AGRICULTURE. 



must be carried to market, not at the sea- 

 son most advantageous, but almost im- 

 mediately after the harvest, in order to 

 enable the farmer to extricate himself 

 from immediate embarrassment, and pre- 

 pare the soil, inadequately as it must be 

 done in these circumstances, for fresh 

 cultivation. Commercial monopoly is con- 

 siderably favoured by tliis compulsion 

 upon the farmer for selling 1 at whatever 

 price is offered, and artificial scarcity, 

 though now not much to be dreaded in 

 this country, is more likely to originate 

 from this circumstance than any other. 

 Those grand operations of spreading marl 

 over large districts, at the rate of one hun- 

 dred and fifty tons per acre, of conveying 

 immense quantities of dung from towns 

 at the distance of twenty miles, of floating 

 meadows at the cost of five pounds per 

 acre, of draining lands at the expense of 

 three, of paying persons to reside in dis- 

 tant shires, or even countries, to acquire 

 superior practical information, or of im- 

 proving tile breeds of sheep and cattle, 

 by giving for the use of a single animal, 

 for a season, a price at which our ances- 

 tors would have been absolutely astonish- 

 tvl and confounded ; practices, which, 

 happily, have been far from uncommon in 

 tile British empire, and are daily adding, 

 perhaps more than any other cause, to 

 its stability and prosperity, have depend- 

 ed entirely upon abundant capital. Such 

 proccssesfor improvement might as easily 

 be expected in the management of those 

 small farms, former!} so highly extolled, 

 and now so justly in theory exploded, as 

 in the conduct of large tracts occupied 

 'inl\ 1>\ men of embarrassed means. The 

 supply of present exigencies preclude 

 t hose comprehensive and remote views, on 

 v. hich the success of the art most materi- 

 ally depends, and unthrifty savings and 

 corroding cares are substituted for the li- 

 !n nil expenses and ill-lighted hopes, 

 which must attend the skilful application 

 of comparative opulence. 



Finally, as UK.- art of husbandry is par- 

 ticularly intricate -and comprehensive, and 

 m rally personsof 



slight education, set lu Jed in a great de- 

 nn mutual intercoiUM and compa- 

 rative observation, ignorance may very 

 justly be considered ai an obstacle to its 

 improvement, perhaps th-j most op 

 of all. lust (.ad of bcir.g collected, like ar- 

 i cities, and posM-.Wm^ opportuni- 

 ties for animating curiosity, ana benefiting 

 by communication, thc\ arc scattered 

 n\ er the surface of the country, and ha\ e 

 cultivated generallv the same lands, aitd 



VOL. I. 



the same prejudices, as their ancestor, 

 for a series of generations. Unless ther* 

 be among the number of those cngagi-d 

 in this art, a certain proportion of person* 

 of intelligent and educated minds, capable 

 of turning the experience of themselves 

 and others to advantage, and deriving as- 

 sistance to agriculture, from the discove- 

 ries of other sciences or arts, it would be 

 vain in any country to expect its rapid ap- 

 proach towards that perfect standard, to 

 which every human effort should be re- 

 ferred. That the proportion of such cha- 

 racters has considerably increased of late 

 years in this country, is an observation no 

 less true than pleasing; and in the class 

 of pel-sons engaged in agricultural pur- 

 suits, it may be safely affirmed there ex- 

 ists much less tenacity of prejudice, a 

 far greater disposition to research, and 

 openness to conviction, than were to be 

 found in any former age. Even though, 

 in some instances, old and absurd rou- 

 tines of practice may have been maintain- 

 ed with more constancy, through the has- 

 ty projects and absurd expenses of some 

 innovatcrs, whose failure has checked the 

 spirit of improvement, and unjustly invol- 

 ved in one common ridicule all deviations 

 from ancient custom ; these effects, how- 

 ever much to be regretted, are only par- 

 tial, and information is still making it 

 way into the most remote recesses, and" 

 the most stubborn minds. With a view 

 to lessen the darkness and intricacy yet 

 connected with the subject, to prevent 

 random speculations and ruinous pro- 

 jects, with their ill consequences of every 

 kind, it may be observed, that it is of the 

 very iirst importance, that persons enga- 

 ged, particularly on a large scale, in the 

 profession of agriculture, should keep 

 correct accounts of all their transactions, 

 and of all their profits and losses. The 

 advantages of clear accounts are obvious 

 in every other occupation of life. Per- 

 sons who are engaged in speculations of 

 merchandize, to any extent, and who are 

 known not to attend to this department, 

 arc always supposed to be in dangerous 

 circumstances. Agriculturc-seemsby ma- 

 ny to be considered an exception to all 

 other species of business ; that it may bo 

 engaged in without preliminary study, 

 :.:>d is capable of being properly con- 

 ducted, even to a largi- i-Ment, with- 

 out any regular account-;, neet-- 



.uv admitted to be in other filia- 

 tions. >\ ith respect to experim-ntal 

 agriculture, no correct conclusion-, are 

 to be drawn but from correct and minute, 

 details. Suppositions drawn from gene- 



