AMERICAN HUSBANDRY. 



has a mixed population of the various classes of so- 

 ciety. If the average produce of . .ich acre of land 

 is but ten dollars, it is l>;m ly sufficient to cover ex- 

 penses and to feed the dinner's family. Having 

 nothing to sell, the farmer, of course, cannot buy ; 

 or, if he buys, he cannot pay the merchant, the man- 

 ufacturer, or the mechanic ; nor can he support the 

 ifcwyer, the physician, the schoolmaster, or the cler- 

 gyman. But if every acre be made to yield thirty 

 dollars' worth of produce annually, which most 

 lands, properly managed, are capable of doing, the 

 twenty dollars, or two thirds of the whole product 

 of the soil, become virtually a circulating medium. 

 It is so much surplus wealth created by the agricul- 

 tural labour of the town. Now let us suppose, far- 

 ther, that the lands in the town amount to twenty 

 thousand acres. Under the reckless system of 

 management which too generally prevails, and 

 which, upon the average, does not produce over ten 

 dollars an acre on old improved lands, the product 

 would be barely sufficient to maintain the agricul- 

 tural population, without adding to their wealth, or 

 enabling them to buy of the merchant or others the 

 necessaries and comforts which they stand in need 

 of. I am aware that this does not hold good in 

 practice ; for even the most shiftless farmers buy ; 

 but if they pay, it is at the expense of many of the 

 substantial comforts of life, or perhaps, ultimately, 

 of their farms, which they might continue to enjoy, 

 and to increase in value, under a more enlightened 

 system of management. But under the improved 

 system, which we have not graduated high at thirty 

 dollars per acre, and which is under the average 

 product of well-cultivated lands both in Europe and 

 America, the aggregate agricultural labour of the 

 town would give an annual increase to its wealth of 

 four hundred thousand dollars. Is there, then, an in- 

 telligent, reflecting man, who cannot see and appre- 

 ciate the advantages to society, to the state, and to 



