100 The Agricultural Papers of George Washington 



course expense, will be considerably diminished by this change, 

 the net profit as great, and my attention less divided, whilst 

 the fields will be improving. 



Your strictures on the agriculture of this country are but 

 too just. It is indeed wretched; but a leading, if not the 

 primary, cause of its being so is, that, instead of improving 

 a little ground well, we attempt much and do it ill. A half, 

 a third, or even a fourth of what we mangle, well wrought 

 and properly dressed, would produce more than the whole 

 under our system of management ; yet such is the force of 

 habit, that we cannot depart from it. The consequence of 

 which is, that we ruin the lands that are already cleared, and 

 either cut down more wood, if we have it, or emigrate into the 

 Western country. I have endeavoured, both in a public and 

 private character, to encourage the establishment of boards 

 of agriculture in this country, but hitherto in vain ; and what 

 is still more extraordinary, and scarcely to be believed, I 

 have endeavoured ineffectually to discard the pernicious 

 practice just mentioned from my own estate; but, in my ab 

 sence, pretexts of one kind or another have always been para 

 mount to orders. Since the first establishment of the Na 

 tional Board of Agriculture in Great Britain, I have con 

 sidered it as one of the most valuable institutions of modern 

 times; and, conducted with so much ability and zeal, as it 

 appears to be under the auspices of Sir John Sinclair, it must 

 be productive of great advantages to the nation, and to man 

 kind in general. 



My system of agriculture is what you have described, and 

 I am persuaded, were I to proceed on a large scale, would 

 be improved by the alteration you have proposed. At the 

 same time I must observe, that I have not found oats so 

 great an exhauster, as they are represented to be ; but in my 

 system they follow wheat too closely to be proper, and the 



