minifters, from the model exhibited by the facerdotal orders among the Hebrews, the Greeks, and Romans, during the law of Mofes, and the darkness of paganifm. The barbarous nations alfo, thofe fierce and warlike Germans, who, after the defeat of the Romans, divided among them the western empire, bore, with the utmost patience and moderation, both the dominion and vices of the bifhops and priefts, because, upon their conversion to Christianity, they became naturally subject to their jurisdiction; and still more, because they looked upon the minifters of Chrift, as invefted with the fame rights and privileges, which distinguished the priests of their fictitious deities. "The corruption of that order, who were appointed to promote, by their doctrine and examples, the facred interests of piety and virtue, will appear lefs furprizing when we confider, that multitudes of people of all kinds were every where admitted without examination and without choice into the body of the clergy, the greatest part of whom had no other view, than the enjoyment of a lazy and inglorious repofe. Many of these ecclefiaftics were confined to no fixed places or affemblies, had no employment of any kind, but fauntered about wherever they pleafed, gaining their maintenance by impofing upon the ignorant multitude, and fometimes by mean and difhoneft practices. But if any should afk, how this account is reconcilable with the number of faints, who, according to the teftimonies of both the eastern and western writers, are faid to have fhone forth in this century? The answer is obvious; thefe faints were canonized by the ignorance of the times. For, in an age of darknefs and corruption, thofe, who distinguished themselves from the multitude either by their genius, their writings, or their eloquence by their prudence and dexterity in managing matters of importance, or by their meeknefs and moderation, and the afcendant they had gained over their refentments and paffions; all fuch were esteemed fomething more than men, they were reverenced as gods; or, to fpeak more properly, they appeared to others as men divinely inspired, and full of the deity. The monks, who had formerly lived only for themselves in folitary retreats, and had never thought of affuming any rank among the facerdotal orders, were now gradually diftinguished from the populace, and were endowed with fuch opulence, and fuch honourable privileges, that they found themfelves in a condition to claim an eminent ftation among the fupports and pillars of the Chriftian community. The fame of their piety and fanctity was, at first, so great, that bishops and prefbyters were often chofen out of their order, and the paffion of erecting edifices and convents, in which the monks and holy virgins might ferve God in the most commodious manner, was, at this time, carried beyond all bounds. The The monaftic orders did not all obferve the fame rule of difcipline, nor the fame manner of living. Some followed the rule of Auguftine, others that of Bafil, others that of Antony, others that of Athanafius, others that of Pachomius; but they muft all have become extremely negligent and remifs in obferving the laws of their respective orders, fince the licentiouf-nefs of the monks, even in this century, was become a proverb, and they are faid to have excited the moft dreadful tumults and feditions in various places. All the monaftic orders of all forts, were under the protection of the bishops in whofe provinces they lived, nor did the patriarchs claim any authority over them, as appears with the utmost evidence from the decrees of the councils held in this century.' Conclufin of the Account of Mr. Mills's Hufbandry. See our laft. MR R. Mills having, in the former volumes of his work, conducted the husbandman through the various methods of improving and managing moft kinds of foil, and of cultivating the feveral productions of the field; in the fourth, brings him into the garden, an object of great pleasure, and not lefs profit, when attended to with due care and judgment.', How far gardening may, properly fpeaking, be efteemed a branch of husbandry, we pretend not to determine; but as Mr. Mills fays, he has reftricted himself to the ufeful parts of it alone, he may, perhaps, be right, in introducing it here. He profeffes to have divefted the art of gardening of the cant expreffions, and unintelligible reafonings, with which, he alledges, moft of thofe who have treated of it abound. Amongst the writers of this clafs, Mr. Miller, author of the Gardener's Dictionary, very defervedly bears an eminent rank. From this ceJebrated work, Mr. Mills has tranfplanted many and large extracts into his own. But notwithstanding the great obligations he owes to Mr. Miller upon this account, he thinks himself obliged to controvert many of that gentleman's pofitions; for which he makes the following apology in the preface to this vol. I flatter myfelf that every candid reader of this work will acquit me of having fought occafion to cenfure other writers: for a carping temper is my averfion. If, therefore, I have prefumed, in fome inftances, to differ in opinion from Mr. Miller; and if, through the carneftness of my defire to give the best information in my power, any warmth of expreffion may chance to have dropped from my pen, when I efpoufe a practice different from from that which he recommends; I earnestly entreat the reader to impute it to the true cause, namely, my zeal to prevent his being mislead [mifled] by fome mistakes which have escaped that celebrated writer.' The reader muft judge between us, in this, on my fide very unequal conteft.'Mr. Mills farther adds, that the juftice which he owes to the public calls upon him to give reasons for his thinking differently from fo established a master. All this may be very right: but it feems rather fomewhat odd, to set up thofe fame readers for judges in a controverfy; whom, but just before, he apprehended to be fo extremely liable themselves to be misled by the mistakes of another. What he calls CHAP. I. (though the only one contained in the whole volume) treats of gardening in general, so far as is profitable to the farmer, and the country-gentleman; and is divided into the following feven sections, viz. §. I. Of the Kitchen Garden. Š. II. Of the Fruit Garden. 8. III. Of the Orchard. Š. IV. Of the Distempers of Fruit Trees. S. V. Of the Culture of the Vine. [In Vineyards.] S. VII. Of the Culture and Management of Hops. Moft readers, we prefume, will be somewhat furprized at feeing vineyards and olive-yards made part of a fyftem of husbandry; but those articles are intended, it seems, for the benefit of our colonies, chiefly; as the advantages which may arise from a proper culture of the vine, and olive-tree, in fuitable parts of our [now] immenfe poffeffions in America, are acknowledged to be very great. The pleasure or flower garden, being intended folely for ornament and recreation, is very properly omitted in this work; the [profeffed] defign of which is utility.-But Neither the husbandman, nor the country gentleman, who prefers utility to show, can fet about an eafier or more profitable branch of culture, than that of the kitchen and fruit garden, which may very properly be intermixed, and occupy one and the fame fpot of ground, fince they both require a good, deep foil, and nearly the fame expofure: [and] the walls which inclofe the kitchen garden, will be extremely ferviceable for fruit.' The chief things to be confidered in the choice of a spot of ground for a kitchen and fruit garden are, the fituation, the foil, the conveniency of water, the extent proper to be inclofed, and the manner of inclofing, and laying it out.' The foil (we are told) fhould be rich, rather stiff than light, and confiderably deep nor is a moderate degree of moisture any objection, in Mr. Mill's opinion. The jituation (he fays) fhould 5/ fhould be nearly level: because heavy rains would wash away the richest part of the mould, if the declivity were confiderable. As water is abfolutely neceffary in a kitchen garden, care should be taken to provide it, fo that it may be come at as easily as poffible: otherwife the plants may suffer (we are told) for want of it. The fize of this garden, Mr. Mills very judiciously determines, fhould be proportioned to the wants of the family; but with a much larger allowance of ground than is ufually allotted, in order that the plants may be benefited by stirring the earth between them whilst they grow.' It fhould be inclofed with a wall, either of brick or ftone; but brick is beft, for the greater conveniency of nailing up the fruit trees which are to be planted against it.' In the distribution of this garden, care should be taken to lay the walks out fo as to obtain the greatest convenience for fup plying each part with manure and water, and as easy access as poffible to its different quarters, which may be furrounded with espaliers.' Mr. Mills declares himself an enemy to that too common practice of fowing peas and beans, for an early crop, on the borders, under a fouth wall, where fruit-trees are planted. This practice is certainly detrimental to the trees; and Mr. Mills thinks it of no great benefit to the above-mentioned crops themfelves. It is a general opinion, [he fays, p. 20.] that plants fhettered by walls, fo as to be defended from nipping winds, and to have the additional warmth of the reflected beat of the wall, are leaft liable to be deftroyed by the winter's frosts; for which reafon early crops are commonly fown in borders fo fituated.The fun [he adds] will undoubtedly give greater motion to the fap of plants there, and they may, for this reason, seem stronger. But if we confider, that the walls yield no protection against the feverity of the night's froft, and that the effect of this froft must be most severely felt by plants whofe fap is in the greatest motion; we may rather fear that this situation, instead of being beneficial, may, in fact, counteract the very end propofed. To be fatisfied of this, a friend of mine fowed fome early peas in a border at the foot of a fouth wall, and at the fame time fome others, of the fame fort, in an open field adjacent to the garden; and he found, that the latter were by much the least damaged by the winter's frofts; nor did he perceive any great difference in the feafon of their blooming.' In the next page, Mr. Mills points out another error, too common amongft gardeners; which is, letting their plants (of whatever kind) remain on the ground till they have ripened their feeds, and wither; not confidering that whilft a plant is full full of fap, it preferves the earth in a loofe ftate, probably by means of the moisture perspired from its roots; but yet, when permitted to stand till its feed is ripe, or the plant withers, it then leaves the impoverished earth dry and hard; being itself become entirely void of fap.' Sect. I. begins with an obfervation, that the Kitchen Garden, if rightly managed, is the most useful and profitable spot of ground that either the country gentleman, or husbandman, can cultivate. • Two effential rules to be obferved in the management of a kitchen garden are, never to crowd the ground with more plants then it is able to nourifh properly; and never to let any part of it remain unoccupied, for want of a due fucceffion of crops. By this means the mafter, whom I would advise always to be his own gardener, at leaft fo far as perfonally to direct and fuperintend whatever is done, may have his table conftantly fupplied with fuch vegetables as he likes beft, no part of his ground will lie useless, and each of its products will be brought to perfection.' The general heads, under which Mr. Mills ranges the plants proper for the kitchen garden, are, 1, Thofe which are cultivated for their roots. 2, Such as are cultivated for their tender fhoots, heads, or leaves. 3, Legumes. 4, Salleting. 5, Sweetherbs; and, 6, thofe raised in hot-beds. With regard to the culture proper for these several kinds of plants, we cannot pretend to infert it; but muft obferve, that in general the rules prefcribed appear to be, moft of them, very rational. But though our author, in this part of his work, has made very confiderable ufe of Miller's Dictionary, yet he fometimes ftrongly controverts what is advanced by that great mafter in the art of gardening. In proof of this, we refer to the article, afparagus, from p. 55, to 61, inclufive, where he attacks Mr. Miller pretty fmartly, and with fome fuccefs: but the point in controverfy is of no very great importance, and rather too long for our infertion. Sect. 2. treats of the Fruit Garden. The ufeful and the agreeable [according to Mr. Mills] concur to recommend this branch of cultivation by fo much the more ftrongly, as the plants which appertain to it, being perennials, require only occafional care, little trouble, and hardly any expence.' -(The two laft-mentioned circumftances can fcarce be applicable, we think, to fuch Fruit-trees as are planted against walls; for, furely, the neceffary pruning and nailing them, must be attended with both trouble and expence. It must be owned, indeed, that Mr. Mills is no great friend to the practice of planting against walls, as may appear from the following quotation, in which he prefers Espaliers.) REV. Nov. 1765. A a al |