24 AMERICAN HUSBANDRY. 



Saxon descent, the influence of England is felt in 

 every department of our social condition ; in our re- 

 ligion, literature, and laws ; and, perhaps, is as po- 

 tent as anywhere in the usages and practices that 

 belong to the cultivation of the earth. In our im- 

 plements used on the farm, we copy from English 

 models ; in improving our breeds of horses, sheep, 

 and cattle, we look to stock imported from England ; 

 in our horticulture and floriculture we follow the ex- 

 ample of English planters and gardeners ; and in our 

 farming operations, in culture, and in the selection 

 of grains, the influence of that country is paramount. 

 It is necessary, then, to inquire how far we may 

 safely follow such an example, and in what respects 

 "we ought to deviate; or when it becomes necessary 

 to do so. 



To determine this question correctly, it is neces- 

 sary to take into consideration the position of the 

 two countries, so far as regards climate, soil, and 

 population, and their influence on plants and the 

 prices of labour. In general, it mav be laid down 

 as a correct position, that the diflferencf between the 

 soils of the two countries is not of a kind to render 

 any diff'erence of culture important. The analysis 

 of soils effected by Sir Humphrey Davy, the geolog- 

 ical structure of the British inlands, and the exten- 

 sive and minute reports made on the soils in the ag- 

 ricultural surveys of the several counties, show that 

 there is no essential difference between the compo- 

 sition of the greater part of the British soils and ours. 

 Peat and bog soil alone is found more extensively 

 diffused than with us ; but this has little influence 

 on the general progress or course of agriculture. 



Two or three facts, which should cause every one 

 to pause and reflect, meet us in the beginning of our 

 inquiries. One of these is, that, with a population 

 of ten millions engaged in agriculture, we are not 

 iille to, or, rather, do not provide bread for fourteen 

 millions ; and another is, that Great Britain, v ith an 



