FRANCE. 137 



prevents the introduction of a different ar- 

 rangement of crops, till the land-tax is 

 new-modelled. And to this it is to be at- 

 tributed, that fuch amazing tracts in France 

 are quite uncultivated. Anjou, Maime, 

 Bretagne, Touraine, Poitou, Limofin, 

 Marche, Bureye, Nivernois, Bourbonnois, 

 and Auvergne, are more than half unculti- 

 vated, being heaths which yield nothing 

 but a little {heep-feed, and few half-flocked 

 with them. That land, occupied in the 

 fmalleft culture, yielded a produce furpri- 

 fingly fmall, which mutt be owing to the 

 poverty of the tenants, who, haying no- 

 thing but the value of their own labour, 

 and a little money to hire the reft, could 

 work no improvements. The flock of all 

 kinds being the landlords, the metayer, or 

 manager, is bound to keep it up to its full 

 value, which, in cafe of bad accidents, be- 

 ing totally unable to do, he is at once ruined, 

 and the lofs falls upon the landlord; and 

 the divifion of the produce being halves, 

 effectually deftroys all improvements. In 

 the miferable management common among 

 them, it may be found tolerably juflj but 

 in cafe of the matayer working any im- 

 provements 



