22 Sweden. 



come in with and improve his farm when he has once entered j 

 and hampered with a debt which keeps him poor, he is unable to 

 make any improvements on his farm which would increase his 

 yearly returns. Of course this is not always the case ; many clear- 

 sighted men will make a good thing of it ; but it is the general 

 rule. If every man (unless, indeed, he saw it was a safe specula- 

 tion) would limit his purchase to half his capital, or rent his land 

 upon a long lease, we should then see agriculture flourish in this 

 land, and not till then. When a man can help his farm, and stick 

 to it, it is sure to give a good return j and this is proved by the 

 peasants, who, notwithstanding their generally slovenly state of 

 cultivation, by careful living and industry always contrive to lay by 

 something. Do not, however, misunderstand me. I do not in the 

 least blame a man for buying a farm, if he sees he can make more 

 out of it as interest for his capital than he can get elsewhere. But 

 this speculation is carried on almost to gambling j and many a man 

 who buys an estate knows very little how to cultivate it to the best 

 advantage. There is a loan society here which will always advance 

 one-half of the purchase-money, but they have the first claim on 

 the estate, and the mortgagees who lend the other half (for very 

 often land is mortgaged up to the whole of the sum that it costs) 

 have, I should fancy, a very poor security for the remainder. There 

 are more ways of entering a farm here than one. Very often the 

 cattle and implements go with the estate, and, in the case of 

 renting, the whole stock is taken at an inventory, to be replaced at 

 the expiration of the term, by which means it is possible for a man 

 to come into his farm with scarcely a shilling. But I think that a 

 tenant who really means to start right, and stock his farm properly, 

 should enter it with about 2/. or 2,1. IDS. capital per acre, and in 

 this case, if he understood his business, he would be sure of a good 

 and certain return. One great advantage a good working farmer 

 would have in taking a farm here is this he would pay only for 

 the cultivated land ; and as there is generally nearly as much waste 

 land on each estate as that which is under the plough, but equally 

 good (wanting only working), he could if he got a long lease 



