240 



Raising Sheep at the West. — Sketch of the Corn Laws. Vol. X. 



a store of raw materials of every kintl; with 

 water power incalculable; with coal in in- 

 exhaustible supplies, lying at the very door; 

 with skilful heads and vigorous liands to turn 

 them all to best account, there is no branc'i 

 of manufactures which is not, or may not 

 be, made available to Jerseymen. Paterson, 

 Newark, Belleville, Dover, Trenton, and 

 Bridgeton, need but sufficient capital and 

 enterprise to be our Manchester, our Shef- 

 field, and our Birmingliam. While, for 

 commercial purposes, inland and foreign, 

 our noble canals, our most efficient rail- 

 roads, the majestic Delaware, the broad 

 Atlantic — New York and Philadelphia, as 

 much our ports as if they lay upon our 

 waters, give us at once a vast home market, 

 and the market of mankind. 



Raising Sheep at the West. 



An opinion has been very prevalent for a 

 long time at the East, that sheep can be fed 

 nearly throughout the year on the natural 

 pastures of the prairies. Though we have 

 never entertained this opinion ourselves, yet 

 we have been unwilling to speak of it with- 

 out more definite information than we have 

 hitherto had. We have made extensive in- 

 quiries on the subject recently, and have 

 further testimony of some authentic written 

 sources, and particularly from the editor of 

 the Prairie Farmer, which induces us to 

 state most explicitly, that all such opinions 

 are entirely unfounded. 



The herbage on the rolling prairie is fre^ 

 quently of a choice quality for grazing pur- 

 poses, abounding as it does, in a variety of 

 nutritious grasses, the wild pea, &c., &c. 

 But this does not usually spring up in suffi- 

 cient abundance to afford a full bite before 

 May, and the first severe frosts of autumn 

 injure it to such an extent, as to make it en- 

 tirely worthless to sheep. A few days' pas- 

 turage on it, in this condition, will kill off 

 sheep as rapidly as rot. Excepting some 

 three or four of the summer months, then, 

 the prairies are worthless as sheep-walks, 

 and other sources than the natural pastures 

 must be provided for them. This can only 

 be done by preparing sufficient pasturage 

 from the cultivated grasses. On these they 

 can subsist as on similar pastures elsewhere; 

 but the rigors of the cold weather will ren- 

 der ample provision necessary for the late 

 fall, winter, and early spring months, as with 

 us. Good grass, straw, pea or bean vines, 

 grain and roots, are just as essential to the 

 health, thrift, and production of sheep on the 

 prairies, as in similar latitudes at the east. 



The profits of sheep-raising at the West 

 must, therefore, be reduced to an approxi- 



mate level wilh those elsewhere. Tlien the 

 low price of land is in their favour; here, 

 proximity to market, and the higher piice of 

 mutton, give us a decided advantage; and 

 the improvements made here in fences, 

 roads, buildings, &c., may well nigh neu- 

 tralize the difference in the first cost of 

 land. Certain it is, that the advantages of 

 sheep-raising in the W^est are not such as 

 to alarm our Eastern shepherds, from an ap- 

 prehension that their business will be taken 

 out of their own hands. It is now, and pro- 

 bably will continue to be a lucrative occu- 

 pation with our Western husbandmen, and 

 as such, should enter largely into their ar- 

 rangements; but its monopoly can nowhere 

 be secured, we believe, on this continent. — 

 American Agricullurisl. 



Sketch of the Corn Laws. 



A SHORT summary of the history of the 

 Corn Laws cannot fail at this moment to 

 prove interesting. The first act for regu- 

 lating the rates of duty, was 13th Geo. III., 

 c. 48. Previous to the passing of that act, 

 the statutes or orders in Council on the sub- 

 ject were rather dictated by circumstances, 

 such as prosperous and deficient harvests, 

 than any intelligible and settled principles. 

 Usually, a greater quantity of corn was 

 grown than was required for our own con- 

 sumption. When there was a scarcity the 

 exportation of all kinds of grain was pro- 

 hibited, and even bounties offered for im- 

 portations from abroad. When, on the other 

 hand, there was a glut in the country, boun- 

 ties were offered for its exportation. From 

 an early period, certainly as early as the 

 reign of Henry VI., the principle of protec- 

 tion to home-grown corn, has been invaria- 

 bly maintained by our legislature. In the 

 reign of James I., the importation of foreign 

 wheat was prohibited when the price in the 

 English market was below 32s. per quarter; 

 and in the reign of Charles II., when the 

 commerce of England became more extend- 

 ed, it seems a complete sliding scale was es- 

 tablished, the duty on foreign wheat being 

 16s., when the price here was 53s. per quar- 

 ter or under; '&s. when between 53s. and 

 80s.; and when above the last price all im- 

 ports to be allowed free. The same line of 

 policy may be traced pervading the whole 

 of the succeeding changes in the laws until 

 1773, when they assumed a more constant 

 and regular shape. By the act of 13 Geo. 

 III., the duty was 24s. 3(/., when wheat was 

 under .50s. per quarter, and when the price 

 was at or above .54s. the duty was Gd. These 

 rates seemed to have been fixed with a view 

 of keeping the price of wheat as nearly as 



