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ty of employments open to its people. The excellence wliich Brit- 

 ish agriculture has reached is due in a considerable degree to the 

 dense population of the British isles, and the number of local mar- 

 kets which have been thus created ; and this dense population is 

 due to the great natural resources of the country, and the judi- 

 cious policy by which they have been fostered and developed. 

 The coast of England abounds in harbors, and its considerable riv- 

 ers are not interrupted by breaks and falls ; and are thus naviga- 

 ble for a lonsc distance from their mouths. This characteristic of 

 their rivers denies them the abundant water power which we pos- 

 sess ; but this want is compensated by the boundless steam power 

 which their coal mines furnish. England presents the remarkable 

 and anomalous spectacle of a nation in which less than one-sixth of 

 the population are engaged in producing food for the other five- 

 sixths. The brilliant results of British agriculture, and the pro- 

 gress it has made since 1815, are owing to this disproportion, and 

 to the wealth which commerce and manufactures have been pour- 

 ing into their lap. Every man in England who acquires wealth in 

 commerce or manufactures, invests more or less of it in land ; and 

 amuses himself with the expensive luxury of gentleman farming. 

 ]Mr. Mechi, one of the best farmers in England, and one of the 

 best writers on agricultural subjects, is a tradesman in London, 

 carrying on a large business. The profits he derives from his 

 business he invests in a farm, which it is his pride to make a model 

 establishment in every respect. Every thing that money can buy 

 is bought, and every thing that knowledge can do, is done, to fur- 

 ther this object. No matter how expensive an experiment may 

 be, he is ready to try it if it gives a fair promise of success. Nor 

 is he by any means a solitary or exceptional case. 



The Massachusetts farmer has yet another advantage, in which 

 his English brother shares with him. I refer to the railroads by 

 which the State is veined and arteried, and by which so healthy a 

 circulation is kept up between producers and consumers. These 

 railroads are a pure and unqualified benefit to the farmer. They 

 have been built, for the most part, by capital accumulated in trade 

 or manufactures. The beneficial influences of railroads are two- 

 fold. They save time and money in the transport of the pro- 

 ducts of farms, live stock included ; and enable the farmer to make 

 use of distant markets. This is a direct and tangible benefit, the 



