FRANCE. 30* 



acrofs them, I did not once fee a fpot that 

 could not be cultivated, except bare rock, 

 which, however, is not common ; in moft 

 parts the foil is either a find or a bog, but 

 infinitely diverfified ; the lighteft and worft 

 fands of them would yield fine crops of car- 

 rots, potatoes, buck- wheat, rye, lentib, 

 and other roots and grains, if thrown into a 

 proper fyftem of management. There arc 

 vaft traces of fandy loam that would be fer- 

 tile in every production I have cultivated iti 

 my experiment field, and would yield fine 

 wheat. In a word, it is impoflible to be 

 owing to the badnefs of the foil that thefe 

 lands are not cultivated." 



To what is it owing then ? faid I. 



" Much the greateft part of them belong 

 to the King, and he and his Minifters have 

 too much employment to attend to them. 

 The Ministers, however, moft certainly at- 

 tend to matters of as little importance ; nor 

 would there be any thing very difficult in 

 the undertaking to bring them into culture. 

 They once encouraged M. Sulignac to at- 

 tempt it, by way of private work ; but, for . 

 want of capital fuffich-nt, the bufincfs 

 failed, and fevsral people got ruir.ed," 



\Vhat 



