Chamberss Edinburgh Journal, No. 435

Edinburgh Journal, No. 435, by
Various

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Title: Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 435 Volume 17, New Series,
May 1, 1852
Author: Various
Editor: Robert Chambers William Chambers
Release Date: July 7, 2006 [EBook #18775]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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CHAMBERS'S EDINBURGH ***

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CHAMBERS' EDINBURGH JOURNAL

CONDUCTED BY WILLIAM AND ROBERT CHAMBERS,
EDITORS OF 'CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE,'
'CHAMBERS'S EDUCATIONAL COURSE,' &c.
No. 435. NEW SERIES. SATURDAY, MAY 1, 1852. PRICE 1-1/2d.

FORCED BENEFITS.
The maxim, that men may safely be left to seek their own interest, and
are sure to find it, appears to require some slight qualification, for
nothing can be more certain, than that men are often the better of things
which have been forced upon them. Those who advocate the idea in its
rigour, forget that there are such things as ignorance and prejudice in
the world, and that most men only become or continue actively
industrious under the pressure of necessity. The vast advantages
derived from railway communication afford a ready instance of people
being benefited against their will. At the bare proposal to run a line
through their lands, many proprietors were thrown into a frenzy of
antagonism; and whole towns petitioned that they might not be
contaminated with the odious thing. In spite of remonstrances, and at a
vast cost, railways were made; and we should like to know where
opponents are now to be found. Demented land-proprietors are come to
their senses; and even recalcitrant Oxford is glad of a line to itself.
Cases of this kind suggest the curious consideration, that many
remarkable benefits now experienced were never sought for or
contemplated by the persons enjoying them, but came from another
quarter, and were at first only grudgingly submitted to. A singular
example happens to call our attention. There is a distillery in the west
of Scotland, where it has been found convenient to establish a dairy
upon a large scale, for the purpose of consuming the refuse of the grain.
Seven hundred cows are kept there; and a profitable market is found for
their milk in the city of Glasgow. That the refuse of the cow-houses
might be applied to a profitable purpose, a large farm was added to the
concern, though of such land as an amateur agriculturist would never
have selected for his experiments. Thus there was a complete system of

economy at this distillery: a dairy to convert the draff into milk, and a
farm to insure that the soil from the cows might be used upon the spot.
But, as is so generally seen in this country, the liquid part of the refuse
from the cow-houses was neglected. It was allowed to run into a
neighbouring canal; and the proprietors would have been contented to
see it so disposed of for ever, if that could have been permitted. It was
found, however, to be a nuisance, the very fishes being poisoned by it.
The proprietors of the canal threatened an action for the protection of
their property, and the conductors of the dairy were forced to bethink
them of some plan by which they should be enabled to dispose of the
noxious matter without injury to their neighbours. They could at first
hit upon no other than that of carting away the liquid to the fields, and
there spreading it out as manure. No doubt, they expected some benefit
from this procedure; and, had they expected much, they might never
have given the canal company any trouble. But the fact is, they
expected so little benefit, that they would never have willingly taken
the trouble of employing their carts for any such purpose. To their
surprise, the benefit was such as to make their lean land superior in
productiveness to any in the country. They were speedily encouraged to
make arrangements at some expense for allowing the manure in a
diluted form to flow by a regular system of irrigation over their fields.
The original production has thus been increased fourfold. The company,
finding no other manure necessary, now dispose of the solid kind
arising from the dairy, among the neighbouring farmers who still
follow the old arrangements in the management of their cows. The sum
of L.600 is thus yearly gained by the company, being not much less
than the rent of the farm. If to this we