200 
On Breaking up Grass Lands. 
In Arable. 
Expenditure in Wages 
per acre. 
£. s. d. 
1. Down land . . . . 0 19 3 anil 27 acres per man. 
2. Light sandy land . . . 1 0 0 „ 20 „ 
3. Slifi clay 1 15 C „ 2j „ 
4. Strong dairy loam , . .1 13 0,, 251 „ 
5. Grazing and dairy farm . . 2 0 0 ,, 13 „ 
5) 116 
Average acreage to a man in arable . ' • . . 231 
Thus the same four million acres, converted into arable, would 
employ 174,000 men. The difference in favour of arable will be 
130,530, as the additional number of men likely to obtain per- 
manent employment by breaking up that extent; and this 
without reckoning anything whatever for the labour of draining, 
which would be about as follows. According to my estimates, 
three-fifths of the four millions of. acres would require draining ; 
and to do it in a substantial manner, as far as my experience has 
extended, will cost 41. per acre very nearly, in manual labour. 
This would require the sum of 9,600,000/. to be expended, the 
Avhole of which would pass through the hands of the labourer. 
This work would employ 320,000 men for twelve months. In 
these estimates I have omitted the additional hands that would be 
required by the introduction of the plan of soiling, which would 
inevitably force its way into practice ; so that, on the whole, I 
should not overstate the number of additional hands required, if 
I put them down at 200,000 men, who, with their families, would 
amount to 1,000,000. From calculation, then, I am led to be- 
lieve that by accomplishing what I have proposed and shown to be 
practicable, we may easily provide food for 1,000,000 families, 
numbering at least 5,000,000 persons, and find constant employ- 
ment for 200,000 additional labourers, ivithout greatly altering 
our present system of husbandry — with profit to the landowners 
and occupiers — comfort and contentment to the labourer, and an 
immense benefit to the country, as well in providing additional 
food for the people, as by securing to the labourer himself a com- 
petency, the reward justly due to every tiller of the soil. 
27<A February, 1846. 
