not to be neglected where it is neceffary;' but various circumftances muft concur to render it practicable and infure fuccefs. The rifk, with which this operation is attended, of communicating difeafes, is an important and very material objection to the indiscriminate practice of it, and feems to overbalance any advantage that can be obtained by it. It is practifed, in general, more with a view to obviate deformity, than to be productive of any real advantage; and we think a beautiful fet of teeth dearly bought at the expence of a venereal taint, or even the infection of a lefs dreadful malady.

The diseases of the ear form the fubject of the next chapter, in which Mr. Bell confiders deafnefs as arifing from an imperforated meatus auditorius; from extraneous bodies impacted in the ear; from excrefcences in the meatus; or from wax collected in the ear. The various operations for removing thefe are defcribed, and in fuch cafes as cannot be cured by any manual operation, palliative remedies are recommended.

This volume concludes with the wry-neck, the diseases of the nipples, iffues, and inoculating for the fmall-pox.

The art of Surgery is much indebted to the ingenious and judicious Author of thefe volumes, for what he hath already done toward the advancement and improvement of it; and we hope he will not long keep us in expectation of that pleasure which we promise ourselves in a review of his future labours.

ART. VIII. Annals of Agriculture, and other useful Arts. Collected and published by Arthur Young, Efq. F. R. S. &c. &c. &c. Vols. I. II. III; IV. and V. 8vo. 1s. 3d. each. Goldney.

HOUGH this work hath made its appearance in detached

of periodical productions, yet as this undertaking is of a peculiar nature, approaching to the memoirs of particular focieties, which are often published periodically, we have thought ourselves obliged, in fome measure, to take notice of it.

In a preface to the firft volume, 'Mr. Young explains the defign of this publication, and points out its utility.

At the end of a war which not only left the nation despoiled of a large territory, but deeply involved in debt, he concludes, that nothing remains for extricating ourfelves from our difficulties but a redoubled attention to our domeftic concerns; and, in that view, nothing, he thinks, could prove more useful than a performance naturally calculated to turn the attention of mankind to the important concerns of agriculture. Thefe confiderations gave rife to the prefent work: and he profeffes to bestow, freely, his own labour, without any prospect of pecuniary emolument

The plan of the work differs little from feveral other periodical productions on agriculture that have appeared, except that it is published by an editor well known for his labours in that line, and that no anonymous papers are admitted.

At first it was propofed to vary the fize of the numbers, as matter might prove more or less abundant, and also not to be limited to any regular time of publication; but now, we think, the numbers are pretty uniform, and that the time of publication is alfo tolerably regular.

Mr. Young appears here in two characters, that of an author (for he has contributed pretty largely to the work himself), and that of an editor. In his original effays we perceive the fame vivacity of thought, the fame quickness of imagination, the fame avidity for feizing doubtful facts, the fame facility of rearing, upon whatever foundation, ftructures of ftupendous magnificence; the fame bias to calculation, the fame fondness for political fpeculations, which diftinguifh all his other performances, and which render them peculiarly entertaining to those who ftudy agriculture for amufement and recreation. It appears that to his other acquirements Mr. Young has now added a degree of knowledge in chemistry, which opens as good a field for his imagination to fport in as any other branch of science that he could have thought of. Accordingly, we find that in the hands of the adventurous Tyro, the words PHLOGISTON, AIR, and GAS, are nearly as omnipotent as the SALT, SULPHUR, and MERCURY of the ancient chemifts, or the acute and obtufe fpicule of the mechanical chemifts. A Bacon or a Boyle might fee room for caution or scepticism, in refpect to the application of theo ries that are imperfectly understood: caution and circumfpection, however, are but difagreeable inmates with those impatient geniuses who delight in indulging the agreeable reveries, into which an uncurbed imagination fo readily falls.

As an editor, Mr. Young appears in a lefs advantageous point of view than as an Author, his natural talents being little calculated for difcharging the duties of that office, either with pleasure to himself or with fatisfaction to his readers, Inftead of thofe lively fallies which enchant his own mind, and delight for a time the readers of his original productions, he is called upon, as an editor, to advance with a calm, fteady, rigid cautioufnefs; to probe every fyftem with that penetrating carefulnefs which a long and attentive experience only can fuggeft as ufeful; to fift every fact with the moft fcrupulous nicety; to point out circumftances that may have been overlooked in the ardour of the experimenter, or his incautious precipitancy; and to trace out thofe nice particulars that require to be adverted to, and fully afcertained, before the facts, often feemingly proved to

a care

a careless obferver, can be in any fort relied upon. Mr. Young, as might have been naturally expected, enters little into this view of the matter. His obfervations on the productions of his correfpondents are few, and in thefe it feems that he would rather run before his friends than fay to accompany them, or to moderate their ardour, if they happen to be in too much hurry: and though we believe that he has a mind far above the meannefs of knowingly becoming the panegyrift of high rank or great names, yet he has, on feveral occafions, inadvertently we prefume, fallen into a tone that an ill-natured critic might easily conftrue to his difadvantage. The dignity of fcience requires that a man of character fhould be equally above offering incense to the great, or unjustly degrading the humble; and, if we are not mistaken, our editor will readily agree with us in this fenti

ment.

It will not be expected that all the papers in a work of this nature can be of equal merit, or that an editor can have it in his power to reject all thofe which his own judgment might difap prove, when he and the correspondents are mutually known to each other; for politenefs, humanity, gratitude, and benevolence fometimes forbid this. A confiderate reader will therefore be difpofed to make allowances on thefe accounts, and will not harfhly refuse to forgive him for admitting a few trifling and infignificant effays, when the bulk of thofe he meets with have merit. Of this laft clafs there are not a few; but to no one perfon has this work been fo much indebted for original and ufefut communications, as to John Symonds, LL. D. profeffor of modern biftory in the University of Cambridge; who has given, in feveral long and interefting papers, a better account of the present ftate of agriculture in Italy, than we recollet to have ever feen of any other country on the globe: it would form a very interefting work by itself. Many other valuable communications occur; but we are not allowed room to particularize them.

The greatest defect we have remarked in the work is, that perpetual tendency which the Author fhews to run into long and intricate digreffions on political fubjects. We call them digref fions, for though the editor has endeavoured to pave the way for Tuch anomalies by inferting, in the title-page, the words other ufeful arts, as well as agriculture, yet we prefume every reader would expect that the work fhould be almost wholly appropriated to agriculture. For our own part, we have been difgufted by having our attention to often diverted from the fubject we expected to find treated exclufively of all others, and called away by long digreffions on the colonies, the Weft Indies, the Irith propofitions, and other fimilar fubjects, which are treated with all the ardour and enthufiafm of a profeffed party-writer. This difappointed us; and we are perfuaded it must have a ftill greater tendency

tendency to offend the fober-minded farmer, who, chiefly attentive to his own bufinefs, takes little concern in those warm contefts which fo ftrongly intereft our political partizans. This, we doubt, may have tended much to retard the fale of our Author's annals, of which he bitterly complains, among that truly valuable clafs of citizens. In its prefent ftate, the work can neither be adapted to the tafte of the practical farmer, nor that of the Speculative politician, as it contains a great mixture of extraneous matter, about which neither of them are much concerned. It would be well, therefore, if Mr. Young would lay himself under a little restraint in this refpect, and either refolve to abstain from one of thefe kinds of fpeculation, or make two separate publications of it. Our defire to fee a fuccefsful work on the fubject of experimental agriculture, which we think is much wanted, has produced the fe remarks.

N. B. This publication hath proceeded as far as the 30th No.

ART. IX. Two Difcourfes, delivered at the public Meetings of the Royal Academy of Sciences and Belles Lettres at Berlin, in the Years 1785 and 1786. I. On the Population of States in general, and that of the Pruffian Dominions in particular. II. On the true Riches of States and Nations, the Balance of Commerce and that of Power. By the Baron de Hertzberg, Minister of State, and Member of the Academy. Tranflated from the French. Svo. 2s. 6d. Dilly. 1786.

Tnually

HESE difcourfes are two of those which the Baron annually delivers before the Royal Academy at Berlin, on the birth-day of the Pruffian monarch.

We gave a particular account of the firft of thefe pieces in the Appendix to the 734 volume of our Review, from the French; we fhall therefore proceed to the fecond.

The Baron begins with fhewing that the profperity, happinefs, and riches of a ftate, confift in the variety and goodneís of the means by which it can procure for itself, first, the neceffaries, and afterward, the conveniencies or elegancies of life. He proves, by many ingenious arguments and obfervations, that the firft, principal, and effential basis of the profperity of a state, confists in good agriculture, and in the abundance of natural productions; and that the fecond bafis is national induftry, which, by giving perfection to the produce of the foil, introduces various kinds of manufactures, and thus gives value to the artificial productions of a country. He concludes that the balance of commerce will always be in favour of that nation whofe commodities, whether natural or artificial, are neceffaries of life, as corn, linen, wool, timber, &c. and this balance will always be against a nation whofe different kinds of merchandice confift only of articles of luxury, and confequently are not effential to life. He confiders the balance of commerce to have an effential and decifive influence

9

influence on the balance of power; and the proof of this affertion is confirmed by an historical account of the existence of a political balance in all ages. In this part of his work he fhews himself to be a profound politician, and a well-informed hiftorian.

After mentioning the great work which the King had lately completed, of establishing the general repofe and fecurity of Germany, the Baron proceeds to enumerate the many important political occupations which engaged the attention of that great monarch. It appears that he has, at his own expence, erected a great number of public and private buildings at Berlin and Potfdam,-that he has rebuilt whole towns which have been confumed by fire,-erected new churches, and repaired old ones,→ that he has expended great fums in the construction of fortreffles and barracks, that he has eftablished new manufactures and fupported old ones,-that he has given confiderable fums to gentlemen and other poffeffors of lands for the advancement of agriculture and the improvement of their eftates, for the clearing of lands and the draining of marthes,-and that he has made the greatest efforts for repairing the damages and misfortunes occafioned by extraordinary inundations, in caufing the banks that were broken down to be restored without lofs of time, in furnishing to the unfortunate inhabitants feed for fowing, and corn for their fuftenance, and in fupplying their various other neceffities. The whole fum which the King has expended during the course of the year 1785, in extraordinary benefactions and gratuities, for the benefit of his fubjects, appears to be 2,901,000

crowns.

The Baron, after this warm eulogy on his illuftrious monarch, returns to the principal fubject of his difcourfe, and fhews that Pruffia may be confidered as a powerful and rich ftate, because it enjoys an improved ftate of agriculture, great national industry, an advantageous inland and foreign commerce, and an extenfive navigation.

This great and learned politician has afforded us much pleafure, whenever we have had occafion to perufe his productions; and we think our countrymen are obliged to Dr. Towers for giving them a good translation of the prefent ingenious and animated difcourfes.

ÁRT. X. An Attempt towards an improved Verfion, a metrical Arrangement, and an Explanation of the Twelve Minor Prophets. By William Newcome, D. D. Bishop of Waterford. 4to. 10s. 6d. Boards. Johnfon, &c. 1785.

F the diffufion of learning, in general, affords matter of delight and fatisfaction to liberal and philofophic minds, the progrefs which has been made in biblical criticism, in particular, under the aufpices of civil and religious liberty, in our own

coun