( 240 ) 



for money, and the ground be in a much clean- 

 er (late than with the crop of weeds upon it. 



Since I have been in London, I have ridden 

 out and taken the liberty of examining into 

 the mode of agriculture near Town, called 

 gardening, A large quantity of the land was 

 full of couch -grafs and weeds of all denomina- 

 tions, fome in full bloom and others in feed. 

 I faw one field of rye betwixt London and 

 Wimbledon-Com.mon where the thiflles had 

 maflered the rye; and the farmer was cutting 

 them down before the rye was ripe. Were 

 you to converfe with him on the fubje61:, he 

 would endeavour to perfuade you that the ex- 

 pence of deflroying the thiftles would have 

 exceeded the value of the crop. There are 

 more weeds in the crops of corn near London 

 than I ever faw in any other part of the king- 

 dom I have travelled through. 



It may be of ufe to enquire into the caufes 

 of the farmer's negledling his fields, and fulfer- 

 ing them to be over-run with weeds. I fufped* 

 it is owing to the value of the produce of the 

 land having rifen in a greater proportion than 

 the land icfelf. If a man has a farm of one 



hundred 



