AGRICTJLTUKE. 143 



to his affairs at home, and does not altogether leave the 

 whole concerns of his farm to an inspector, he cannot help 

 keeping things together, if his estate is unencumbered, and 

 he has learnt to regard it as a family home. But far dif- 

 ferent is the case with a young man, who upon the strength 

 of an early marriage, purchases an estate on mortgage, 

 and saddles himself with a yearly burden in the shape of 

 interest, which the produce of his farm can scarcely pay, 

 (certainly not in the way he is obliged to farm it through a 

 want of capital, and at the usual rate in which he begins to 

 live), and, therefore, on his outset into life, hampers him- 

 self with a debt of which, (unless by some lucky circumstance 

 or other he is enabled to sell his estate at an advanced price) 

 he may never be able to clear himself; and it is just these 

 young men who are looking out for an estate to bring a new 

 married wife home to, who are so eagerly sought after by 

 land speculators, " worth always ten per cent, at least on the 

 purchase-money," as an old land dealer once observed to me. 

 It is my opinion that at the present time estates here, 

 especially in Wermland, have been driven up to a false 

 value, by the mania of land speculation. Many seem to 

 think that the value of estates is yearly rising in Sweden, 

 and that it would be a good speculation to buy up land at 

 its present price, and hold it till a rise in the market. This, 

 I confess, I can hardly see, but I fancy that with ready 

 money, many farms might be bought cheap, and if only Swe- 

 den remains at peace, land will certainly rise in value. The 

 Swedish prices for grain are regulated entirely by those 

 of England, and with the English markets in their present 

 state, it is hardly likely that much rise will take place in corn 

 in Sweden, for, taking the price of oats in England as high 

 as 22s., the Swedish farmer can never reckon on selling his 

 at home, for more than 16s. the quarter. We have shown 

 the returns which the land gives in its present state, and 

 what it might be made to yield if a proper capital were 

 laid out on it; but in their present state as far as I can 

 see, estates are about at their full value. Doubtless, a 

 man who knows his business, and buys his land with ready 



