xxii A Discourse on Agriculture. 



perior in quantity and advantage to those on lands newly re- 

 claimed from our forests, and supersedes the necessity of mi- 

 grating to the wilderness. Hence, the population remains 

 condensed ; instead of being scattered, and dehilitated hy the 

 absence of those who wander from old settlements and " the 

 busy haunts of men," to begin a new and toilsome career in 

 our unsubdued wastes. A propensity to wander for hunting, 

 or pasturage, has, from the earliest times, been a proof of ig- 

 norance in agriculture, and a test of bad husbandry. The 

 nations of old who inhabited the country wherein agriculture 

 originated, were celebrated for intelligence in this art. Whilst 

 others led an erratic life, they remained stationary, enjoying, 

 in fulness and plenty, the products of their well cultivated 

 fields; and some of them were as remarkable for scientific, 

 (so far as we know of the science of those remote ages,) as 

 for agricultural knowledge. 



No dread of superabundant plenty need to alarm us. For 

 if we can raise double the quantity of an article at the same 

 expense, we can undersell those less happily situated. If this 

 be done near markets and places of ready sale and export, our 

 profits are still the greater ; and our commerce and manufac- 

 tures would flourish in proportion to the cheapness and plenty 

 of our products. The skilful cultivators of lands in the vicin- 

 ity of such marts, would, evidently, be the most benefited by 

 improvement in their art. 



Our taxes are so comparatively small (however we may 

 complain of a temporary increase of them) and our public 

 burthens, in contrast with European imposts, so light ; that 

 no European people could, if our agricultural systems and 

 intelligence were more perfect, compete with us. England 

 is prominently powerful, and, though not free from great dif- 

 ficulties and depressions, prosperous ; with a heavier load of 

 debt and taxation than, I believe, any other nation. Her debt 

 exceeds 800,000.000 of pounds sterling ; whilst ours is stated 

 to be about 120,000,000 of dollars, being short of one year's 

 interest of the British national debt. Her taxes ( direct and 

 in addition to those on consumption) in 1814, were such, that, 

 according to Birbeck, (appendix to notes, pages 18, 19,) an 



