London to John O* Groat's. 



59 



latter days, or of the days to come, shear away these 

 beautiful tresses, and leave the brow and temples of the 

 Old Country they have graced bare and brown under 

 the bald and burning sun of material economy ? It is 

 not an idle question, nor too early to ask it. It is a 

 question which will interest more millions of the Eng- 

 lish race on the American continent than these home- 

 islands will ever contain. There are influences at work 

 which tend to this unhappy issue. Some of these have 

 been already indicated, and others more powerful still 

 may be mentioned. 



Agriculture in England has to run the gauntlet of 

 many pressing competitions, and carry a heavy burden 

 of taxation as it runs. These will be noticed hereafter, 

 in their proper connection. Farming, therefore, is 

 being reduced to a rigid science. Every acre of land 

 must be put up to its last ounce of production. Every 

 square foot of it must be utilised to the growth of 

 something for man or beast. Manures for different 

 soils are tested with as much chemical precision as 

 ever was quinine for human constitutions. Dynameters 

 are applied to prove the power of working machinery. 

 Labor is scrutinised and economised, and measured 

 closely up to the value of farthing's-worth of capacity. 

 A shilling's difference per acre in the cost of ploughing 

 by horse-flesh or steam brings the latter into the field. 



