488 PRODUCE OF THE LAND IN GREAT BRITAIN. 



true average produce of the island. Mr. Macculloch estimates that of 

 wheat at 26 bushels an acre, barley at 32, and oats at 36. 



Sir Charles Lemon gives for the average produce of all England, and 

 for the highest and lowest county averages, the following numbers— 



While in Scotland, according to Mr. Dudgeon, the average produce 

 of corn is — 



Good land. Lighter land. 



Wheat - - - - 30 to 32 bushels. 22 to 26 bushels. 

 Barley - - - - 40 to 44 do. 34 to 38 do. 



Oats 46 to 50 do. 36 to 43 do. 



If these numbers of Sir Charles Lemon and of Mr. Dudgeon are to be 

 depended upon, the averages for the whole island cannot be far from 

 wheat 24 bushels, barley 34 bushels, oats 37 bushels, potatoes 6 tons, 

 and turnips 10 tons. 



Though even these, especially in regard to the root crops, must be 

 considered as in a considerable degree hypothetical.* 



What is the cause of the striking differences above exhibited between 

 the maximum produce of certain parts of the island and the average pro- 

 duce of the whole ? Are such differences necessary and unavoidable ? 

 Can the less productive lands not be made to yield a larger return ? 

 Can the large crops of the richer districts not be further increased, and 

 their amount kept up for an indefinite succession of seasons ? 



These interesting questions lie at the foundation of all agricultural im- 

 provement — and skill and science answer that, though differences to 

 a certain amount are unavoidable, yet that means are already known 

 by which the fertility of the richer lands may be maintained, and the 

 crops of the less productive indefinitely enlarged. 



§ 2. Of the circumstances by ivhich the produce of food is affected—' 

 climate, season, soil, S^-c. 



The quantity of food produced by a given extent of land is affected by 

 the climate, by the season, by the soil, by the nature of the crop, by the 

 variety sown or planted, by the geneidl method of culture, and by the ro- 

 tation or course of cropping that is adopted. 



1°. Climate. — That the warmth of the climate, the length of the sum- 

 mer, -and the quantity of rain that falls, influence in a remarkable degree 

 the amount of food which a district of country is fitted to raise, is fa- 

 miliar to every one. The warmth of the equatorial regions maintains a 

 perpetual verdure, while the short northern summers afford only a few 

 months of pasture to the stunted cattle. The difference of latitude be- 

 tween the extreme ends of our island produces a similay difference, though 

 in a less degree. The almost perennial verdure of the southern counties 



• In 1821, Mr. Wakefield estimated the average produce of wheat in all England at 17 

 bushels only— Devonshire producing an average of 20, and the lands netir the coast of Kent, 

 Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex, 40 bushels per acre. 



