2 88 General View of the Agriculture July 



where to conduft and forward the various ncccffary operations, in 

 every department, and in their proper feafon. Thefe requifite at- 

 tentions, together with the bufinefs of the counting-room, and his 

 attendance on markets, for the difpofal of his grain and cattle, (a 

 province which he ufiially referves to himfelf), will afford httle time 

 for relaxation or idleners, and are furely much more conducive to 

 his intereft, than holding the plough, thrafhing the grain, or filling 

 and driving his own dunj^-cart. 



" The alteration in their llyle and manner of living, is equally 

 remarkable. Their houfes, in general, are decently and fubftaa- 

 tially furnifhed, and the apartments fo arranged, and the general 

 economy of the houfe fo regulated, as to produce a more marked 

 diftin£lion between mafter and fervant, and to put an end to that 

 indifcrimlnate intercourfe, in refpeft of fitting and eating, which 

 was common in former times. Though many of them continue 

 to be moflly fupphed with neceffary maintenance from the produce 

 of their farms, and to be clothed with their own manufafture?, there 

 are few who do not indulge, more or lefs, in the luxuries of life. 

 Butcher meat is much commoner now than formerly ; and their 

 Sunday's drefs, at leaft, is furnifhed from the fliop. The univerfal 

 life of tea, as an article of living, need not be mentioned, as there 

 is fcarcely a cottager's houfe in the county, where it is not to be 

 found. It is to be obferved, however, that between the great body 

 of the farmers, and thofe who rank in the higheft clafs, there is, in 

 this refpeft, a very remarkable difference. Several of this lafl de- 

 fcription are men, not only in eafy, but affluent circumftances ; men 

 who have had the advantage of a liberal education, and whofe man- 

 ners, from their intercourfe with the world, have acquired a fuperior 

 polifh. Correfpondent with thefe circumftances, is their ftyle and 

 manner of living, the elegance of their furniture, the economy of 

 their table, and the quality and fafhion of their drefs. Thus diftin- 

 gulfhed by education, fortune, and manners, they hold a moft re- 

 fpeftable place in the community, and are entitled to be confidcred 

 as one of the intermediate links, which, in the gradations of rank 

 and opulence, connect, the higher and lower orders of men in fo- 

 ciety. " 



We cannot agree with Dr Thomfon as to the propriety of 

 paying rent in kind, even upon the fuppofition that the ipfa 

 corpora was not to be delivered, but to be paid for in mo- 

 ney, according to the rate of the fiars. If fuch a mode had 

 been common this year, three fourths of the tenantry would 

 have been reduced to bankruptcy ; it being evident that the 



rent. 



