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any purpose in which it may yield something, and the most 

 that it can be made to yield. 



There is likewise land, which is in permanent meadow ; 

 and which by no cultivation can be made so productive as in 

 its present condition. Leave this then as it is. It would be 

 very injudicious to disturb it. But on many farms there is 

 some land, which is turned into pasture and affords but a 

 scanty supply to the animals, which are fed upon it ; or which 

 remains in mowing, yielding a small crop of hay, which by 

 cultivation might be made to yield good crops of corn, pota- 

 toes, and grain ; and then be rendered far more productive of 

 grass than in its present state. I believe there is much land 

 in this condition ; and this induces the complaint that our 

 farms are too large for a profitable cultivation. Why should 

 such land remain uncultivated ? Why should you be satisfied 

 with less than half a crop 1 What would you say of the capi- 

 talist, who was bent upon increasing his fortune, who permit- 

 ted any portion of his capital, which he could use without loss, 

 to remain in his coffers unemployed ? What should we say of 

 the manufacturer, who should suffer any portion of his power 

 to run to waste, or of his machinery to be unemployed, or of 

 his raw material to lay by in useless accumulation, when it 

 might all be employed to more or less advantage ? He might 

 by such a process consult his ease, but certainly not the ad- 

 vancement of his fortune. We can say nothing different of 

 the farmer, who permits any portion of his grounds to remain 

 unemployed ; or who neglects to obtain from them all that 

 they can be made to produce. We believe that there is little 

 land of a kind which may be cultivated without loss, but what 

 may, by judicious and persevering labor, by a process within 

 the power of the farmer, whose means are restricted and hum- 

 ble, be placed in. a course of certain improvement, and afford 

 a fair profit to his exertions. 



The answer commonly given to these suggestions is, that 

 labor is so expensive we cannot afford to cultivate our land. 

 I adnr : t that the expense of labor is very high compared with 



