more profitable, notwithftanding the low price of butchers meat. So that there was conftant occafion for ftatutes to reftrain grafing, and to promote agriculture; and no effectual remedy was found, till the bounty upon the ex. portation of corn; fince which, above, ten times more corn has been raised in this country than before.

The price of corn in the time of James J. and confequently that of other neceffaries of life, was not lower, but rather higher than at prefent; wool is not two thirds of the value it was then; the finer manufactures having funk in price by the, progrefs of art and induftry, notwithftanding the increase of money. Butchers meat was higher than at prefent. Prince Henry made an allowance of near 4d. per pound for all the beef and mutton ufed in his family. This may be true with respect to London; but the price of but chers meat in the country, which does not even now much exceed this price at a medium, has certainly greatly increased of late years, and particularly in the northern counties.

The prices of commodities are higher in England than in France, befides that the poor people of France live upon much lefs than the poor in England, and their armies are maintained at lefs expence. It is computed by Mr Hume, that a British army of 20,000 men is maintained at near as great an expence as 60,000 in France, and that the English fleet, in the war of 1741, required as much money to fupport it, as all the Roman legions in the time of the Emperors. However, all that we can conclude from this is, that money is much more plentiful in Europe at prefent than it was in the Roman empire.

In the 13th century the common intereft which the Jews had for their money, Voltaire fays, was 20 per cent. But with regard to this we must confider the great contempt that nation was always held in, the large contributions they were frequently obliged to pay, the risk they run for never receiving the principal, the frequent confifcation of all their effects, and VOL. LI.

the violent perfecutions to which they were expofed; in which circumftances it was impoffible for them to lend money at all, unlefs for moft extravagant intereft, and much difproportioned to its real value. Before the difcovery of America and the plantation of our colonies, the intereft of money was generally twelve per cent. all over Europe; and it has been growing gradually lefs fince that, time, till it is now generally about four or five.

When fums of money are faid to be raised by a whole people, in order to form a juft eftimate of it, we must take into confideration not only the quantity of the precious metal according to the ftandard of the coin, and the proportion' of the quantity of coin to the commodi ties, but alfo the number and riches of the people who raise it: for populous and rich countries will much more eafily raise any certain fum of money than one that is thinly inhabited, and chiefly by poor people. This circumftance greatly adds to our furprife at the vaft fums of, money raised by William the Conqueror, who had a revenue nearly in value equal to 12,000,000l. of our money (allowance. being made for the standard of coin and the proportion it bore to commodities), from a country not near fo populous or rich as England is at prefent. Indeed, the accounts hiftorians give us of the revenues of this Prince, and the treasure he left behind him, are barely credible.

Some Account of ADMIRAL GREIG. THE late Sir Samuel Greig [vol. 50.

p. 622.] was born at the village of Innerkeithing, in the county of Fife. He went at an early period into the Roy al Navy, where he was foon diftinguifhed for his attention and genius in naval af. fairs, and had rifen to the rank of Lieutenant, when the court of Ruffia request ed, from the court of Great Britain, fome officers of fkill to improve her marine. Lieutenant Greig had the honour to be one of the officers fent for this purpofe. He was foon made a Captain in the Ruffian fervice, and was indefatigable in improving the Ruffian navy, then in a contemptible ftate. When the last war broke out betwixt the Turks and Ruffians, he was fent in a fleet to the Mediterranean, under the command of Count Orlow. The Turkish fleet was much fuperior, it confifted of fifteen fail

of

of the line, whereas the Ruffian fleet had only ten fail of the line. A fmart action took place, in which the Ruffian Admiral (Spiritoff), in a fhip of go guns, engaged the Turkish Admiral's fhip of equal force. They fought with great bra very, grappled each other, and at length both fhips blew up at the fame inftant with a moft terrible explosion, and the crews, amounting to near 2000 men, almoft all perished. The Turkish fleet retired in the night off the island of Scio, and were protected by batteries from the land. Capt. Greig was appointed Commodore, and fent upon the dangerous fervice of deftroying the Turkish fleet. At twelve o'clock at night he engaged the enemy with four ships of the line, and about one o'clock he bore down with the fire-fhips. The crews of the fire-fhips were fo intimidated, that Commodore Greig and Lieutenant Dugdale (another British officer, who acted under him) were obliged to keep them to their duty by dint of fword and piftol, and even to put the match to the fire-fhips with their own hands, and to jump overboard and swim to their boats, amidft the fire of the Turks, and the alarm of being destroyed by the explosion. With the greatest skill and resolution they fet fire to the Turkish fleet, which, in five hours, except one man of war and fome gallies, which were towed off by the Ruffian fleet, was totally deftroyed. The town and caftle were then reduced to a heap of rubbish, by the bombardment of the fquadron, and at nine in the morning there was scarcely a veftige of a town, a castle, and a fine fleet, which had all been in existence at one the fame morning. Count Orlow immediately promoted Commodore Greig to the rank of an Admiral, which was confirmed by an exprefs from the Emprefs of Ruffia. After peace was concluded, Admiral Greig continued indefatigable in his exertions to improve, or rather create, the Ruffian fleet. The Empress rewarded him by promoting him to be Admiral of all the Ruffias, and Governor of Cronstadt, and fhe honoured him with the different orders of the empire, viz. St Andrew, St Alexander Newfkie, St George, St Wlodomir, and St Anne. Admiral Greig's engagement with the Swedes is too recent to need recapitulation. It is now generally acknowledged, that if the captains in the Ruffian fleet had feconded the gallantry of their Admiral, a com

plete victory would have been obtained. As it was, the Swedes have not dared again to meet the Ruffians; they have been ignominiously blocked up in port, while Admiral Greig rode triumphantly in the Baltic, till he was attacked by a violent fever, and obliged to be carried to Revel. As foon as the Emprefs heard of his illness, the fent for Dr Rogerfon, her firft physician, and ordered him to go immediately to Revel, and do every thing in his power to fave a life fo valuable to the nation. Dr Rogerson arrived at Revel a few days before death put a period to an exiftence fo eminently glorious. The death of Admiral Greig will be long regretted, and is an irreparable lofs to the empire of Russia.

Admiral Greig's Funeral.

Revel, Dec. 5. 1788. THE funeral of Admiral Greig, which was made by order of the Empress, at her expence, was very folemn and magnificent. Some days before it took place, the body of the deceased was expofed on a ftate bed in the hall of the Admiralty, which was hung with black, and lighted with filver luftres, having the doors ornamented with white crape. The body lay on an arch of three steps, under a canopy of white crape. On the laft ftep, at the foot of the bed, there was an urn placed, covered with black, with filver anchors and ftreamers on it, and letters of the fame metal, as follows: S. G. NAT. d. 30 Nov. 1735, ObIT. d. 15 OCT.1788: and at the head there was an efcutcheon with the titles of the deceased. The body was dreffed in the Admiral's grand uniform, having a crown of laurel on its head. The coffin, placed on fix maffy filver feet, was covered with black velvet, lined with white fattin, and handles, fringes and galloons, all made of filver. The pillows for his head and for the ftatebed, were of white fattin, trimmed with rich blond lace. On each fide of the bed were three tabourets (tools) covered with white fattin, richly trimmed with fringe and tufts of gold. On these ftools were placed the Admiral's ftaff and the five different orders of Knighthood which had been conferred upon him. (The enamel of one of the points of the Crofs of St George had been carried away, and the point bent by a ball he received in the fight in the Archipelago with the Turks laft war.) On 12 ftands covered with black, and ornamented with white crape

and

like grafs; it may also be dried for hay. Its leaves extend to ten, twelve, and fifteen inches in length, and fix or eight broad, which have not the bitter and herbaceous taste of other cabbages. It is a pulfe very agreeable for man during the whole year, and a fodder equally good as plentiful for all kinds of cattle; the milk of cows does not acquire a bad tafte by it, nor do they grow tired of it. This plant bears much more feed in quantity, and larger in fize, than turnips or cole; and the oil, which I have extracted from it cold, is very fuperior for the food of man to that of cole and of poppy: it is equal to the common oil of olives, in the opinion of good judges. I give the name of the mowing cabbage (choux a foucher) to this plant. If you will make a trial of it, you will have every reafon to be fatisfied. This cab. bage yields one third more oil than turnips, in proportion to an equal quantity of ground. We may fow it in fpring and in autumn.

I have the honour to be, &c.

L'ABBE DE COMMERELL, Member of the Royal Society of Agriculture.

Paris, at the Abbey St Victor,

Feb. 4, 1789.

populated in little more than the age of man. But in this village we find that the baptifms have for sixty years exceeded the burials by more than one-third. We need not wonder then that the English fettlers in North America, with a fruitful country before them at their command, fhould double their numbers in a quar ter of a century.

A Cure for the SCURVY.
Jan. 15.

HE gentleman by whom this cure is T faid to be communicated, is a Mr Huckings, of Cambridge, and who has, much to his honour and humanity, endeavoured to make that public by which he has obtained a relief. He was, for three or four years preceding the laft, attacked with the fcurvy to a degree as to make his life nearly infupportable. Fortunately he found relief from the following RECIPE:

To four beer quarts of good rich sweet wort, add half a pound of faffafras, one ounce of farfaparilla, and four ounces of daucus feed (commonly called wild car rot): boil them gently over the fire for three quarters of an hour, frequently putting the ingredients down with a laddle; then strain the fame through a cloth. To each quart of this liquor put one pound and an half of good thick treacle, boil the fame gently for three quarters of an hour, fkimming it all the time; put it into a pan, and cover it till cold, then bottle it for afe. Be careful not to cork the bottle too tight.

Of this fyrup a moderate tea-cupful is to be taken in the morning, and the fame on going to bed. The above did no more than keep the body open. The effect, however, was fuch, that it took off the itching, cleared the fkin, eafed the feet, relieved his drowfinefs in the day time, and brought on comfortable nights, made him active, and, though 60 years old, as full of fpirits as he ever remembered himfelf.

The time of his taking the syrup was in September, October, and November, 1787, during which time he abstained from high fauces, and in a great meafure from animal food. His drink at dinner was table-beer, and sometimes mild ale.

N. B. The wild carrot ought to be ga thered in September or October.-Saffafras and farfaparilla may be had of any druggift or chemift. T. T.

ANEC.