11 



POLITICAL ECONOMY. 



POLYANTRC& 



611 



In luly, the principal writer ol the present century on |lltical 

 eoaomywas MeJehioeTe UioU of Plaoensa, who dil in 

 was j urist . a moralist, and politician, as well u politic*! economist, 

 and a notice of bin work* and a abort account of hi* life are given 

 under hi* name in the P.i'.i.\rn. v Mere, how. . 



.hall dwell at more length upon his great wurk on political ec. my, 



NU..V.. Pruspetto delle Soienie Ecooomlsche,' Toll. 4u>, Milan, 

 1815-17. Uioia quota most of the writer., Italian and foreign, who 

 had preceded him, and endearoun to condense their various systems 

 and opinion* into a aeriei of principles with their legitimate deduction*. 

 He Ian down the following object* of the science : 1. To diminUh 

 the labour and the time employed in the production, u well a* to 

 diminish the quantity of tlte raw dement* employed ; in short, to 

 produce with as little labour, time, anil coit a* possible. 2. To increaae 

 the quantity, perfection, and durability of the thing* produced. 8. The 

 mean* of obtaining the abore results eon*it in power, which i* increased 

 by capital, machinery, credit, association. <litril>ution of labour, in 

 knowledge of the mean* to improve, ami will or activity, win. l> in 

 strengthened by liberty, accurity , and enlightened opinion of the people 

 in general. A groat port of the work in in a tabular form, with quota- 

 tion* and original remarks. Speaking of the influence of the government 

 on the production, distribution, and oooiumption of wealth, Qioia note* 

 a number of case* in which that influence may be useful, and a numK-r 

 of other* in which it is injurious. Under the first head he reckon* 

 the construction of good road*, the distribution of court* of justice in 

 . to save time and expense to suitor* ; the establishment 

 of piiMii- lilirarics. consisting of useful books, of collections of natural 

 history, anil of philosophical instruments, botanical garden*, Ac. ; the 

 fonntUtion of gratuitous elementary schools in every commune, and of 

 schools of arts and trade* in every town ; freedom of the press ; the 

 ending well-informed travellers into foreign countries to examine and 

 report the discoveries and improvements made in each. Among the 

 ease* in which the influence of the government is injurious, Uioi.i 

 reckons 1, too heavy taxation, which, by gradually dimini<hii>K the 

 disposable capital, prevent* its being employed in making improve- 

 ments ; 2, the grant of public money to monastic establishments ; 

 3, the unequal distribution of public burdens ; 4, the payment of 

 the judges by fees on the causes which they decide, which U still the 

 csse in several countries of the Continent, instead of a fixed salary 

 sufficient to place them above temptation ; 6, the inculcation or tole- 

 ration of popular superstition, false miracles, and impostors ; 6, the 

 tribunal of the Inquisition and other inquisitorial censorships, index of 

 forbidden books, Ac. Oioia is an advocate for large masses of pro- 

 perty, large manufactories, and great commercial cities. His exposition 

 of the advantages of large farms over small ones induced the govern- 

 ment of Piedmont to repeal the decree by which the rice-grounds 

 belonging to the crown or the communes were to be parcelled out into 

 nail holdings. Oioia gives the preference to arts over agriculture, 

 and he is the only one among the Italian political economists who has 

 established the principle of the " association of labour " (as in the case 

 of joint-stock companies) as an important source of wealth, and has 

 descanted upon its advantages. Qioia wrote also his ' Filosofia delta 

 SUtutica,' which may bo considered as an appendage to his work on 

 l-.litical economy. [OIOIA, in Bioo. Div.] 



The other Italian writers on political economy in the present century 

 are 1. liessi, who in 1808 published a work ' Dell' Economia delta 

 Specie Umana,' 4 vols. Svo. 2. Carlo Bosellini of Modena, who pub- 

 li-li. .1, in 1817, ' Nuovo Eaame delle Sorgenti della Privata e Pubblica 

 Ricchexza.' . 3. Oiuseppe Pecchio, who wrote, 1, ' Soggio Storico sull' 

 Amministnunone Kinanxiera dell' ex Regno d' Italia, dul 1802 al 181 4,' 

 London, 1826, in which he treated of various subjects connected with 

 political economy ; 2, ' L'Anno Mille Ottocento Ventisei dell' Inf?hil- 

 torra,' Lugano, 1827, in which he treats of the commercial crisis which 

 took place in England in 1826, and of its causes, effects, and remedies ; 

 S, ' Storia dell" Economia Pubblica in Italia,' Lugano, 1829, a work to 

 which the writer of this article is mainly indebted for his account of 

 the Italian writer* on political economy. At the end of the work, 

 Pecchio draws a parallel between the Italian and the English econo- 

 



Pew English writers on political economy would however admit his 

 to be an accurate statement of their opinions and of the objects of the 

 eiencs as they conceive them. They would also contend that the 

 objects of the science as conceived by the Italian economists are too 

 numerous and too vague to allow of any scientific treatment, nn<l that 

 subjects are blended together by the Italian writers which are capable 

 ig separated and of being confined within distinct and definite 

 lirniu. Huch an objection to the system of the Italian economists is 

 well founded ; and the objects of the English economists may be com- 

 pletely defended U their views are simply limited to investigat 

 elements on which depend the actual production, distribution, m.i 

 accumulation of wealth in any given community at any given time. 

 Thin U a field of inquiry sufficiently extensive, nnd when it ha* been 

 adequately examined, and not before, we can pas* from the determi- 

 nation of what is to what ought to ! any one of those elements on 

 which national wealth depends. It would seem almost superfluous to 

 observe that in determining what are the elements of the actual pro- 

 duction of a nation, all the elements must be ascertained : the whole 

 ondition of the people must therefore be ascertained, that is, the 



whole political system must be examined, in order to ascertain what it 

 is, and ths state nf all the several clasar* of the community must be 

 ascertained ; every law that interfere* with a man's action* must be 

 examined, and every restraint that is laid on the disposal of his pro- 

 perty. But such an inquiry would bo infinite, and yet such an inquiry 

 if necessary in order to ascertain what u, and it in quite a di 

 matter from determining what Auuld be. It follow* from these 

 remarks, that Uie English writer* have conceived the science in a way 

 much more limited, but better defined, than the Italian, and yet that 

 even the English writer* very inadequately investigate any one branch 

 of political economy, even as they conceive it. Still their inqu 

 any given branch of the subject may terminate in a result approaching 

 to the truth, and such a rc*ult may be capable of a practical appli- 

 cation. 



POLLARDS are trees which have had their top* repeatedly cut off 

 for the sake of the faggot-wood, which U used for burning and heating 

 bakers' ovens. The appearance of an old pollard may, in particular 

 situations, be thought picturesque, but nothing can be more unsightly 

 in a landscape than rows of pollards bordering every inclosure, as seen 

 in some countries. It is only in the case of a few trees of quick 

 growth, such as willows and poplint, that there is a proiit in making 

 |>ollards of them. Where wood is required for fuel, it is better to 

 plant a good coppice interspersed with timber-tree* ; and if this be 

 done judiciously on good sound land, the quantity taken from :!. 

 form for this purpose will be as profitable a* if it had been kept in 

 rultivation. Trees are often planted in soiU which are not w.'iili 

 cultivating ; and hence the profit from a good coppice is usually under- 

 rated ; but if the damage done to the land by the roots and xl 

 trees be taken into the account, it will be found that it U more 

 profitable to have the wood growing by itself. 



On the margin of low riven running through marshy gruuiio-. it 

 may be profitable to plant willows, poplars, and other soft-wooded and 

 rapidly-growing trees, in order to lop them at stated intervals. Their 

 timber would be of little value if they were left in their natural state ; 

 but being lopped every seventh year, they produce rods and faggots, 

 which are readily diaposed of. Hence the common saying that "a 

 willow will buy a horse before on oak will buy the saddle." 



To manage pollards advantageously the head of the tree should be 

 cut off at a moderate height while the tree is young, and the shoots 

 which spring from the crown must bo frequently cut off before they 

 begin to branch out. Thus a good head is formed, throwing out many 

 shoots, which may then be left to grow till they ore of a useful size. 

 The willow take* root so readily, that if a branch twelve or fourteen 

 feet long is put two feet into the ground, it will grow, and form a tree 

 at once, which after a few loppings will become a pollard. 



If the appearance of rows of pollards is unsightly, the cutting the 

 side branches of trees in hedgerows, leaving only a little tuft nt the 

 top, is much worse. No branch abovo ten feet from the ground should 

 ever be permitted to be cut by a tenant, nor the top of any tree to be 

 cut off in order to make a pollard of it, and a clause to that effect, with 

 a severe penalty, should be inserted in every lease. 



POLLUX. jOEiiiNi.1 



POLY.VNTIIUS TUBERO'SA, or the Tuberose (a corruption of 

 Plantc Tub(reute), is a tuberous-rooted plant highly prized for the 

 delicious fragrance of its flowers, on which account it is cultivated in 

 the wanner parts of both the old and new world. It is stated to bo an 

 Indian plant introduced into England in 1620; it had howov, 

 cultivated in Europe a century earlier. It is more probably of South 

 American origin; as a wild tuberose, Polyanthes grecilis, linn > . . n 

 found in South Brazil, which is probably the origin of the ; 

 plant. 



The tuberose is too tender a plant to be cultivated in England in 

 the open air; but in the south of Europe it finds a climate suitable t 

 it ; and the Genoese supply the principal part of the European n 

 with tubers for forcing. The latter are imported into this country 1 >y 

 the Italian oilmen, who sell them, with orange-trees, Narcissus roots, 

 and similar products of the south. 



In selecting tuberoses for planting, the largest tubers should be pre- 

 ferred, as the smaller ones will often not flower. All offsets should l>c 

 carefully picked off, so a* to concentrate the vegetation in a single eye. 

 They should be planted in March or April, in pots, in a sandy loam, 

 and forced in a hotbed, with as much bottom heat as is given to a 

 melon. The eye should be about an inch below the surface of the 

 soil. Very little water should be given till the plants are gn> 

 but when once in a state of vigour, they may be supplied copiously. 

 An alniiid. nice of light and air should be given the plants as soon as 

 they begin to grow, and this should l>e sedulously attended to n 

 as they remain in the hotbed ; it will however soon be necessary, on 

 account of their height, to remove them to the greenhouse, win re 

 they must be placed near the glass, and their roots still exposed to a 

 temperature similar to that from which they were taken. As soon as 

 they show their flowers, but not sooner, they may be removed to the 

 Hitting ro">n. when their flowering will be completed. 



POLTJUITHU8,* gudaa variety of the oxlip primrose, with 1 

 flowers, is one of those plants which have from time iiiiin . 

 favourites in gardens. It was probably obtained byacci<i 

 now propagated either by seeds or division of its root. Florists 

 require that a good variety of this flower should possess a strong 



