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I have found feveral gentlemen in moor 

 countries that feemcd more intent on plant- 

 ing than cultivating. A wafte tract had 

 certainly better be planted than continue 

 vvafle J but a general fpirit of planting land 

 that can be converted into grafs fields, I 

 will venture to afiert pernicious to the 

 public good J and to yield to the pofTef- 

 for not a fortieth part of the benefit 

 which I here propolej for what is the 

 planting in queilion ? not woods of oak to 

 build our future navies, but every kind of 

 the inferior forts j which are and ever 

 will be purchafed in any quantities from 

 the Baltic ; and I will venture to afTert, 

 and nothing can be worfe, in a national 

 light, than to plant land that would yield 

 corn or grafs, with woods to be bought 

 of our neighbours. In a rich, populous, 

 induftrious kingdom, every inch of the 

 foil fliould be applied to feeding man ; 

 will any one fuppofe fo well cultivated a 

 kingdom will want money to buy firs and 

 pines ? and calculate the product in a given 

 number of years, the growth of a fir, for 

 inftance, of an acre of grafs worth from 

 12 J. to 20 J. an acre; and compare that 



Vvith 



