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grains of water must be driven off from grass to make two tons of hay, or to dry a fair grain crop off four acres of land. To carry this quantity off in vapour will need 10,000,000 cubic feet of dry air, at an ordinary summer temperature; but if the air were heated artificially to 212, and the water were thus converted into steam at the boiling point, not more than 400,000 cubic feet would be needed to carry it away. Or, supposing that the air was heated up to nearly 212 and could be removed saturated before it had cooled down below 140° in the process-thus carrying off a full load of water at that temperature, then about 1,000,000 cubic feet would be required to make ready for the rick two tons (say 87. worth) of hay, or five acres (say 50l. worth) of a wheat crop. We are told in books that 1 lb. of coal will boil off 6 lbs. of water, and if so, we ought to be able with one ton of coal to heat (sufficiently) enough of air to carry off the water which exists in the quantities of grass and corn respectively which have been named. It is to be hoped that the prize offered by the Society of Arts may elicit the results of some satisfactory experiments in connection with this subject.

Among the principal agricultural facts of the past quarter are the extraordinary prices which have been commanded by pure bred short-horn cattle. Mr. Betts's small herd of "Grand Duchesses "thirteen cows, bulls, and calves-descended from cows of the late Kirkleavington herd bred by Mr. Bates from "Young Duchess," a cow bought at Charles Colling's sale in 1810, have realized at a sale by auction 5,7597. 5s., or 4431. a piece. Other families of pure short-horn blood have fetched from 1307. to 5607. a piece at the sales of Mr. C. L. Betts, near Aylesford, Kent, and of Mr. D. MacIntosh, near Romford, Essex. Sixty-three animals of all ages at the former sale made 1807. 19s. each, and fifty-seven animals of all ages at the latter sale made 1167. a piece; and thus Mr. Strafford the auctioneer, sold on two successive days 120 animals of all ages, for 18,000l., or 1507. a piece.

An important lecture by Dr. Voelcker before the English Agricultural Society, on the relations of food and manure, throws light on the economics of an important branch of farm practice. The various food constituents were declared to succeed one another in the order of value according to the following list:

1. Ready-made fat, i.e. oil.

2. Starch, sugar, pectin.

3. Young cellular fibre.

4. Albumen, gluten, casein, &c.

5. Mineral matter.

6. Woody matters, which are of little or no value.

But the money value of purchased food depends not only on the actual nutritiveness of the material, but also on the value of the fertilizing matters which pass through the animal into the manure.

Dr. Voelcker estimates that rape cake yields in the manure 47. worth of ingredients for every ton consumed; cotton cake no less than 57. 6s. worth per ton of matter in the excrement; linseed cake 37. 158. per ton; beans and peas about 37.; while other feeding substances possess but little worth as regards their fertilizing value. Rice meal, for example, yields but 17. per ton to the dungheap, and molasses hardly anything at all. It is plain that facts of this kind must for the future materially affect the judgment which will guide the choice of purchased food by the farmer.

We have to report that the English Agricultural Society has at length resolved upon confining within professional limits those educational efforts which its charter binds it to make. Hitherto the small contribution made by it in this direction has gone merely towards the granting of prizes to country boys who pass the best examination in branches of general education before the University examiners. Hereafter whatever it may grant will be devoted to the reward of professional studies alone; and some stimulus may thus be given to the work of professional agricultural education, which it has hitherto almost entirely ignored.

We must not close our record without a word upon the Paris Exhibition, to which we had anticipated devoting a large share of our space. The grand programme put forth by the Commissioners has almost entirely failed so far as agriculture is concerned. The periodical exhibition of live stock and of implements at work, which was part of the original scheme, has not been carried out as intended. The display is confined to a mere show of implements by the agricultural machinists of this and other countries, and there is no particular novelty calling for remark. We can only report that in the agricultural department a very small contribution is made to that wonderful general effect which is now commanding such universal admiration.

2. ARCHEOLOGY AND ETHNOLOGY.

WE have this quarter to notice a most exhaustive treatise on ancient writing, by Professor J. R. Stephens, of Copenhagen, entitled "The Old Northern Runic Monuments of Scandinavia and England." Although published in Denmark it is written in the English language, a fact which seems highly flattering to us as a scientific nation. Runes, according to Professor Stephens, "appear at the close of the Roman period, and were employed by the Barbarians' who overturned the Roman and Keltic systems." The Kelts "brought with them their Ogham staves and the Romans their alphabet, so the 'Barbarians' brought with them these their native characters." Runic

writing, therefore, belongs to a rather later period than that usually termed Pre-historic-to which we usually confine ourselves; but, as will be seen presently, inscriptions have recently been found on cromlechs, which may have some light thrown on them by a study of Runic lore; therefore we have thought it right to call attention to this masterly publication. Respecting the Oghamic inscriptions, to which we shall have further occasion to refer, Professor Stephens remarks, "First and earliest, in my opinion, are the monuments bearing the Ogham-marks. Some 300 of these pillar-stones have been found in Ireland, which country bears the same relation in this respect to the other Keltic lands as Sweden does to the Northern as to the Runes. The great mass of the Ogham stones is in Ireland, the great mass of the Runic stones is in Sweden." Thus, we suppose, the Irish Kelts were at one time the most civilized people in Europe. As an example of their writing we have reproduced a figure (Plate, Fig. 4) of an Ogham stone from Dunbel, Kilkenny, the characters on which have been interpreted to mean "Sacred stone of Eochaidhe of the Excavations." The student must consult Professor Stephens's work to be able to appreciate its importance and interest, and to learn what light Runic writings throw on doubtful points of history and tradition; but some idea of the difficulties which the author has surmounted may be gained by our stating that he has tabulated and correlated upwards of fifty distinct Runic alphabets.

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In the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy,'* which has been published during the past quarter, are some important archæological papers by Mr. E. A. Conwell. The first is an abstract of his account of an "Examination of the ancient Sepulchral Cairns on the Loughcrew Hills, County of Meath (Part 1)," which gives just sufficient details to excite curiosity and interest. These cairns are thirty in number and vary considerably in form, dimensions, and completeness. Of some, very few stones are left, those missing having been apparently quarried away within a comparatively recent period. Taking the one marked H as being of perhaps the greatest interest, we find that its remains are between five and six feet in height and eighteen yards in diameter. The covering of the interior chambers has disappeared, with the exception of about half a dozen large overlapping flags, which are still to be seen in their places over the western and northern crypts, and give a good example of the mode of roofing. The plan is cruciform, the central chamber being a rude octagon. From the passages and crypts the author collected several hundred portions of human bones and skulls, fourteen separate teeth, and eight portions of jaws with teeth remaining. He also obtained a remarkable collection of bone implements (4,884 pieces); beads of amber, glass, and bronze; with *Vol. ix., part 4.

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