FARMERS' REGISTER— MANGOLD WURZEL. 



745 



the more recent testimony of Mr. Gawler; who, 

 under all the disarlvantages of an indifferent soil, 

 and a quantity of land inadequate to the charge of 

 a bailiff, and pursuinc^ an unostentatious system of 

 husbandry, unmarked by any jjccidiarity of man- 

 agement or extraordinary expenditure, yet admits, 

 in the very instructive account of 'his farm lately 

 published, that he has succeeded in deriving a net 

 average profit from its produce, much more coiisi- 

 derable than any rent he could have obtained from 

 a tenant; and has had, besides, the advantage of 

 keeping the property in a state of neatness, the 

 fences in a state of repair, and the land in progres- 

 sive improvement, uninjured by (exhaustion.* 



It is, indeed, evident, that all those staple manu- 

 factures, which contribute to the supply of our ab- 

 solute necessities, must always yield a fair return, 

 upon an average of years, upon the capital employ- 

 ed, or they would be abandoned. Even the so 

 much dreaded importation of foreign corn, would 

 have no other permanent effect than to cause so 

 much land to be thrown out of cultivation as, by 

 diminishing the supply, would maintain prices at a 

 remunerating rate; and farming v/ouid still conti- 

 nue upon the same footing as brewing and malting, 

 or tanning and v.eaving, or any other of the great 

 manufactures of the country. A temporary re- 

 duction of prices would no doubt ensue, farming- 

 stock would sutrer in proportion, and, if the altera- 

 tion were sudden, much individual embarrassment 

 ■would be created; but corn cannot long continue 

 to be sold for less than it costs to produce it, and 

 Great Britain must ever rely upon'her own soil 

 for the chief supj)ly of her wants, for, were her 

 ports thrown open to the unrestricted admission of 

 grain, it is not in the power of the united surplus 

 capital and industry of the world to meet them. 

 Rents may fall ; but farming profits caimot ; and, 

 so long as there are consumers for the products of 

 the land, so long will husbandry continue to reim- 

 burse those who embark in it with adequate means 

 and knowledge. 



Agriculture possesses, too^ the advantage of pre- 

 senting a wider range than most trades, for the 

 exertion of skill and industry; and if it does not 

 so often lead to wealth, it affords a surer compe- 

 tence, and is less subject to total failure. It is 

 very important tliat these encouragements to the 

 application of capital to the soil should be generally 

 understood; for the national prosperif^^ is involved 

 in its success as the main-spring of all industry, 

 and in that every man in tiie kingdom, from the 

 wealthiest peer to the poorest laborer, is interested. 

 The term " National Prosperity" is very com- 

 monly applied merely to the resources of govern- 

 ment, and although these are derived from the 

 common stock, it is yet difficult to convince a poor 

 man, that he, who apparently sliares none of the 

 national wealth, can be at all concerned in its 

 amount. But although money may be accumula- 

 ted in a few hands, and there remain inactive, and 

 useless to the community, yet the fruits of the 

 earth cannot lie so hoarded; when once produced 

 Ihey must be distributed among the people, for no 

 one can consume more than a certain quantity; 

 and in proportion to the amount, each individual 

 gets more or less, as his share. Each may not be 



* Libraiy of Useful Knowledo-e, Farmer.s' Series, No. 

 7 ; Report of a Farm in North Hants, by Henry G aw- 

 er, Esq., p. 5. 



Vol. 1.— 94 



able to procure as much as he wants ; but he cer- 

 tainly would obtain still less, if less were produced 

 in proportion to the poi)ulation. Every increase 

 of product, however slight, and although only ap- 

 parently beneficial to those who directly profit by 

 it, is therefore eventually advantageous to the whole 

 nation ; and not only is more food thus obtained, 

 but work, by which it may be purchased, is also 

 provided in the growth and manufacture of raw 

 material. The whole wealth of the world has been 

 acquired by labor. In the early stages of society, 

 it was solely employed to procure food and shelter; 

 but wh.en the course of civilization taught a more 

 economical and effectual application of its power, 

 it was found tliat a few individuals could supply the 

 wants of many. Hence the su}>erfluous number 

 became manufiicturers; and, as the arts advanced, 

 and machinery was invented, those conveniences 

 were gradually introduced which have now become 

 indispensable to our comforts. The list of these 

 has grown with the progress of knowledge and re- 

 finement, and many things, which in the infancy of 

 society were deemed luxuries, are now included 

 among our most common necessaries. Thus, in 

 every country, the condition of the people is seen 

 to depend upon the degree of skilful labor which it 

 can command : but tlic plougls is the prime mover 

 of all, for until a sufficiency of food be produced 

 for the common consumption, noone can be spared 

 from the cultivation of the land; and it is obvious, 

 tliat in proportion to the jicrfection of that cultiva- 

 tion will be the amount of subsistence obtained, 

 and the number of spare hands left for other pur- 

 poses. The means of" support in other brandies of 

 industry being thus secured, the demand for the 

 produce of the land increases along with the pro- 

 duce of that lalior ; more hands are then required 

 for its cultivation, and these again require more 

 manufactures. Thus industry and wealth keep 

 pace with agriculture, and, each stimulating the 

 other, contril)ule to the national prosperity. That 

 such is the effect of agriculture on the welfare of 

 tlie community, is proved by the history of its pro- 

 gi'essive improveinent, and of the consequent 

 change in the mode of living in this country ; of 

 which a brief sketch may not, perhaps, be either 

 irrelevant to our subject, or wholly unacceptible 

 to the general reader. 



MANGOLD WURZEL.* 



Report of the committee of the Doncaster Ag- 

 ricultural Association on the advantages of man- 

 gold v.'urzel, as a fallow crop. Founded on returns 

 received in answer to the queries issued by the 

 committee of London, 1830. Pamph. 8vo, pp. 7. 



" The advantages of mangold wurzel are these: 

 It is more sure to plant, being veiy little liable to 

 the fly or grub ; it will produce more weight; it 

 is off the land earlier; it is useful as a change of 

 fallow crop, when the land is tired of turnips; it 

 will grow on land where turnips cannot be raised; 

 it is better spring food. On the other hand, in 

 favor of Swedish turnips, it may be said, that the 

 weeding and singling out are less expensive; there 

 is rather more time for fallowing in the spring; the 

 succeeding crop is better than after mangold wur- 

 zel. Perhaps cattle feed best on Swedish turnips 

 when they are used alone. It must however, be 



* Erroneously .spelled Mangel Wurtzel. 



