
1797) | 
itnow does. And grafs converted into 
butter, inftead of beef, bears nearly the 
fame proportion. The high. price of - 
poultry cannot, be injurious to the poor, 
as nearly half of it is bred by them, and 
Tam fure they fell twenty times as 
mauch as they buy. Breeding and rear- 
ing of poultry, is within. the reach of 
almot every perfon’ s finances and fitu- 
ation, which makes the competition fo 
great, that fearcely any profit is atrached 
to it: and there appears no reafon why 
a farmer fhould pay his attention to that 
part of his bufinefs from which no pro- 
fit arifes. Every farmer: keeps a futh- 
cient number in his yard, to pick up wha 
is unavoidably feattered, to that nothing 
ig waked or Ot: 
Another charge eur large farms 1s, 
that the holders of them monopolize the 
corn. But asthe charge has frequently, 
and repeatedly, been abt ght forward, 
without a fimgle inftance produced of ‘e€1- 
ther! tame, Gn place, or perfons, who 
have entered into this combination, it 
falls to the ground. . It is not probible, 
I imagine it ie Tble, that fo large a 
body a men as the farmers, fhould eve 
€nter into a combination to enhance the 
price of corn, or any part of them, that 
can have any effeét. As a proor that 
the farmers bring their corn to market, 
as faft as it is beneficial to the communi- 
ty, we in general find it gets dearer from 
Chriftmas to the enfuing harveft. They 
may {peculate fometimes, in part of 
what they raife themfelves, and fuch a 
fpeculation is abfolutely neceflary, for the 
intereft of the nation. Suppofe, on the 
contrary, they never fpeculatea, but 
fold all their corn as they threfhed it 
3) out, which would ufually be by the firft 
of May; the cont seen ge would be, 
that all the mealmen of {mall capital: 
would be ohliged to relinquifh- bufinels 
immediately, and the whole trade would 
be thrown into the hands of a very few 
opulent men. For mealmen would be 
obliged to lay in a ftock of wheat to laft 
them from May till after harvelt, near 
five months ; and as a greater capital 
would be required, a larger profit muft 
be laid on every quarter of wheat. for 
breaking it, to pay the intereft of that 
capital. Befides, a part would, be da- 
_- maged, perhaps fpoiled, by being ftored 
in fue h large quantities: and as the good 
mut pay for the damaged, or fpoiled, 
this would fatther- enhance the price. 
' This very circumftance would endanger 
op combination, as the whole of what mut 
be had to moar the nation would be 

Arguments nas to Large and Small Farms, | 113 
in the hands of a few very opulent 
individuals, who are in the habits of 
convening meetings to regulate their 
trade.. 
_ An argument brought in fava of 
fmall farms is, that they hold out an en- 
couragement toinduftry and obricty, by 
enabling a perfon, who has javed a 
hundred, ora hundred and fifty pounds, 
at fervice, toemploy it to the beft ad- 
vantage in farming one of them. | 
Suppofing the fact of difcouragement, 
there will ftill be a balance of “evils. — 
Small farms. are the poe caufe w hy 
fo little i improve: ment has been made in 
our agriculture for centuries ee it has 
by no means kept pace with the ims 
provement either of our mechanics, or 
manufaétories; but is centuries behind 
tiem, when compared with that ftate of 
perfection to which it might be brought. 
Che mode of farming adopted by a far- 
mer of this de(criprion, is almof always 
the fame as has been practifed in the 
village, time immemorial; his ideas are 
local, ina his prejudices trong in favour 
of his fyttem, however. erroneoutly tound- 
ed. Improvements he cannot find out, 
as they are the refult of experiment ; 
> 
experiments he dares not try, for if the 
firit fails (which ts often the cafe) he’ 
is ruined. It is almoit impofiible he 
fhould : perhaps he can fcarcely read or 
Write; he can confult “no authors on 
agTIC! alture, fince he would not under- 
ftand their terms: on the contrary, the 
large farmer is, from his circumftances, 
enabled to give his fon a liberal educi- 
tion, when “compared to the other. ‘This 
deftroys prejudice y and gives him abi- 
lity to extraét information from the in- 
numerable publications on agriculture, 
which are daily iffuing from the prefs. 
‘He tries experiments, for if the firit 
fails, his circumftances enable him to try 
afecond, or athird, and he is moftly 
rewarded in the end. Al the principal 
improvements which have been made, 
were by large or rich farmers. Bur, 
leaving the int roduétion of i improvements 
from drills and hoes, &c. out of the 
queftion, the large emer 's land will in 
general be found in the higheft ftate of 
cultivation of the two, fuppofing both 
to farm according to the fyftem of the 
diftriét: : 
Anotner argument brought in favour 
of {mall farms is, that they produce mot 
happinefs: that where’ four or five 
farms are laid inta one, one family only is 
happy, where four or five before were 
comiortable. But if we examine a pa- 
rif 
i 
ih 
f 
any tt 
Ain 
Sa 
ah 
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