INTRODUCTION. XXXlll 



Without doubt the superintendence of the labors on 

 an extensive domain, by an enlightened owner, is bene- 

 ficial to the advancement of agriculture ; and at the 

 same time that it is one of the most useful, it is one of 

 the most delightful and noble of all occupations ; but 

 if the improvements, which the proprietor of a large estate 

 can introduce, do not compensate for the advantages 

 which the small proprietor or farmer has over him, the 

 former may sacrifice his interests. The proprietors of 

 small farms are constantly at the head of the laborere, 

 and themselves assist in the performance of the work ; 

 they live at small expense, attend fairs and markets 

 frequently, and buy and sell to advantage ; they have 

 no overseers to pay, nor to feed ; their wives and daugh- 

 ters take care of the poultry-yard and dairy, and per- 

 form the labors of the house ; such are happy, when, at 

 the end of a year, they find some profit arising from the 

 labors of themselves and families. The large proprie- 

 tors, whose possessions are intrinsically of greater value, 

 do not enjoy any of these advantages ; and, if they do 

 not compensate for the absence of them by the exer- 

 cise of a superior kind of industry, they must Sustain 

 loss, where the husbandman derives gain. In order to 

 ensure success in any undertaking, it is not sufl5cient to 

 adopt a new method of proceeding. In agriculture, as 

 in every well-conducted enterprise, every thing should 

 be calculated, and the operations to be entered upon 

 should be regulated by a comparison of an estimate of 

 the expenses attending them, with an estimate of the 

 profits which may be rationally expected to arise from 

 them. Though a paradoxical statement, it is certainly 

 true, that a farmer may be ruined by a good harvest :j 

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