Chap. VIII. ANTIENT METAPHYSICS. 307 



fewer, living upon the farms. But now things are much altered. 

 The tenants think that they can make more profit of the cottager- 

 land, by taking it into their own hand, and, cultivating it, and, in- 

 {lead of cottagers for fcrvants, by employing unmarried fervants that 

 they keep in the houfe In this way was produced a dcfolation of a 

 farm in my neighbourhood, of which I have an account from mv 

 parifh minifler, who fays, that the number of louls above the age of 

 feven, that is the examinable age, on this farm, about 21 vcars aeo 

 was 127, and now there are not above 70 of all ages upon ir. And 

 many other farms, in the county where i live, are more or !eis de- 

 populated in the fame way. But, Ly the great iucreafe of i.:re of fer- 

 vants wages, the tenants begin to find tliat they are both bet ev icrv- 

 ed, and cheaper, by cottagers, as their forefathers were, ihan by fer- 

 vants whom they keep in the houle. And, indeed, houle fervants 

 are now hard to be got, by the number of cottagers, who are the 

 breeders of fervants, being fo much diminiib.^d. Bir: it gives me great 

 pleafure to obferve, that fome of my tenants are ferved, as in toimer 

 times, by cottagers only, and keep no firm fervants in the honfe, un- 

 leis perhaps a boy. One of them, who pays me no more than 30 1. of 

 rem, i'.is no lefs than 13 cottagers living upon his farm. This farm 

 is pretty extenfive: But I have a tenant, in die fame part of my eftate, 

 which lies among hills, who polTeires no more than 6 or 8 acres, 

 up( n which he has four families including his own ; and 1 have 

 on 'he fame part of n.y ellate, fcven tenants, each of whom polTefles 

 no more than 3 acres of arable land, and fome moorifli gound for 

 pafture, part of which thf'y have already cultivated ; and they pay 

 me no more than i 2 s. ior each acre of the arable land, and nothinjr 

 for the moor. I am rrvruadtd i ccnild more than double the rent 

 of their land by letting it off to one tenant : But I fliould be forrv 

 to increafe my rent by depopulating: any part of the countrv ; and 

 I keep thefe fmall tenants as a monument of the way in which, I 



Qjl believe, 



