The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-02-04 00:00:00

AGRICULTURAL REPORT FOR JANUARY.

(From the Morning Herald.)
The season is so extraordinary, so anomalous, that we can
arrive at no precise conclusions from analogy. We have fre-
quently noticed a prevalence of rain and flood in January as
usual phenomena of mild winters, but, of late, it has been
our painful duty to report, month after month, a continuance
of the wettest and most gloomy weather imaginable. Still,
as a whole, January has improved, for, in the first place, the
month entered with a temperature mild as spring, the mer-
cury of the barometer progressively rising till the 4th (the
new moon,) when it receded a few cents, the wind veering by
the south, from west, to east and north-east, with continued
rain throughout the day. Subsequently the mercury rose
gradually to 30 in. 36 cents, the air became frosty, and the
atmosphere serene. This state of the weather, which con-
tinued till the 13th, was very beneficial to the land ; the floods
receded, and the fallows were thoroughly searched by the keen
frost of the 6th, 7th, Bth, and 11th, which penetrated to the
depth of eight inches. Change of wind to west brought a re-
turn of mild temperature, gloom, and rain. The singularly
silent state of the air (which we might almost style one of
dead calm) from the autumnal equinox to the middle of Ja-
nuary, then gave way for the first time to—first, a brisk south-
western current, and then to strong and fitful gales, which
still recur. These, and some of their consequences, have
been noticed in all the papers ; it, therefore, only remains to
say that heavy showers, sometimes mixed with hail, have
been frequent, and each cloud has been preceded by a power-
ful gust of wind. These partial currents have, generally,
been lulled during the intervals of rain, and then the sun has
broken forth with brilliancy and power. The character of
the weather, after the 15th, was fickle and changeable, but
sufficiently rainy to reproduce many floods.
We have made it our business to seek for information on
the condition of agriculture, after so many unpropitious
trials, and we are happy to state that no one has expressed
alarm. Our own observations lead us to view things pretty
well as they were; the ground remains saturated with water,
and is cold. Wheat is looking green and healthy, but thin
in some places—not, howeveri patchy as in 1838. It is said
that slugs or other vermin have destroyed some of the roots;
but the plant is expected to tiller fully, and thus supply every
deficiency. Clover does not stir, but turnips are fine and
abundant ; the young stubble Dutch continue even to grow.
We find no general report for England in the British Far-
mers' Magazine. From private sources we collect what
follows :—" From Derbyshire we hear that the wet weather
prevented the sowing of fallows with autumnal wheatsand,
therefore, the average quantity of seed was not then got in.
The early sown is looking well, but the latter is scarcely out
of the ground. In the wet and ungenial parts of the county,
field beet and turnips have proved nearly failures. The
grazing land was never, for the time of year, looking better,
and hay is abundant, thus there is plenty of food for sheep
and live stock. They are scarce, however, and fear is enter
tained that a considerable portion of the sheep is affected
with the rot, more particularly in the flats of this county."
Our respected correspondent is, we are aware, alive to ap-
prehension, and for this we make allowance. He mentions,
however, two important facts, which claim local and general
attention. First, the farmers, notwithstanding the high
price of all the produce of the land " do not appear to im-
prove in any way whatever ; and this has always a tendency
to impoverish them."
It is truly lamentable that the cultivator of the land is ever
in the rear of the march, but this truth calls aloud upon the
renowned English Agricultural Society to strain every nerve
to rouse, by example, the energies of those who stand in so
much need of a stimulus. When will it, in earnest, think to
establish agricultural schools, wherein experiments upon a
wide scale may be carried through, not in one but in a dozen
different situations ? Nothing will be done effectually till
facts and inductions be clearly revealed. Hereby the society
would decidedly nationalise itself ; increased productiveness
would be a far more efficient corn law counter-agent than re-
crimination and party abuse.
The second point alluded to by our correspondent is spring-
sown wheat, which, he says, is much practised in Notting-
ham and Yorkshire. Should this answer, as I hope it may,
there will open a new field for the production of this staff of
life. The season of the sowing approaches, and therefore the
period between the present date and the Ist of March will be
critical. The Spectator, remarking upon a former observa-
tion of ours on spring wheat, mis-stated our views. We
alluded to the plain fact of the farmer having been unable to
get in all his autumnal seed, and welcomed the good result
of a widely extended spring sowing. We expressed no alarm
whatever, and meant to communicate none.
From Hertford we learn, from our correspondent, "That
the grain which has been generally sown as usual, is looking
as well as can be desired, though, of course, on very wet
land, the seed has not yet been sown." He, adds, "I am
not aware that this is the case in the immediate vicinity ; and
in most instances in which the sowing is not completed, it
has been purposely left for the Talavera and other tine kinds
of grain. On the whole, the reports are favourable. Stock
remains about the same as for some months past, and the
lambing season has progressed tolerably well, though the
wet weather has not been propitious to sheep. Butchers'
meat fetches about the same price as it did at this time last
year, and bread is cheaper—we are now paying ninepence
the quartern loaf." Floods have not been,high, considering
the protraction of wet weather. The frost of the Bth January
was 19 degrees, i. e., 13 degrees of Farenheit. The gales
commenced about the period before alluded to, and had then
continued a week.

From all that we have said and quoted, it is manifest that
the prospects are not discouraging, but may be rendered so,
unless the rains speedily decrease. Improvement is indi-
cated by facts not to be misunderstood or neglected. ,Drain •
age will effect much, because it includes, first, the detection
of imperfections in the sub-soil ; second, the regular removal
of all superfluous water; and, finally, the deep comminution
and improvement of the staple soil; whereby permanent fer-
tility is greatly secured, and equability kloisture and tem-
perature promoted. We hope, ere le in the authority of
Mr. Pusey's excellent essay), to lay ore our readers the
Flemish method of tillage. It is very instructive, and will
convey much matter for reflection.

DREADFUL MURDER IN EDINBURGH.

WOMAN MURDERED HER HUSBAND.

The inhabitants of the Grass-market were on Tuesday '
morning thrown into a state of great consternation, by the
discovery of one of the foulest murders that has occurred in
Edinburgh for many years past. The scene of the horrible
deed is a wretched hovel in the second floor of a building in
Plainstone-close, Grass-market, tenanted by an old woman
named Kelly, who keeps it as a beggars' lodging. Here the
murderer, a man called James Wemyss, professedly a tinker
by trade, and his victim, whom he passed off for his wife,
though there is a rumour that she is the wife of a man who
was transported some short time since, had been lodging for
the last eight weeks ; and, from inquiries made upon the spot
yesterday, we learn that ever since their arrival they had sel-
dom been sober, and had generally been quarrelling and fight-
ing whenever they were together; during the last few days
the poor woman bore evident marks of his violence. About
three o'clock on Monday afternoon, Wemyss entered the
lodgings drunk, and he and his wife, who was also drunk,
had some words, which ended in his turning her down stairs.
He went out shortly after, and returned again at five o'clock,
still more under the influence of liquor : he and the woman
then went out together to buy some potAtoes, when they had
another quarrel, upon which the woman left her husband, and
he returned home alone. Soon after eight he went to bed,
where be remained until the woman came home—about half-
past ten. Upon her return he began to abuse her, calling her
by the most opprobrious epithets, and upbraiding her with
having been in improper company since she left him ; and the
woman retorting in similar language, he sprang from the bed,
seized her by the ears and shook her, then beat her with 'a
stool, and at last put her out of the room, and again got into
bed. About eleven o'clock, the woman having come in again,
he got up a second time, and they sat down together before
the fire, apparently upon pretty good terms. But soon a
fresh cause of disagreement arose out of a tobacco-pipe, which
he maintained she had got : this she denied ; and enraged at
her denial, he again struck her with the stool, and, not con-
tent with this, he seized a brick from several loose ones which
were lying within the fireplace, and gave her a tremendous
blow upon the side of her head, which felled her to the ground.
He then raised her up, and repeated the blow several times ;
after which he quickly returned to bed.
The strangest part of the affair is, that while all this out-
rage was going on, theme were no less than thirteen persons
in the apartment and in a bed-closet adjoining to it, not one
of whom interfered The first notice that was taken of it,
was by the old woman, Kelly, getting out of her bed and
• going to the body of the woman ; she called to Wemyss that
his wife did not breathe, upon which he got up, took the
body in his arms, and carried it to the bed where he had been
lying. By this time some other persons in the room began
to stir, Vut being quite dark, it was almost impossible for
them to judge whether the woman was alive or not ; and
Wemyss having volunteered to procure a light left the place
for that purpose. Some of the others also went out to bring
a doctor, but meeting.with a watchman, they told him " there
had been a fight," and he returned with them : they then fell
in with Wemyss coming with the light, who, seeing the
watchman, thought it right to look after his own safety, and,
thrusting the candle into the hands of one of the men, he
took to his heels, and escaped over the ruins of some old
houses which lie at the back of the close. _ _ _

The woman was found to be quite dead. The body was
shockingly mutilated : there was a deep cut near one of the
eyes, and blood was streaming throughout the ears. The
watchman immediately procured assistance, and conveyed
the body to the police-office.
Great anxiety now prevailed for the apprehension of the
murderer. Having left his den without his hat, coat, or
waistcoat, it was hoped that the description of him given to
the watchmen in all directions would speedily lead to his ap-
prehension—which soon proved to be the case ; for about
five o'clock he was detected lurking on a common stair at
Lockrin distillery, and was at once secured and brought to
the police-office. He made no resistance—confessed he had
been very drunk—but affected to know nothing whatever of
the barbarous deed of which he was accused. In the course
of the day he was brought up before the magistrates, but re-
manded, we upderstan, d, for further examination.-7-Scollith
Guardian.