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fatal confequences occafioned by their deficiency, will be fo clearly afcertained, as not to be a fubject of doubt to the weakeft understanding. For the purpose of effecting fo defirable an object, I propofe preparing, in the courfe of the enfuing recefs, for the confideration of the board, and, if it fhould have the good fortune of meeting with their approbation, to be laid before his majefty and both houses of parliament, a general report on the agricultural fiate of Scotland, and the means of its improvement. That work will probably explain, in a fatisfactory manner, the foundnefs of that political maxim, that the profperity of a country ought to be founded on a fpirit of internal improvement; and that a fingle additional acre cultivated at home is more truly valuable, than the moft extenfive poffeflions acquired abroad, at an enormous expence of treasure and of blood, and retained with difficulty and danger. To that important fubject, when hoftilities are brought to a conclufion, I trust that the attention of this country will be directed. Fortunately, by the exertions of the board of agriculture, when peace is happily restored, the internal ftate of this kingdom will be fufficiently afcertained, and we fhall be able to judge, what are the fitteft fteps to be taken, in order to make the utmost of our domeftic refources. To that period I look up with much anxiety. If Europe once more breathes in peace, and is governed by wife counsellors, the contest among nations naturally will be, not who will feel the greatet eagernels to ruth again into the horrors of war, under the presence of promoting national glory,

but who will be the moft anxious to remain in peace, for fecuring the national interefts.

I cannot conclude without exprefling my beft acknowledgments for the affiftance I have received from fo many respectable members, in carrying on the bufinefs of this inftitution. By their exertions, I truft, it will be brought to fuch a fate, that from its eftablishment will be dated, not only the improvement and internal profperity of our own country, but much of the comforts enjoyed in future times by fociety in general. Permit me to add, that when the board re-affembles, each of us will, I hope, bring fome proof of his zeal for the caufe, by the additional information we thall respectively furnifh. He who augments the ftores of ufeful knowledge already accumulated, whilft he fecures to himfelf the moft fatisfactory fources of enjoyment, promotes at the fame time, in the most effectual manner, the happiness of others.

On the use of Rice, by Thomas Barnard, efq. Treasurer to the Foundling Hofpital.

IN the beginning of laft fummer, when every individual attention was directed to the faving of flour, one of the first measures adopted with that view in the Foundng hofpital was, to fubftitute rice-puddings for thofe of flour, which, by the table of diet, were uled for the children's dinner twice a week; and the refult of the experiment proved, that one pound of rice would, in point of nutriment, fupply the place of eight pounds of flour. The flour-puddings for

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each day had confifted of 168lb. of flour, 14lb. of fuet, and 14 galJons of milk, and coft 31. 2s. 3d. The rice-puddings, fubftituted in their place, were made of 21lb. of rice, 161b. of raifins, and 14 gallons of milk, and coft 11. gs. 2d. being not quite half the expence of the flour puddings. The 21lb of rice was found to produce the fame quantity of food, as the 168lb. of flour; but being more liked by he children, the quantity of rice has fince been increased to 24lb.

The increase that rice acquires by being baked with milk, may be afcertained by baking in a common pan, without any previous preparation, eight ounces of rice, four ounces of raifins, and two ounces of brown fugar, with two quarts of milk, which, at the expence of about nine-pence, will produce four pounds and a half weight of folid, nutritious, and pleasant food.

To fhew, however, that the increase of bulk, and weight is not merely, though partly, owing to the milk, but chiefly to the nutritious quality of rice,-take a quarter of a pound of plain rice, and tie it up in a bag, fo loose as to be capable of holding about five times that quantity, and boil it, it will produce above a pound of folid rice food; which, however, eafy the cookery, will, if eaten with either sweet or favoury fauce, make a good palatable pudding.

If to the quarter of a pound of rice is added an egg, a pint of milk, a little fugar and nutmeg, it will make a better pudding than is made with either flour or bread. Obferve, that it is only to the boiled pudding the egg thould be added.

Rice is alfo a good ingredient in

bread. Boil a quarter of a pound of rice till it is foft; then put it on the back part of a fieve to drain it, and, when it is cold, mix it with 3 quarters of a pound of flour, a tea-cup full of yeaft, a tea-cup full of milk, and a small tablefpoon full of falt. Let it stand for three hours; then knead it up, and roll it up in about a handfull of flour, fo as to make the outside dry enough to put into the oven. About an hour and a quarter will bake at, and it will produce one pound fourteen ounces of very good white bread. The loaves fhould be fmall, not larger than what is above-mentioned. It fhould not be ate till it is two days old.

N. B. The draining of the rice will fupply the place of starch for common articles.

In addition to the above, it is to be obferved, that with a little bacon and feasoning, or any other meat, or with cheese, it flews down into a cheap and favoury dish, and that there is hardly any preparation of baked or boiled meat in which rice is not an economical and ufeful ingredient.

The preceding calculations were made when rice was at a higher price than at prefent. It will probably be much cheaper, as large quantities of rice are expected.

The nutritious quality of rice is attended with this benefit, that it is a food upon which hard work can be done. It contains a great deal of nutriment in a small compaís, and does not pafs quickly off the fromach, as fome other of the fubftitutes for wheat flour do; but is bracing and ftrengthening, and confequently very ufeful and proper for the laborious part of the community.

Specification

Specification of the Patent granted to Mr. Edward Thomas Jones, of the City of Bristol, Accomptant; for his Method or Plan for detecting Errors in Accounts of all kinds, (called the English Syftem of Book-keeping.) whereby fuch Accounts will be kept and adjusted in a much more regular and concise manner than by any other method hitherto known.

TO all to whom thefe prefents fhall come, &c. Now know ye, that, in compliance with the faid provifo, I the faid Edward Thomas Jones do hereby declare, that my faid invention is defcribed in manner following; that is to fay, the English fyftem of book-keeping requires three books, called a daybook or journal, an alphabet, and a ledger, which muft be ruled after the following defcribed method, viz. the day-book to have three columns on each page, for receiving the amount of the tranfactions; one column of which to receive the amount of the debits and credits, one column to receive the debits only, and one column to receive the credits only; or it may be ruled with only two columns on each page, one column to receive the amount of the debits, and one column to receive the amount of the credits. There muft alfo be, on each page of the day-book, four other columns ruled, two on the left fide, next the amount of the debits, and two on the right fide, next the amount of the credits, for receiving the letter or mark of pofting, and the page of the ledger to which each amount is to be pofted. The alphabet need not be ruled at all, but muft contain the name of every account in the ledger, the letter that is annexed to it as a mark of pofting,

and the page of the ledger. The ledger must be ruled with three, four, five, or feven, columns on on each page, as may be most agreeable, for receiving the amounts of the different tranfactions entered in the day-book; and the process for ufing these books, or making up books of accounts on this plan, is as follows. When a perfon enters into trade, whether by himself, or with copartners, he must have an account opened with himself in the ledger; entering firft in the day-book, and then to the credit of his account in the ledger, the amount of the property he advances into trade; the account may be headed either with his name only, or elfe called his ftock account. If you buy goods, give the perfon credit of whom you purchase: when you fell goods, debit the perfon to whom faid goods are fold. If you pay money, debit the perfon to whom paid, not only for what you pay, but alfo for any discount or abatement he may allow, and give the cashier credit for the neat amount paid. If you receive money, credit the perfon of whom you receive it, not only for what he pays, but alfo for any discount or abatement you may allow, and debit the cafhier for the neat amount received; taking care in these entries to have nothing myf terious or obfcure, but merely a plain narrative of the fact, introducing not one fingle ufelefs word, and avoiding every technical term or phrafe, except the words debit and credit, which are full and comprehenfive, and the only terms that are applicable to every tranfaction, and may be affixed to eve ry entry. But, as a hurry of bu finefs will fometimes take place in

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almost every counting-houfe, which may cause the entries to be made to the debit inftead of the credit of an account in the day-book, and to the credit inftead of the debit, I have endeavoured, as much as poffible, to counteract the evil, by having only one column for receiving the amount of every tranfaction, whether debits or credits, at the inftant of making the entry; and, for the convenience of feparating the debits from the credits, previous to pofting, which is necefary to prevent confufion and perplexity, I have two other columns on the fame page; that on the left fide into which the amount of every debit must be carefully entered, and that on the right for the amount of the credits; which columns must be caft up once month. The column of debits and credits of itself forming one amount; the column for the debits producing a fecond amount; and the column of credits a third amount; which fecond and third amounts, added together, muft exactly agree with the first amount, or the work is not done right. By this means the man of bufinefs may obtain monthly fuch a ftatement of his affairs as will fhew how much he owes for that month, and how much is owing to him; and the debits being added together for any given time, with the value of the flock of goods on hand, will, when the amount of the credits is fubftracted therefrom, fhew the profits of the trade. I fhall now proceed to the procefs of pofting; which begins with opening an account in the ledger with every person to whofe debit or credit there has been an entry

made in the day-book; affixing to each account a letter, which is to be used as a mark of posting. The perfon's name, place of abode, and the folio of the ledger, muft then be entered in the alphabet, with the fame letter prefixed to each name as is affixed to the account in the ledger. Next the page of the ledger on which each account is opened, (and which will be feen in the alphabet.) must be affixed to each amount in the day-book, in the column for that purpofe. The date and amount of each debit muft then be pofted in the columns for receiving it in the ledger, on the left or debit fide of that account to which it relates; entering, as a mark of pofting in the day-book, againft each amount, the fame letter that is affixed to the account in the ledger, to which faid amount may be pofted. Obferving that the debits of January, February, and March, &c. must be posted into the column for thofe months in the ledger. and the credits muft alfo be posted in like manner, filling up each account in centre, at the expiration of every month, with the whole amount of the month's tranfa&tions; thus having, in a finall space, the whole ftatement of each perfon's account for the year; in the columns to the right and left the amount feparately of each tranfaction, and in the centre a monthly ftatement. Having defcribed the procefs of this method of bookkeeping, I thall thew how to examine books kept by this method, fo as to afcertain, to an abfolute certainty, if the ledger be a true reprefentation of the day-book; i. e. not only if each tranfaction be

correctly

correaly pofted, as to the amount thereof, but alfo if it be rightly entered to the debit or credit of its proper account. This examination differs from the modes that have heretofore been practifed, as well in expedition as in the certain accuracy which attends the procefs; it being only neceffary to caft up the columns through the ledger debits and credits, according to the examples given, and the amount of those columns, if right, muft agree with the columns in the day-book for the fame correfponding fpace of time. Thefe caftings fhould take place once a month, and, if the amounts do not agree, the pofting must then, but not elfe, be called over; and when the time, whether it be one, two, three, or four, months, that is allotted to each column of the ledger is expired, the amount of each column fhould be put at the bottom of the first page, and carried forward to the bottom of the next, and fo on to the end of the accounts; taking care that the amount in the day-book, of each month's tranfactions, be brought into one grofs amount for the fame time. But, although this procefs must prove that the ledger contains the whole contents of the day-book, and neither more nor lefs, yet it is not complete without the mode of afcertaining if each entry be pofted to its right account, which may be afcertained by the following me. thod. I have laid down a rule that a letter, which may be ufed alphabetically in any form or fhape that is agreeable, fhall be affixed to each account in the ledger, and the fame letter prefixed to the ames in the alphabet, thefe let

ters being ufed as marks of pofting, and affixed to each account in the day-book as it is pofted; it is only neceffary therefore to compare and fee that the letter affixed to each entry in the day-book is the fame as is prefixed to the fame name in the alphabet; a difference here fhews of course an error, or else it must be right. At the end of the year, or at any other time, when perfons balance their accounts, if there be no objection to the profits of the trade appearing in the books, the ftock of goods on hand at prime coft may be entered in the day-book, either the value in one amount, or the particulars fpecified, as may be moft expedient, and an account opened for it in the ledger, to the debit of which it must be pofted. The cafting up of the ledger must then be completed, and when found to agree with the day-book, and the amount placed at the bottom of each column, fubtract the credits from the debits, and it will fhew the profit of the trade; unless the credits be the greater amount, which will fhew a lofs. In taking off the balances of the ledger, one rule must be observed, and it cannot be done wrong; as you proceed, firft fee the difference between the whole amounts of the credits and debits on each page for the year, with which the difference of the outstanding balances of the feveral accounts on each page muit exactly agree, or the balances will not be taken right. By this means every page will be proved as you proceed, and the balances of ten thoufand ledgers, on this plan, could not unobfervedly be taken. off wrong. In witnefs whereof, &c.

Account

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