778 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. 



oF the tenure, and the covenants contained in the lease ; the capital to be invested by the 

 farmer in its culture ; and the expenses to which he is liable. 



4791. The rent of poor land cannot possibly be the same as in the case of fertile lands. The labour of 

 ploughing, harrowing, sowing, &c., when the land is in cultivation, is nearly the same, and yet the produce 

 is greatly inferior, not only in quantity, but in quality. Indeed, where the produce is inconsiderable, or 

 the quality much inferior, the whole, or nearly the whole, may be swallowed up by the expense of labour, 

 and no rent whatever can be affbrded, more especially in adverse seasons. 



4792. The duration of the teimrc must have a considerable effect in fixing the rent. No farmer can 

 afford to pay the same sum for land on a short as if he held it on a long lease. The covenants, also, 

 which are in fact a species of rent, must influence the money payments. 



4793. Rent must also depend on the capital invested in the cultivation of the farm. Thus, if a farmer 

 can lay out only 4/. of capital per acre, he may not be able to afford for it a higher rent than 10*. per 

 acre ; if he lays out 11. he may pay 14s. ; and with a capital of 10/. per acre, he may be enabled to pay 18s. 

 or 2()s. of rent. 



4794. The proportion of produce which should he paid as rent, is a question that has long been 

 considered as abstruse, mysterious, and very difficult to resolve. Some have supposed that one fifth 

 was a reasonable proportion, while others contend for a fourth, or even a third part of the produce 

 of arable land. But all former calculations on this subject are rendered fallacious by the effects of 

 modern improvements. The rent ought certainly to depend upon the amount of the disposable produce; 

 and that produce in grain is greatly augmented, both by a diminution of the consumption on the farm, 

 effected by improved implements, and a more correct arrangement of labour, and likewise a better culti- 

 vation of the land in tillage. Hence, while the pricL> of wheat has greatly advanced during the last 

 twenty years, above the average price of the preceding twenty, the rent of land has not only risen, but in 

 a higher proportion. More grain, and that of a better quality, has been produced on the same extent of 

 land, and a greater amount of disposable surplus has gone to market. Out of this surplus disposable pro- 

 duce, it is evident that the rent must be paid. But it is diflScult to divide its amount between the landlord 

 and tenant, as so much depends upon the seasons, and on the prices of the different articles which the 

 farm produces. In bad seasons also, every deficiency of produce, in the acres set apart for supjiorting 

 home population, must be made up from the disposable surplus ; nor is it possible to apply the same rules 

 to all situations, soils, and climates, in all the various districts of an extensive country. It may be 

 proper, however, to give some general idea of the proportion of produce paid as rent in Scotland and in 

 England. 



4795. In Scotland, the following table states what is considered to be a fair proportion, where the land 

 is cultivated. One of the most scientific agricultural writers, and, at the same time, one who has had 

 much experience in farming, informs us that " this table is a statement of Sir John Sinclair, who wishes 

 to subject every thing to petty regulation ; and that there is no such proportion recognised in Scotland :" 



Per acre. 

 Where land produces 10/. 10s. per acre per annum, one third, or - - .S \\. 



Where land produces 6/. 12s. per acre per annum, one fourth, or - - - 1 13 



Where land produces only 4/. 5s. per acre per annum, one fifth, or - - - 17 



4796. In regard to gracing farms, they are let on principles totally diffferent from the arable; namely, 

 according to the quantity of stock they can maintain ; and as they are not liable to the same expense of 

 management, both the landlord and the tenant receive larger shares of the produce than in the case of 

 arable farms. 



4797. In England, the tenant is allowed, on arable land, what is considered to be one moiety of the 

 surplus, after defraying the expenses of cultivation, the taxes to which he is liable, and every other out- 

 going. Hay land requires much less of his attention ; and for this he only obtains one third of the surplus. 

 But the profits of grazing depending much on superior judgment in buying and selling stock, as well as 

 skill in preventing or curing tiieir diseases, the grazier is entitled to a share of the surplus, fully equal to 

 that of his landlord. It has been contended, as a general principle, that as both the expense of cultivating 

 land, and the value of its produce, are infinitely various, a farmer ought to calculate what profit he can 

 make on his whole farm, without entering into details : it being of little consequence to him whether he 

 pays at tlie rate of 10/. or lOs. per acre, provided he makes an adequate interest on the capital invested. 

 That is certainly a fair criterion on which a tenant may calculate what he ought to offer; but a landlord, 

 in estimating the rent he ought to insist on, will necessarily take into his consideration the produce that 

 his land is capable of yielding, and what'proportion of it, or of its value, at a fair average, he has reason to 

 expect, under all the circumstances of the case. 



4798. Tithe. In Scotland there is no tithe. In England, compositions for tithes are computed as six is 

 to twenty-two ; so is the composition for tithe to the rent : so that land averaging 10/. jOs. per acre would, 

 according to Sir John Sinclair's calculation, be charged for 



Rent - - . . . 2 n Ik 



Composition for tithe - . - - 19 4| 



S 11 



4799. What the profits are to which a farmer is entitled, is a question much disputed. The proper 

 answer is simply this : The common profits of capital invested in other commercial undertakings. As 

 the subject, however, will bear talking about, let us hear what is said in the Code on this subject. On the 

 one hand it is contended, that the produce of land is of such universal and absolute necessity to the 

 existence of mankind, that it is not reasonable it should yield to him who raises it more than a fair profit. 

 On the other hand it is urged, that a farmer is entitled to be fully recompensed for the application of a 

 considerable capital, exposed to the uncertainty of the seasons, when it is managed with economy, and 

 conducted with industry and skill ; and it has also been observed, that it is seldom more money is got by 

 farming than an adequate interest for the capital invested. This is owing to competition, the articles 

 produced being in numberless hands, who must bring them to market ; and necessity, the goods of the 

 farmer being in general of a perishable nature, on the sale of which he depends for the payments he has 

 to make, and the subsistence of his family. To prove how moderate the profits of farming in general are, 

 it appears from the most careful enquiries, that on arable farms they rarely exceed from ten to fifteen per 

 cent, on the capital invested, which is little enough, considering that few employments are more subject 

 to casualties than farming, or require more uniform attention. Some arable farmers, possessed of supe- 

 rior skill and energy, and who have got leases on reasonable terms, may clear from fifteen to twenty per 

 cent. ; while others, v/ho are deficient in these qualities, or pay too high rents, frequently become in- 

 solvent. Certain it is, that the great majority of farmers merely contrive to live and bring up their 

 families ; adding little or nothing to their capital, but that nominal addition which takes place in conse- 

 quence of the depreciation of the currency. 



4800. In grazing farms the case is different ; as they are attended with less expense of labour, and pro- 

 duce articles of a more luxurious description, for which a higher price will be given. Hence, in such 

 farms, fifteen per cent, and upwards is not unusual. Besides, the grazier is more of a trader than the 

 mere arable farmer ; is frequently buying as well as selling stock ; and sometimes makes money by judi- 

 cious speculations, though occasionally, from a sudden fall of stock, his losses are considerable. The 

 grazier who breeds superior stock, and thence incurs great expense, is certainly well entitled to more 

 than common profit for his skill and attention. 



