til AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF cbap. r<> 



4/, The endurance of leases is another point 

 of important consideration. This must be re- 

 gulated by circumstances, according to which it 

 may be longer or shorter, without injury to the 

 occupant, or to the improvement of the soil. 

 Grass grounds, which are meant by the propri- 

 etor to be broken up, with the sole view of de- 

 stroying the fog, and renewing the pasture gras- 4 

 ses, may be let for such a number of years only 

 as shall be sufficient for that purpose, and the 

 tenant bound to a certain rotation of crops, and to 

 lay it down again in grass. But when the farm 

 is meant to be under the plough, and constantly 

 in the hands of the farmer, the duration of the 

 lease ought to be longer. No farm, whatever 

 be its state of cultivation, ought to be let for a 

 shorter period than 1 9 years. The operations 

 of husbandry are slow : many years may elapse 

 before the farmer can bring his plans to bear, 

 even when no extraordinary improvements are 

 necessary : the period of reimbursement is dis- 

 tant, and his returns, depending on numberless 

 accidents, precarious. Add to these considera- 

 tions, the damage attending frequent removals, 

 change of situation, and new plans of manage- 

 ment which his new farm may require. When 

 these circumstances are attended to, it will ap- 

 pear that 1 9 years possession is sufficiently short 

 to give him a fair chance of securing the inte^ 

 rest of his capital, and the reward of his toils. 



But if the farm be in a state of nature, or 

 otherwise in such a condition as to require a te- 

 dious and expensive course of improvement, 

 such as draining, levelling, inclosing, cleaning 

 of stones, liming, &c., the endurance of th'e ka-se' 



