adventure; the improvement of the soil is with them an inferior consideration; they obtain an income for the use of their money in their own pursuit, and the landowner is left, though he possesses that which is the foundation of manufactures and trade, to dispose of it in any manner he can: he has, therefore, no alternative, he must either occupy his land himself, or let it to indigent persons who destroy the soil, and contribute to increase that beggarly tribe of tenantry, who are a nuisance to every neighbourhood where they reside, and a general disgrace to the country.

This question is an object of great national importance in whatever point of view it may be considered. It is impossible to cast a transient glance at this cursory account of Irish agriculture, without perceiving that its present degraded state is a source of the greatest evil; and it is equally obvious, that no effectual cure can be applied but by those who are the primary cause of it- the land-owners of Ireland: with them the work of reformation must begin, and it will then be the duty of the legislature to afford the assistance of markets, which, fortunately for Ireland, considering the present state of Great Britain, it has very much within its power.

but

An extension of tillage has, no doubt, taken place in the mountainous districts of Ireland, except in the north, and also in the flat parts of the country; but there is a wide difference between extension and improvement. The former has arisen from an increased population, and is not the result of any stimulus applied to excite national industry, or of encouragement given to adopt better methods of farming. When a landlord sees a colony of half-starved beggars planted on the side of a mountain, he may, perhaps, vainly imagine that the country is in a progressive state of prosperity, because he finds that his rent-roll has been considerably augmented; any increase arising from such means makes no addition to the national wealth, and at the same time it prevents him from directing his thoughts to a better and more beneficial system of management. Hence it happens, that a traveller in Ireland looks in vain for embankments, lakes, and marshes drained, rivers let off, land reclaimed, or the execution of any of those great works which characterize the English farmer in so striking a manner, and afford the most evident proofs of his public spirit, enterprise, and industry. I do not believe that one acre in a thousand in that country which require irrigation, has been subjected to this mode of improvement, though it is certain that it might be applied without much expense or labour.* It cannot be said as an excuse for such neglect, that capital is necessary for a process so simple and easy; even at Siwah, in the deserts of Africa, the indolent negro has adopted this system;+ in the Sandwich Islands it is practised; in Chili it has been

* In Kirkpatrick Nepaul, p. 65. there is an account of an irrigated mountain which holds forth an excellent example.

+ Horneman's Travels, p. 8.

Vancouver's Voyage, vol. i. p. 170.

pursued to great advantage.* An attempt, indeed, is now making, to do something in regard to the cultivation of bogs, but hithert the proposed measure has been only the cause of an annual public expenditure. Mankind in general are so much inclined to place confidence in calculations rather than in facts, that I have no hope of being able to convince the Irish country gentleman, who is now receiving £4000. per annum instead of £1000., which the same number of acres produced to his father, that the family estate is not in a course of improvement. Nay, I expect to be contradicted in the opinion I have formed on this subject by every person in the country, from the peer to the peasant; but setting aside individual cases, and taking that comprehensive view of the subject which alone can enable us to get at the truth, I beg leave to ask those who boast of improvement to point it out in detail, and then to shew me the general result of the whole, and in what instances it has ameliorated the condition of the kingdom. I must be shewn fallows better made; crops of corn less encumbered with weeds; the labour of horses substituted for that of men; the introduction of artificial grasses in the early stage of a course of crops; no part of the farm turned to "rest," or "waste." "waste." Shew me these, and I will readily retract what I have said, and admit that the improvement so much boasted of, has really been made.

In the next place, if we direct our attention to the grazing parts of the kingdom, do they exhibit any signs of the want of capital? Are there not plenty of monied men always ready to come forward, anxiously waiting for an opportunity to hire them; and this is certainly a convincing proof, that capital will always be found when it can be applied to any purpose likely to answer the expectation of its owner. I do not here allude to things which have not fallen under my own observation. I have seen an instance where the lease of a rich pasture estate being within a few years of expiration, the tenant having no confidence in a renewal, sub-let the whole to cotters during the remainder of his term, for the avowed purpose of withdrawing his capital; and this could not be effected without introducing the spade culture, and minute divisions, which in the end, would ultimately ruin the land. This is not a solitary case, such practices are common; and they are sometimes pursued by tenants, in order that they may be able to hire the estate again. For proofs of what I assert, I might refer to almost every county survey that has been published. The Irish certainly cannot plead ignorance on this subject, for in every county, and on every day of the year, landlords, if they will only open their eyes, may see these methods which are most likely to ruin an estate employed by their tenants without the least impediment, and yet the proprietor is never roused to a sense of his own interest, nor ever thinks of altering his conduct. I have, in other places of the present work, made allusions to this impolitic system, which may be

* Molina's Hist. of Chili, English Version, vol. i. p. 47.

+ Townsend's Cork, p. 413.

considered as a real abuse in rural economy; but I do not think it necessary to apologize for any repetition of the kind, as the evil has become so inveterate; and landlords are so blinded by prejudice, that more than common means must be employed to eradicate the one, and to enlighten the other. I am anxious to impress on the minds of the latter, that the most serious injury is done to the soil by the introduction of cotter tillage, and the withdrawing of capital in this manner. I am no enemy to the increase of tillage, but to the means by which it is effected. I am aware that the custom house books, on inspection, will exhibit an export of corn instead of an import, but this circumstance like an increased rent, is a proof of extended, as well as of improved tillage; and for this reason I consider it as no test of the truth, particularly in a country where the people, in consequence of their habits, consume so little corn.

When we hear of societies being formed for the encouragement of any particular branch of industry, we are naturally led to conclude, that some improvement has been made. Dublin has a large farming society, but has it effected any good? Were its efforts directed with that enlightened spirit, which setting aside the false, but captivating theories of the day, soars beyond the bounds of modern prejudice, examines and compares facts, and deduces from them practical conclusions estab lished on the basis of truth, a most beneficial result might be expected from their labours. It is the task imposed on man by his Creator, as the only means of acquiring knowledge, and is particularly applicable to agriculture and political economy. Without it, men must still plod on in the same fruitless path, which instead of conducting to prosperity, leads only to error and misfortune. The Farming Society offers bounties: what benefit was ever produced by a bounty? Were premiums ever of advantage in any branch of industry? Premiums! To whom! To the producers! To the farmers! Those who bestow premiums begin at the wrong Will landlords by receiving premiums, let their estates upon just and liberal principles. If the £5000. per annum expended by the farming society of Dublin, could effect so desirable an object, I should not hesitate to say that this would be applying the axe to the root. The farming society, no doubt, is of utility; if it obtain statistical returns of the rural economy of Ireland, this benefit is well worth the expense; but according to the plan which it at present pursues, the only material service it can render to the country is, to procure useful information in this general way.

end.

I have no desire to enter into particulars, but I cannot here refrain from impress ing on the reader's attention, the great extent of that evil which arises from the boasted potatoe crop, introduced and followed up in every course, and in every county of Ireland; a crop which absorbs all the manure without giving any thing in return. Some will, perhaps, deny my position, and remind me that the potatoes pro

*

of their main subsistence, engrosses almost the whole of their manure, as well as of * 66 Potatoes, the crop their labour." Townsend's Survey of Cork, p. 291.

duce freeholders; a fact, of which I will only doubt its beneficial result. The most important circumstance, however, and which ought never to be forgotten, is, that land may be able to throw out exhausting crops when they produce straw, as a return for the exhaustion; but when there is a continual recurrence to one crop which impairs the soil in the utmost degree; which not only draws out its nutritive juices, but absorbs all the manure within its reach, the ground must at length be impoverished, and every particle rendered sterile. No farmer, whatever may be his judgment, capital, or industry, could keep land in a decent and productive state of cultivation, were he to grow a breadth of potatoes every year." * And yet there are few Irish gentlemen who do not maintain that potatoes are a crop which contributes to improve the soil. But this is an erroneous opinion, which arises from the effect produced by the large quantity of dung which has been previously thrown upon the land. Of the truth of the general facts which I have here stated, I entertain no doubt; but at the same time I must observe, that the habit of relying upon the potatoe is now so confirmed that no scheme of sudden alteration can be recommended.

In Ireland, if from any accidental circumstance, the farmer makes money, he never thinks of employing it to improve the condition of his land. He buries his guineas in the earth, consoles himself with the idea of his secret treasure,‡ and toils on ac cording to his former routine. This is a striking fact; it speaks a great deal, and deserves particular attention. It not only shews a want of confidence, but betrays ignorance. It furnishes a most convincing proof how much men may be mistaken in regard to that grand source of action, interest. It is interest, the hope of immediate gain, which induces this poor farmer to exhaust the soil; and it might be supposed that the same motive would make him apply the surplus to improve his land, that it might become more productive: but this is an idea which never enters his head. He may be compared, therefore, to a spendthrift who lives on his capital; by wasting a part of it every year, it becomes continually less and less, till at length it entirely vanishes.

The evil of hiding money is, however, the child of latter times. Mr. Young, whose acute observation suffered nothing to escape his notice, neither saw nor heard an instance of it when he was in Ireland: at present, it is common. I was told of

* Batchelor, in his Survey of Bedford, p. 426, says of potatoes, that "they are known to love the taste of new ground, and there is scarcely a cottager in the county who has planted them three or four years on the same soil, who remains ignorant of their exhausting nature."

+ "Our farmers are generally very deficient in capital, and, of course, pursue a very deteriorating system of cropping: it is too much the custom, even when they do, by the utmost economy, save a little money, to hoard it up, especially in guineas, instead of expending it in draining, or any other permanent improvement. I am confident that, since the last disturbances, a great part of the gold coin of the realm is hid in smoky cabins." Dullon's Survey of Clare, p. 136.

it wherever I went; and, very often, on inquiring of a farmer concerning his system and produce, he would conclude his answer by saying: "and I buried some guineas." A similar practice has of late years been adopted in Holland; ducats and louis-d'ors have been buried there by the farmers in abundance.* Men, who are secretly plotting against a government, or who are waiting in silence to take advantage of any disturbance that may arise, conceal as much as they can their rebellious intentions; but a fact of this sort betrays their feelings, it shews discontent, and affords a most decisive proof that they look forward to some change, and that they have no confidence in the existing state of things.

If the inquirer directs his attention to the state of planting in Ireland, it will be found, that the high-sounding bounties and premiums of the Dublin Society have effected little or nothing. But I wish not to be misunderstood. I here speak of planting on that extensive scale which renders it an object of national importance. Many a villa and country seat has been beautified and adorned by avenues and trees; but have all the exertions hitherto made, been able to create timber sufficient to construct a single ship of war? Is there enough in the kingdom to build as many fishing boats as could be employed on its shores? Truth compels me to state, however ungracious it may be to individuals, if I except a few persons who have been men tioned when treating of trees and plantations, that nothing worthy of notice in this respect has yet been done in Ireland; and when I turn my view towards Scotland, and see the patriotic exertions made by landed proprietors in that country, and particularly by the uncle of the late Earl of Fife, to clothe the naked and barren hills with verdure, and to obviate the reproach thrown out against it by Dr. Johnson, I cannot help admiring their industry, and candidly owning, that the same class in

* The practice of burying money prevails under all arbitrary governments, and in countries where the people think their property insecure. Bernier, speaking of the natives of India, says: "d'où vient qu'un chacun est dans une crainte perpetuelle de ces sortes de gens, et sur tout des gouverneurs, plus qu'un esclave de son maitre que pour l'ordinaire ils affectent de paroître gueux et sans argent, très-simples dans le vestment, logement, ameublement, et encore plus dans le boire et le manger; qu'ils apprehendent même souvent de se meler trop avant dans le negoce, dans la crainte qu'ils ont qu'on ne les croye riches et qu'on ne leur trâme quelque piece pour les ruiner; si bien qu'enfin ils ne trouvent point de meilleur remede que de cacher et enfouir leur argent bien secretement et bien profondement en terre sortant ainsi hors du commerce ordinaire des hommes et perissant enfin là dedans, sans que le roy ni l'etat, ni qui que soit en profite." Bernier, Voyages contenant la Description des Etats du Grand Mogul, Amst. 1710, vol. i. p. 209.-The same practice is common Turkey and in Russia. See Abhandlung vom dem Geldeulauf, von J. G. Büsch, Hamburgh und Kiel, 1800, vol. ii. p. 531, and Zeichnungen eines Gemähldes, von. Russland. Moskau und St. Petersburg, 1798, p. 105. His Lordship, for some years previous to his death, continued to plant, annually, and, in 1807, his plantations in the counties of Banff, Aberdeen and Moray, amounted to above thirteen thou sand acres. The oaks, and other close-grained timber trees which he has planted, rise vigorous and healthy. On the estate of Scone, near Perth, belonging to Lord Mansfield, 96,000 oaks have been raised; and similar instances might be produced in other parts of Scotland. See Transactions of the Society for the Encourage. ment of Arts, &c. vol. xxv. and xxvi.

one hundred acres;