Robert, a distinguished agriculturist and improver of live stock, was born at Dishley, in Leicestershire, in 1725 or 1726, and he died there in October 1795. Though all the different kinds of domestic animals were objects of his experiments and ameliorations, his attention was more particularly devoted to the improvement of the race of sheep known by the name of the Dishley or New Leicestershire breed; and so successful was he in this line, that some of his rams were let for the season at the extraordinary sum of four hundred guineas. His life presents no incidents or claims to notice, other than what arise from the improvements alluded to; but these were such as to secure him a high rank among the benefactors of British husbandry.

a market-town in the county of Derby, in the High Peak on the river Wye, 152 miles from London. The market is held on Saturday. It is remarkable for excellent trout-fishing, and for a chalybeate spring frequented by invalids. The fine seat of the Duke of Devonshire, at Chatsworth, is about six miles from the town; and Haddon Hall, the ancient family residence of the Dukes of Rutland, is in the vicinity. The population in 1801 amounted to 1412; in 1811, to 1483; and in 1821, to 1782.

BAKING

Is the art of making bread, meaning thereby loaf-bread, which is white, soft, full of cavities, has an agreeable taste, and is easily digested.

History of the art.

1. Like most of the arts of primary importance, its origin precedes the period of history, and is involved in the obscurity of the early ages of the world. There is no evidence from Scripture that Abraham was acquainted with the method of making loaf-bread. Cakes and unleavened bread are repeatedly mentioned as made by him, but no notice is taken of loaf-bread. We are certain that it was known in the time of Moses, as in the Jewish law there is a prohibition against making use of it during the celebration of the passover. (Exodus, chap. xii. verse 15.) Egypt, both from the nature of the country and the early period of its civilization, seems very likely to have been the place where this art was first practised. The Chaldeans, however, put in a claim. They were civilized nearly as early as the Egyptians, and they were cele- brated among the ancients for the excellence of their bread. The Greeks assure us that they were taught the art of making bread by the god Pan. This lively and superstitious people ascribed almost all the important arts of common life to their gods; or rather, perhaps, their gratitude induced them to deify the authors of these most useful inventions. Bakers were unknown in Rome till the year of the city 580, or about 200 years before the commencement of the Christian era. They settled in that city during the war with Perseus, King of Macedon. (Plini Hist. Nat. xviii. 11.) It was then that the Romans became acquainted with the refinements of the Greeks, and that their capital became crowded with adventurers of all kinds, with artists and philosophers, from the prolific soil of Achaia. Before this period the Romans were often distinguished or reproached by the appellation of the pulse-eating nation.

Since the introduction of bakers into Rome, the art of making bread has always been practised in the south of Europe. But it made its way into the north very slowly; and even at present, in the northern countries of Europe and Asia, loaf-bread is seldom used except by the higher classes of inhabitants. In Sweden, for example, you see rolls frequently in the towns, but never loaves. Göttenburg is a town containing about 23,000 inhabitants. In the year 1812 it was crowded with merchants from all parts of Europe, being the great connecting link between Britain and the Continent. Towards the end of that year the captain of an English packet ordered a Göttenburg baker to bake for him a quantity of bread, amounting to £1 sterling in value. The baker was confounded at so great an order, and refused to comply till the captain gave him security that he would carry off and pay for the loaves, declaring that he could never dispose of so great a quantity of bread in Göttenburg if it were left upon his hand. In the country part of Sweden you meet with nothing but rye-cakes, as hard nearly as flint, and which are only baked twice a year. About thirty years ago loaf-bread was almost as rare in the country places and villages of Scotland, barley bannocks and oatmeal cakes constituting the universal substitutes among almost all ranks. But the case is wonderfully altered at present. At that time no wheat was raised in the fertile valley of Strathearn; and the village of Crieff, the largest in that valley, with a population of nearly 3000 persons, contained only two bakers, who could scarcely find employment. At present it contains five or six, and each has a brisk trade.

In many parts of England it is the custom for private families to bake their own bread. This is particularly the case in Kent, and in some parts of Lancashire. In the year 1804 the town of Manchester, with a population of 90,000 persons, did not contain a single public baker. We do not know whether or not it contains any at present.

2. The only substance adapted for making loaf-bread is the flour of wheat, a grassy plant, distinguished among botanists by the name of triticum. This plant is cultivated perhaps over a greater extent of the globe than any other, and, like man, it seems to adapt itself to almost every climate. We have seen excellent crops of it raised in north latitude 60°. It is cultivated in the East Indies, considerably within the limits of the torrid zone; and, in the north of Hindostan, it constitutes a chief article in the food of the inhabitants. The original habitat of this plant is unknown. We know, however, that it improves considerably in its quality as we advance south. The wheat of Essex and Kent brings a much higher price than the wheat raised in East Lothian and Berwickshire. French wheat is superior to that of England. The Italians have the superiority over the French in their wheaten crops, and perhaps the best wheat of all is raised in Barbary and Egypt. Mr Bruce found wheat growing wild in Abyssinia; and, in his opinion, that kingdom is the native country of the plant. It would seem to be originally an African plant, since it thrives best in Barbary and Egypt; and perhaps the mountains of Abyssinia, though within the torrid zone, may not differ much in point of climate from the more northern plains of Egypt. In India the plant seems to have deteriorated. It is always dwarfish, and the crop, we have been told, is less abundant than in more northern climates.

3. The culture of the different varieties of wheat, as practised in this country, and the method of grinding and fitting the flour for the baker, being foreign to the present subject, we cannot with propriety touch upon them. It may be sufficient to say, that originally in England the baker was his own manufacturer. He purchased his own wheat, and got it ground as he wanted it. At that period the miller separated the wheat into three portions; namely, flour, pollard, and bran. The bran was the outside of the grain. It was not used as food at all, or only given to horses. The pollard was the portion of the grain next the husk; it was coarser and darker coloured than the flour, which constituted the interior or central portion of the grain. This flour, at an average, amounted to three fourths of the wheat ground. But, by insensible degrees, the manufacture of bread became separated into two distinct employments; that of the mealman, who ground the wheat and sold the flour, and that of the baker, who converted it into bread. The mealman made different kinds of flour, some extremely fine and white, while others were very coarse and unpalatable. This white flour, when made into bread, was so pleasing to the eye and the taste, that it gradually got into general use, and the people refused to purchase the bread made of the whole of the flour. At present, in the mills in the neighbourhood of London, wheat is divided into no fewer than seven distinct kinds of flour. The following are the average proportions of these obtained from a quarter of wheat:

| Fine flour | Seconds | Fine middlings | Coarse middlings | Bran | Twentypenny | Pollard | |------------|--------|---------------|-----------------|------|-------------|--------| | 5 bushels 3 pecks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 |

Thus we see that wheat almost doubles in bulk by being ground into flour.

During the bolting of the wheat there is a fine white gritty substance, called sharps, obtained. It constitutes the centre and finest part of the grain of wheat. This is partly sold to the biscuit-makers, and is employed in baking the finest kind of sea-biscuit. It is partly ground again, and constitutes the finest and most valuable kind of flour.

4. The bakers in Great Britain at present are restricted by act of parliament to bake only three kinds of bread, namely, wheaten, standard wheaten, and household. The first must be marked with a W, the second with S W, and the third with H; and the baker who neglects to mark them in this manner is liable to a penalty. The wheaten loaf is made of the finest flour, the standard wheaten of the whole flour mixed together, and the household of the coarser flour. The loaves baked are usually peck loaves, half-peck, and quarter loaves; the weights of which, provided they be weighed within forty-eight hours of the time of baking, must be as follows: