The Press.
London, England, 1856-10-18 00:00:00

VroVintial.

THE STATE OF CRIME IN BERKSHIRE IVES alluded
to on Monday last by the chaplain of the Reading
Model Prison, in a report read before the bench,
Viscount Barrington, the Earl of Abingdon,
Sir Richard Throckmorton, Bart., do., present. The
rev. gentleman said :

I felt gratified in reporting last year that there had been
a reduction of twelve per cent. in the number committed
to the county prisons, and I am happy to congratulate you
on a further diminution during the succeeding twelve
months. Sixty-four juvenile offenders, of whom four•
teen were girls, have been committed to your county
gaol during the past year. I have thought it important
for several successive years to show the age at which the
recommitted or worse class of criminals entered upon their
vicious course, and were first committed ; and by referring
to the tables of the last year, it will be seen that, of 1-12
previously in separate confinement, not less than 61 (more
than forty per cent.) had been in gaol before they were
seventeen years of age. These have been committed 372
times—that is, on the ave►age more than six times each.
MR. MECHI was entertained at a public dinner at
Woodbridge last week. In replying to his health,
he gave a sketch of his career as a practical
farmer

When be bought a farm or two he did to those farms
what, as a man of business, he thought was proper and
right to do,—that was to begin to spend money upon them
and to alter their unimproved condition. At that time
there was a great difference of opinion as to what im-
provement should be made. The first thing he did was to
drain the heavy land which wanted it. He was told that
it was no use to drain those yellow tenacious clays, because
the water would not go through them; but he considered
that if it could get into them it would get through them.
Well, then he thought that tumble-down, old, ricketty
buildings were not satisfactory, so be put up brick and
slated ones, which he thought were cheapest in the end to
both landlord and tenant, for his had been up now fifteen
years, and they looked as fresh n 3W as ever, and be had no
periodical charges for repairs. The next thing was to pull
down a great many pollards, with a great extent of hedge-
rows. He pulled down four and a half miles of fences upon
128 acres to begin with. He assured them that, instead of
having to manure the roots of the fences and trees, when
the ground was cleared it was perfectly astounding to see
what acreage he had gained, which before was damaged by
the existing fences, and the extent to which the roots went
for their food. He next put up a steam-engine, the first
in the county, and then his friends pronounced him en-
tirely mad; but time had gone on, and be thought he
could now count seventy which had been brought into use
around him ; and he dare asy his friend Mr. Garrett would
be glad to find them numbering 17U instead of seventy.
But all these things cost money, and he came to this con-
clusion, that it would be better for the tenant, the landlord,
and the country at large that rents should to twice or three
times more than they now were (he could see that some
of the faces around him began to look serious), provided
the difference in price was a fair interest for the improve-
ment made.
He would illustrate this :

He could show them upon his own farm a crop of oats,
and other crops as well, but particularly a crop of oats, in
which the difference between those of some of his neigh-
bours was six or seven quarters per acre. Now, that arose
simply from the want of drainage, of deeper cultivation,
and of more manure. Well then, he said, if the difference
was three, four, five, or six quarters in the crop of oats per
acre, with other things in proportion, they would be better
off if they had to pay ten per cent. upon the improvements
effected; and he maintained that he could go from one end
of the kingdom to the other, and point to farm after farm,
where, by investing a sum for drainage, ten per cent. could
be cbarged upon it, and the tenant be in abetter position
than now. He was not speaking from prejudice, for these
facts met him in every turn; therefore, he thonght they
must make up their minds that great changes would take
place in agriculture ; but they must first get rid of the
belief that drainage was of no use in strong clays.
Mr. Mechi then alluded to Boydell's steam-plough,
which he hoped to see in use the next visit he paid
to Suffolk :

He would be disappointed if he did not see a ♦ery con-
siderable enlargement of their fields, and find those beau-
tiful Suffolk horses somewhat superseded by the iron
steamer ploughing their ground. which would consume
coal instead of oats. Then some, perhaps, would ask,
" What am Ito do with my oats?" Nby they must grow
wheat after wheat, or take some other little liberty with
the soil. And that brought him to another part of the
question, ♦iz., that they did not half farm in feeding the
soil by manuring. He believed that they never ought to
feed off a green-root crop without feeding it with an abun-
dance of cake or corn. He would take an instance of the
general poor land of the country. He would say that a
man who gave to his animals three quarters of beans upon
an acre—by which he would lose Ms. or the proportionate

994

value of the oil-cake—that in the subsequent crops, taking
the general average, that loss would be the best investment
he could make. As 71bs. of beans would make 11b. of
mutton, he believed they would lose very little by feeding
with beans ; and he did maintain that by feeding off a crop
with cake or corn, and not feeding it off in the subsequent
crops, made a difference of one quarter of wheat and two
or three quarters of barley per acre; and at the present
prices what was that loss? It they got eight bushels in-
stead of seven it was evident they were the gainers. Ile
was particular on this point, because he knew the majority
of the farmers of England did not feed off their green crops
with cake or corn. Was he right ? (Yes.)
Mr. Mechi concluded his speech with a defence of
all his former undertakings, maintaining that he
" had not suffered a loss." His operations had been
made upon common-sense calculations, and upon
principles which had produced large results.

THE MAJORITY OF VISCOUNT 3TORMONT was cele-
brated last week at Scone, with great rejoicings.
With hardly an exception, the whole body of the
Earl of Mansfield's tenantry, ranging over four
counties anal twenty-seven parishes, were present,
besides a large party of distinguished noblemen and
gentlemen, friends of the noble earl. Among the
distinguished party were—the Duke of Atholl, Lord
James Murray, Lord Kinnaird, Lord Strathallan, and
Viscount Dupplin. At four o'clock the tenantry as-
sembled in the great hall, where an address of wel
come to Lord Stormont was read by Mr. Bogie, of
Balcanquhal, one of the tenantry on the noble earl's
estates. Lord Stormont, in his reply, modestly re-
ferred to his services in the Crimea. The company
then adjourned to the pavilion, where dinner was
served. The Earl of Mansfield presided, and the
evening was spent with much enjoyment,
THE CASTLE HOWARD REFORMATORY INSTITUTE
was formally discussed at a public meeting at York
last week, at which Lord Bolton presided, supported
by Lord Wenlo. Lord Teignmouth, Lord Greenock,
and several local members of Parliament. The
school was opened in May last in some provisional
building given by Lord Carlisle. For the clearer
understanding of the financial prospects of the
society, the committee presented an estimate of the
annual receipts and expenditure, which may be ex-
pected on the assumption that the school contained
forty pupils. On the side of expenditure the calcu-
lation stands as follows :—Food and clothing, with
coals and candles, 6401.; rent of the land, with rates
and taxes, 701.; salaries, allowances, and wages,
335/. ; general expenses of the society and school,
1001.; making a total of 1,1451. On the other side
of the account the society may expect to receive at
the end of a year during which the school shall have
contained forty pupils :-Ist. Government allow-
slices, for maintenance of pupils, for half the
salaries of two masters, for half the rent of building
and farm, 9181. 2nd. Produce of farms, after pay-
ing for seeds and manure, 1001. 3d. Present
amount of annual subscriptions, 180/. ; making a
total of 1,198/. On this calculation there would
appear to be a balance of 53/. in favour of the
society ; but against this is to be placed the neces
siiy which the committee foresee for increased
means of superintendence and tuition, when the
number of pupils shall have been multiplied.
Several speeches were made, resolutions in support
of the society were carried, and a committee ap-
pointed to carry on the work. The Earl of Carlisle
was nominated as president for the ensuing year.
THE BUILDING FOR THE MANCHESTER EXHIBITION,
it is confidently asserted by the local papers, will be
completed by the lit of January next.
A LOCOMOTIVE ENGINE exploded at Bolhow and
Vaughan's Iron Works, Middlebro', 011 Thursday
afternoon ; the engineer of the works and three men
were killed.