40 Situation. 



ted, that the promoting of internal communication, by means 

 of roads, bridges, iron railways, canals, rivers rendered na- 

 vigable, and harbours, is the most beneficial means that can 

 be adopted for the improvement of a country. It is well 

 known, that the best cultivated districts are those,- which 

 have the advantage of possessing the greatest facility of in- 

 ternal communication ; without which agriculture languishes 

 in the most fruitful districts, while, with it, the most un- 

 grateful soil soon becomes fertile ( I44 ). 



3. Another object deserving consideration is, the situation 

 of the farm in regard to manures ; for an easy access to lime, 

 chalk, marl, sea-weed, &c. is of essential advantage to cultiva- 

 tion. The rate at which these articles can be procured, their 

 quality, their distance, and the expense of conveyance, are 

 likewise of importance. Farms for example, possessing the 

 advantage of sea-weed contiguous, and in abundance, can 

 pay from 15 to 20 per cent, more rent, per acre, than other- 

 wise could be afforded ( I45 ). 



4. In the cold and moist regions of Europe, vicinity to 

 fuel, and its quality, are important considerations to the far- 

 mer. In the same county, even in England, the difference 

 of expense is often material. In the Hebrides, from the 

 moistness of the climate, the expense of fuel is reckoned 

 equal to a fourth part of the rent of the land ; and farmers 

 who pay L.I 50 per annum, would, in some cases, give L.200, 

 if the landlord would supply them and their servants with 

 fuel ( I46 ). Where a farmer is under the necessity of using 

 peat, from the labour attending the cutting, spreading, dry- 

 ing, and conveying it from a distance, several weeks of his 

 horses and servants are exclusively devoted to these purposes; 

 and much valuable time is lost, which ought to have been em- 

 ployed in the cultivation of his farm. It has been well re- 

 marked, that many farmers, to save five guineas on coal, 

 often expend twenty, in thus misapplying the labour of their 

 horses ( l47 ). Where wood is used, it occupies a great deal 

 of ground, that might often be cultivated to advantage; and 

 it is not of a lasting quality ( I4S ). Coal is preferable, for gene- 

 ral purposes, to every other species of fuel; and besides its 

 domestic application, its superiority for burning lime, that 

 important source of fertility, is an object of great moment. 

 The tenant, therefore, who resides in the neighbourhood of 

 coal, more especially if limestone, or calcareous substances, 

 are at no great distance, farms at less expense, can afford 

 to pay a higher rent, and may derive more profit from the 

 land he cultivates, than if in these respects he were different- 

 ly circumstanced. 



