1806] Northern Report for October. 237 Freedom of discussion may certainly prevail without unne- cessary severity. Some readers, may perhaps, think that se- veral papers in your work contain something of the latter description, when in reallity the apparent severity is nothing more than the praise-worthy ardour of their authors, to esta=- blish what they conceive to be just and proper. Let none ad- vance any thing but what is thought to be right, and if such conduct should lead to disputes, let them be managed with temperance, but at the same time with perseverance, till some positions are discovered to be untenable. Then should part of the disputants eitheir cease the pursuit, or acknowledge error.

I beg leave to repeat that the communications of Azgricola Nortolciensis completely establish my position relative lo the comparative merits of drilling,(with a proper machine) and dibbling; for he considers the former as most advantageous when all the necessary calculations are made. L never SUP=- posed that dibbled corn would not grow very well; I only said that the drill machine was the most profitable and scientific Inode of committing the seed to the ground. A Tomohawk[n- dian, if be wete inclined to cultivate grain upon land in a foul state,would, perhaps, conceive that he could more easily eradi- catethe weeds by sowingin rows than in broad-cast. What me- thod, then, would he pursue? why perhaps that of gardeners, with aline and a dibble to make a single hole at a time.— Afterwards-he would probably invent a dibble that would make six, eight, or twelve holes at a time, to receive the seed from his rude hands. But is such a method not barbarous? and would not the drill machine be preferred, if his rude and uncultivated- mind could be supposed capable of perfecting súch an implement? Our great progenitor, Adam, when he was driven forth from the garden of Eden, would probably entertain ideas similar to those of the American barbarian, re- specting the row culture, and would most likely procged in a manner as clearly evincing his want of scientific kÆowledge. Is it not a reflection, then, upon an agriculture s0o celebrated as that of Britain, to continue the use of a dibble.

MONTHLY REPORT.

Oar crops of corn in this district, are now nearly all carried home, some in good, and much in iniddling condition. We have had much favourable and much unfavourable weather during the harvest, which upon the whole has been rather per- plexing. How the crops will yield, I cannot yet state. In point of bulk, however, they are considerably inſerior to those of last year, the oats and barley in particular. Indeed they are s80 much s0,* that IT apprehend the quantity of corn wil not nearly equal the Þroduce of the pást season,‘l'he wea-