FRANCE. 271 



of doubt. The ufual indolence, in matters 

 of real utility, of people of fafhion, is, I 

 fuppofe, the real reafon of it. 



" Another foil, which I poflefs in large 

 quantities, is a light thin ftratum of mould, 

 on a bed of rock, or very ftony ftratum. 

 This I tried in arable, with all forts of crops, 

 and found nothing that would anfwer well 

 on it ; rye and buck-wheat did the belt, 

 but even of them the crops were too fmall 

 to pay expences. Being informed by the 

 Marfhal D'Armentiers, that this was the 

 right fort for fainfoine, and that near Paris 

 it throve well on it, and that he had feen 

 it do the fame on the Rhine, I tried it. 

 My fuccefs I reckon one of the moft valuable 

 parts of agriculture ; that graft has thriven 

 fo well, that I mould fuppofe this poor hilly 

 barren land is, of all others, the beft for it. 

 It has lafted in good heart eleven years, 

 yielding generally about two loads an acre 

 of hay, which I have found of amazing 

 confequence in my fyftem of keeping as 

 much cattle as poflible ; nor does it yet fliew 

 any figns of wearing out. After that fine 

 product of hay, it afforded a very rich pa- 

 flure for all forts of cattle. This is the 



mofl 



