HISTORY OF VERMONT. 359 



can republics will last, as long as the body of 

 the f)€ople own the lands, and do the labors of 

 agriculture themselves : And that the republican 

 system can no where take place, when the lands 

 are in the hands of a few wealthy men, and the 

 labor is done by slaves or hirelings ? Is not the 

 former in fact the foundation of American re- 

 publicanism ; and does not the latter unavoid- 

 ably produce aristocracy or monarchy in every 

 part of Europe ? At least I believe we may 

 venture to say the American system of agricul- 

 ture and republicanism, have such an affinity to 

 each other, that they will both flourish or de- 

 cline together : And that any essential altera- 

 tion in the state, form, or manner of carrying on 

 the one, would essentially affect the state and 

 form of the other. 



Manufactures. Next to agriculture, the 

 chief source of employment is manufactures. 

 These are chiefly of the domestic kind^ designed 

 to procure clothing for families. In no part of 

 the United States, does the farmer meet with 

 more success in raising sheep. The climate 

 agrees v/ell with the breed of sheep, that is 

 spread over the territory : And the richness of 

 the pastures, in new settlements, gives an ex- 

 traordinary sweetness to the meat, and richness 

 to the fleece. It is not uncommon for a sheep 

 of two or three years old to weigh one hundred 

 and twenty pounds, and to afford three or four 

 pounds of wool. And from the wool of their 

 own raising, the greater part of the farmers 

 manufacture the woolens, which are used lit 

 their families. In no places does flax succeed 

 better than on the new lands. The commori 



