THE AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK. 55 



of property of this description. And the ownership of land 

 became universal. 



That this system is everywhere conducive to good agricult- 

 ure, does not naturally and necessarily follow. The division 

 of a farm among a multitude of heirs breaks up the cultiva- 

 tion of that farm at least. The dispersion of property of this 

 description necessarily weakens its capacity to support its 

 occupants, and prevents the long-continued application of an 

 expensive and elaborate system of cultivation. It tends, 

 moreover, to encourage that abandonment of the land which 

 has at last become characteristic of our people. And the great 

 problem now is how we shall attach to this system of landed 

 division and subdivision a mode of farming attractive and 

 profitable. 



That this can be done there is no doubt. The farmins: 

 which is remunerative in the older States, and will, ere-long, 

 be remunerative also in the new ones, is that farming which 

 can be applied by the individual owner to a small tract of 

 land in the neighborhood of a good market. This is profitable 

 everywhere, even in England, where, by the side of the whole- 

 sale agriculture of the great estates, special farming is carried 

 on to such a profit that a rent of $500 a year per acre is paid 

 for the laud, and a profit of $300 per acre is reaped from its 

 cultivation. So it is in our own country. The prosperous 

 farmers are those who cluster around our great cities and sup- 

 ply their markets. And while the remote regions are being 

 somewhat deserted, the popular centres are becoming the 

 seat of an active, prosperous farming. That our people will 

 return to the land, and adojDt this system, is most desirable. 

 With it go not only the uniform prosperity and undisturbed 

 thrift of agriculture, but also the habits of systematic industry 

 and active mental energy which attend other branches of busi- 

 ness. When we transfer the original industry of our mills to 

 our farms, our agricultural prosperity is secure. . 



