212 THE PRACTICE OF THE 



44 I by no means mean to decry the ufe of 

 " manure; I too well know its value; and 

 44 that fdrrner mud be very indolent, or ig- 

 ' norant, whofe lands are not fertile, if he 

 " can have it in plenty upon moderate terms, 

 " if he neglects it ; but the quantity of it is 

 64 limited, and not to be purchafed in the 

 44 quantities deiired : therefore, if land is not 

 " to be improved without manure, fome hun- 

 44 dred thoufands of acres can never be im- 

 " proved at all. 



' It may be faid, attempts of this kind 

 44 have been formerly made without fuccefs ; 

 44 and that much land, which has been in tillage 

 44 heretofore, now lies neglected, in the con- 

 44 dition above reprefented. This is certainly 

 44 true, and what I have frequently feen -, 

 " but proves nothing againft this plan of im- 

 44 provement, though a forcible impeachment 

 ** of the avarice or weaknefs of the occupier. 

 44 If men will facrifice all future advantage to 

 " a little increafed prefent gain, the fault is 

 44 their own, and not the lands they poflefs. 



" Suppofe a farmer fhould fpade and burn- 

 46 beat a tract of fuch land as above defcribed, 

 44 and reap a middling crop of wheat the firft 

 * 4 year, a thin crop of barley the fecond, and 

 44 a very poor crop of oats the third, not 

 '* enough to pay the expences of tillage; can 

 44 it be a wonder, that fuch land fhould for a 

 * 4 long feries of years be confidered as ab(b- 

 44 lutely barren and worthlefs ? Such a prac- 



44 tice 



