AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 205 



pays little or no attention to agriculture, but leaves the whole 

 aftair with his Metayer. In the districts where this kind of te- 

 nure prevails the tenant is narrow in his views, obstinately at- 

 tached to old plans in the rotation of crops and preparation of 

 soil, especially in the dominions of the Pope where agriculture is 

 at the lowest ebb ! The ancient Romans knew something of this 

 relation between the proprietor and cultivator of land. A Par- 

 tronius suggests the person who shares with another in tlie avails 

 of harvest. But his part was small, one basket for every eight 

 was his scanty allowance. The smallness of the share of the 

 Partronius in comparison with the present tenant arises from the 

 diiference of capital invested by the modern and ancient laborer. 

 The outlays of the latter were indeed very small. Apolitor, or 

 vine dresser had nothing but his naked hands, but the modern 

 Metayer comes to the Landlord with every thing and his sole 

 want is land. The proprietor concedes the use of the farm and 

 binds himself to keep it in repair and pay the taxes. The owner 

 of the soil never looks any farther, and an oppressive government 

 and the public burthens have benumbed his faculties. He heeds 

 not rural economy, so careless is he of his paternal fields, that he 

 leaves to hi^fattore or steward to collect the rents and profits. 



Let land be tilled on this Italian method, and you will see 

 everywhere the same want of interest in the improvement of the 

 soil, and an ignorant, superstitious tenant will be wedded to old 

 systems and strongly averse to the results of science and the ex- 

 periments of practical men. This kind of partnership descends 

 often in the same family for hundreds of years. But who ever 

 met with a rich metayer, or saw one that aspired to amend his 

 circumstances or to excel in his avocations ! 



Irrigation is quite common in all the grain growing regions of 

 Italy. The pasture and meadow grounds are very much enriched 

 by this procedure. It must be recollected that there are parts 

 of the country where five crops of hay are mown every year, and 

 fields of rice often meet the eye in Loml)ardy. The Italians have 

 indeed, leai-nt the great value of irrigation. The rice plant seems 

 to delight in having its roots saturated with standing water, and 

 it is not unfriendly to every kind of cereal and pasture culture, 

 even to tlie vine and olive. Italy is admirably adapted to irri- 

 gation. The streams that rise in the Alps and Appenines, flow 

 off with a rapid current, which are diverted into thousands of 

 artificial communications that flow at will the land. Water, ju- 

 diciously applied, fertilizes the soil at the cheapest rate and drives 



