Thus, if a farmer can lay out only 41. of capital per acre, he may not be able to afford for it a higher rent than 10s. per acre; if he lays out 77. he may pay 14s.; and with a capital of 10l. per acre, he may be enabled to pay 18s. or 20s. of rent.

4429. The proportion of produce which should be paid as rent, is a question that has long been considered as abstruse, mysterious, and very difficult to resolve. Some have supposed, that one-fifth was a reasonable proportion, while others contend for a fourth, or even a third part of the produce of arable land. But all former calculations on this subject are rendered fallacious by the effects of modern improvements. The rent ought certainly to depend upon the amount of the disposable produce; and that produce in grain is greatly augmented, both by a diminution of the consumption on the farm, effected by improved implements, and a more correct arrangement of labor, and likewise a better cultivation of the land in tillage. Hence, while the price of wheat has greatly advanced during the last twenty years, above the average price of the preceding twenty, the rent of land has not only risen, but in a higher proportion. More grain, and that of a better quality, has been produced on the same extent of land, and a greater amount of disposable surplus has gone to market. Out of this surplus disposable produce, it is evident, that the rent must be paid. But it is difficult to divide its amount between the landlord and tenant, as so much depends upon the seasons, and on the prices of the different articles which the farm produces. In bad seasons also, every deficiency of produce, in the acres set apart for supporting home population, must be made up from the disposable surplus; nor is it possible to apply the same rules to all situations, soils, and climates, in all the various districts of an extensive country. It may be proper, however, to give some general idea of the proportion of produce paid as rent, in Scotland, and in England.

4430. In Scotland, the following table states what is considered to be a fair proportion, where the land is cultivated :

4431. In regard to grazing farms, they are let on principles totally different from the arable; namely, according to the quantity of stock they can maintain; and as they are not liable to the same expense of management, both the landlord and the tenant receive larger shares of the produce than in the case of arable farms.

4432. In England, the tenant is allowed, on arable land, what is considered to be one moiety of the surplus, after defraying the expenses of cultivation, the taxes to which he is liable, and every other outgoing. Hay land requires much less of his attention, and for this he only obtains one-third of the surplus. But the profits of grazing, depending much on superior judgment in buying and selling stock, as well as skill in preventing, or curing their diseases, the grazier is entitled to a share of the surplus, fully equal to that of his landlord. It has been contended, as a general principle, that as both the expense of cultivating land, and the value of its produce, are infinitely various, a farmer ought to calculate what profit he can make on his whole farm, without entering into details; it being of little consequence to him, whether he pays at the rate of 10. or 10s. per acre, provided he makes an adequate interest on the capital invested. That is certainly a fair criterion on which a tenant may calculate what he ought to offer; but a landlord, in estimating the rent he ought to insist on, will necessarily take into his consideration, the produce that his land is capable of yielding, and what proportion of it, or of its value, at a fair average, he has reason to expect, under all the circumstances of the case.

4433. What the profits are to which a farmer is entitled, is a subject of much dispute. On the one hand it is contended, that the produce of land is of such universal and absolute necessity to the existence of mankind, that it is not reasonable it should yield to him who raises it, more that a fair profit. On the other hand it is urged, that a farmer is entitled to be fully recompensed for the application of a considerable capital, exposed to the uncertainty of the seasons, when it is managed with economy, and conducted with industry and skill; and it has also been observed, that it is seldom more money is got by farming, than an adequate interest for the capital invested. This is owing to competition, the articles produced being in numberless hands, who must bring them to market; and necessity, the goods of the farmer being in general of a perishable nature, on the sale of which he depends, for the payments he has to make, and the subsistence of his family. To prove how moderate the profits of farming in general are, it appears from the most careful inquiries, that on arable farms they rarely exceed from ten to fifteen per cent. on the capital invested, which is little enough, considering that few employments are more subject to casualties than farming, or require more uniform attention. Some arable farmers, possessed of superior skill and energy, and who have got leases on reasonable terms, may clear from fifteen to twenty per cent.,

while others, who are deficient in these qualities, or pay too high rents, frequently become insolvent. Certain it is, that the great majority of farmers merely contrive to live and bring up their families; adding little or nothing to their capital, but that nominal addition which takes place in consequence of the depreciation of the currency. 4434. In grazing farms the case is different, as they are attended with less expense of labor, and produce articles of a more luxurious description, for which a higher price will be given. Hence, in such farms, fifteen per cent. and upwards, is not unusual. Besides, the grazier is more of a trader than the mere arable farmer; is frequently buying as well as selling stock, and sometimes makes money by judicious speculations, though occasionally, from a sudden fall of stock, his losses are considerable. The grazier who breeds superior stock, and thence incurs great expense, is certainly well entitled to more than common profit for his skill and attention.

4435. In regard to the mode in which rent should be paid, it is proper to consider, whether the whole, or at least part of the rent, ought not to depend upon the price of grain, not for the season, but on an average of a certain number of years preceding that for which the rent is due. By this plan, neither the landlord nor the tenant can suffer from the fluctuating price of grain, whereas, without some such arrangement, the tenant, on the one hand, cannot make a fair offer of rent, lest the price of grain should fall too low; nor on the other hand, can the landlord grant a lease of considerable duration, lest the price of grain should, in the progress of time, rise much higher. It seems therefore to be for the interest of both parties, that on arable farms a part of the rent should be payable in money and part in corn, and not in kind, but in money, according to the average value of a number of years. This plan is enforced by law to the extent of one-third in college leases, and thus an income is secured in some degree proportioned to the value of money. It is not, however, without its difficulties. The amount of rent for improvable and well cultivated farms, does not depend so much on the price of grain as is commonly imagined. A large proportion of such farms usually produce green crops, the value of which depends upon the prices of beef, mutton, and wool, and not on that of grain. Various circumstances also may arise, which may reduce the price of particular sorts of grain below its usual level, (for example, barley, when the distilleries are stopped; or may raise it disproportionably much higher, in case a large proportion of the wheat crop should be destroyed by rust or mildew. But if the proposed payment, by the conversion of corn into money, be extended to the various sorts of grain usually cultivated in the district, and be restricted to one-half of the rent, it does not seem liable to any material difficulty. If the payment also depends on the average of seven or more years, the main objection to a corn rent, that the farmer is often liable to pay the most when he is the least able to do it, is removed. (See 4327.)

4436. The periods of payment ought to be made so convenient to the tenant, that he may not be under the necessity of selling the produce of his farm to disadvantage, for the sake of ready money (4340.), nor should he be compelled to pay his rent out of his capital, for that would cripple all his future exertions. The periods should vary according to the nature of the occupation, and the time when the tenancy commenced. On the whole, the most successful farmers are those, who embark a capital sufficiently large in their undertaking; who feel it their duty to watch over that capital with unceasing care, and to add to it whenever it is practicable; and who have agreed to pay a fair, but not a speculative rent, for the lands they cultivate.

SECT. XI. Of Taxes and other Burdens which affect the Farmer.

4437. Farmers are subjected to the payment of various taxes besides the rent paid to the landlord; some of them imposed for local purposes, and others for the general expenses of the state. The real amount of such burdens, every careful tenant ought accurately to know, before he bargains for his lease. They may be classed under the following heads parochial, national, and miscellaneous.

4438. Parochial taxes are for the support of the clergyman, for the maintenance of the poor, and in Scotland, for providing a parochial schoolmaster. The mode of supporting the clergy in England, by paying them a tenth part of the produce of the land in kind, is highly injurious to agriculture, and a bar to improvement. It is a great bar to improvement, because an improving farmer, one more enlightened or more spirited than his neighbors, would pay more tithe by means of his outlay and exertions, but it is not certain that he would likewise receive more profit. The produce would be more, but the expense would be greater. Nothing can be more obnoxious than a law, by which, when a person expends a large sum, either in reclaiming wastes, or augmenting the fertility of land already cultivated, he should be under the necessity of yielding up one-tenth of its produce to a person who has been liable to no share of the expense, who has run none of the risk, and who has sustained none of the labor attending the improvement. A commutation of tithe, therefore, instead of its being exacted in kind, would be one of the greatest benefits that could be conferred on agriculture; and there

is not the least difficulty in effecting it, by giving to the tithe-owner, either a proportion of the land, or by converting the tithe into a perpetual corn rent. Both these plans have been adopted in a variety of cases, by local acts in England, and they ought now to be enforced as a general system.

4439. An assessment for the maintenance of the poor, is another parochial burden, which is annually increasing, and which, if not speedily regulated upon proper princi. ples, will inevitably absorb a very large proportion of rent in England. Indeed, there are instances, where between the years 1815 and 1822, it has absorbed the whole. This tax is the most dangerous of all for the farmer, on account of its fluctuation, and indeed, it may be said that it never falls but continually rises. During infancy, in sickness, and in old age, assistance may be necessary; but, as Malthus justly observes, the poor-laws hold out support to the vicious and idle, at the expense of the prudent and the industrious. These payments also destroy the spirit of independence, and those ideas of honest pride which stimulate a man to use his utmost exertions in support of himself and his family; and on its present footing, the boon is administered by the parish officers with caution and reluctance, and received by the poor with dissatisfaction and ingratitude.

4440. In Scotland, the poor are in general maintained by voluntary contributions; but when these are not found to be sufficient, the proprietors of the parish, with the clergyman and vestry, or kirk-session, are directed to make a list of the indigent persons in the parish, and then to impose an assessment for their relief, one half to be paid by the proprietors, and the other half by the tenantry.

4441. The national burdens in general, as the duties on houses and windows, and other assessed taxes; or assessments for the support of militia-men's wives and families, for the conveyance of vagrants, or the prosecution of felons, fall no heavier upon the farmer, than upon other classes of the community; but there is one impost which is severely felt by the arable farmer, namely, the tax on horses employed in husbandry. The inequality of that tax is strongly objected to; for lands, when pastured, and necessarily subject to the least expense, pay no part of it. The burden consequently falls exclusively on the lands in tillage, which, as a necessary consequence, must prevent the farmer from giving so high a rent on arable land as he would on grass land, in proportion to the produce.

4442. There are likewise various miscellaneous burdens affecting the farmer, as statute assessments for bridges, which are of such public utility, that moderate rates for their maintenance properly applied, cannot be objected to; statute labor on the highways; constable dues, which are seldom of much moment; charges of the churchwardens, including the repairs of the church; and in some populous parishes, there is sometimes a burial-ground tax. All these are paid by the occupiers. In some places also, there is a sewer's tax, chargeable on the landlords, where it is not otherwise settled by express contract. Adstriction to mills, however, is the severest burden where it exists, for not only is the expense of grinding double or treble what ought to be exacted, but the farmer is bound to carry his grain to be manufactured by a person, in whose skill or honesty he cannot always place any dependence.

4443. As an example of the payments made by a farmer in England, whose rent is annually 500l. the following is submitted:

4444. The vexations to which farmers in England are subjected, from various uncertain burdens, oper. ates as a premium to Scottish agriculture. It is ingeniously and justly remarked, that physical circumstances are much more favorable to agriculture in England, than in her sister country; but these advantages are counteracted by the accumulation of moral evils, which might be removed if the legislature were to bestow on matters connected with the internal improvement of the country, and the means for promoting it, a portion of that attention, which it so frequently gives to the amelioration or improvement of our foreign possessions.

SECT. XII. Of other Particulars requiring a Farmer's Attention, with a view to • renting of Land.

4445. A variety of miscellaneous particulars require consideration, before a prudent farmer will finally resolve to undertake the cultivation of a farm; as, the nature of the property on which the farm is situated; in particular, whether the estate is entailed, and to what extent the possessor of the estate is authorized to grant a lease; the character of the landlord, and in case of his decease, that of his family, and of those whom they are likely to consult; the real condition of the farm in regard to the enclosures, drainage, buildings, &c.; the crops it has usually produced, and the manner in which it has been managed for some

years preceding; the general state of the district, in regard to the price of labor, and the expense of living; the character of its inhabitants, in particular of the neighboring farmers and laborers; and whether they are likely to promote or to discourage a spirit of improvement; the probability of subletting to advantage in case of not liking the situation, finding a better bargain, or of death. The chances of settling one's family; as of marrying daughters, or of sons' making good marriages. The social state of the farmers, or those that would be considered one's neighbors; the number and tone of clergy, and lawyers; the game, and the chances of disputes concerning it; the morals of the serving class; schools, places of worship, &c, It is evident, that in hardly any one instance can all the circumstances above enumerated be favorably combined. But the active and intelligent farmer will not be discouraged by the obstacles he may have to surmount; but will strenuously endeavor, by exertion, industry, and perseverance, to overcome the difficulties he must unavoidably encounter,

CHAP. II.

Considerations respecting Himself, which a Farmer ought to keep in view in selecting and hiring a Farm.

4446. Whoever intends to embrace farming as a profession, will be less likely to meet with disappointment, if he previously examines a little into his own disposition and talents; and weighs his expectations against ordinary results. Nor is it less essential that he should estimate justly the extent to which his capital may be adequate, and keep regular accounts.

SECT. I. Of the personal Character and Expectations of a professional Farmer. 4447. Every one who proposes to farm with success, Professor Thaer observes, ought to unite energy and activity, to reflection, to experience, and to all necessary knowledge. It is true, he says, farming has long been considered as an occupation fit for a young man incapable for any other, and such have sometimes succeeded; but this has always been chiefly owing to a fortunate concurrence of circumstances, which it is not now very easy to meet with.

4448. The practice of agriculture consists of an infinite number of particular operations, each of which appears easy in itself; but is often for that very reason the more difficult to execute to the precise extent required; one operation so often interferes with another. To regulate them according to the given time and strength, and in such a way that none is neglected, or causes the neglect of others, requires at once a great deal of attention and activity, without inquietude; of promptitude without precipitation; of general views, and yet with an extreme attention to details.

4449. To casualties and accidents, no business is so much exposed as farming, and therefore to enjoy an ordinary degree of happiness, Professor Thaer considers it essential that the farmer possess a certain tranquillity of mind. This, he says, may either be the result of a natural phlegmatic habit of body, or of elevated views in religion, or philosophy. These will enable him to bear with every misfortune arising from adverse seasons, or the death of live stock; and only permit him to regret accidents which result from his own neglect.

4450. The expectations of profit and happiness which a young farmer has formed ought to be well weighed against the profits and happiness of farmers in general. However superior a farmer may consider his own talents and abilities, he may rest assured there are a number as skilful and adroit as himself, and just as likely to realize extraordinary advantages. Let none therefore engage in farming, thinking to make more money than other farmers similarly circumstanced with himself. If from a happy concurrence of circumstances he is more than usually successful, so much the better, and let him consider it as partly owing to good fortune as well as good farming; but never let him set out on the supposition of gaining extraordinary advantages with only ordinary

means.

4451. The profits of farming are much exaggerated by people in general: but it may be asserted as an unquestionable fact, that no capital affords less profit than that employed in farming, except that sunk in landed property. This is the natural result both of the universality of the business and of its nature. Farming is every where practised, and every one thinks he may easily become a farmer; hence high rents, which necessarily lessen the profits on capital. From the nature of farming the capital employed is seldom returned. A tradesman may lay out and return his capital several times a year; but a farmer can never, generally speaking, grow more than one crop per annum. Suppose he succeeds in raising the best possible crops in his given circum

stances, still his profits have an absolute limit: for if an ordinary crop be as five, and the best that can be grown be as seven, all that the most fortunate concurrence of circumstances will give is not great and easily foreseen. It is hardly possible for a farmer, paying the market price for his land, to make much more than a living for himself and family. Those few who have exceeded this, will be found to have had leases at low rents; indulgent landlords; to have profited by accidental rises in the market or depreciation of currency; or to have become dealers in corn and cattle and rarely indeed to have realized any thing considerable by mere good culture of a farm at the market price. Very different is the case of a tradesman, who, with the properties which we have mentioned as requisite for a good farmer, seldom fails of realizing an independency.

4452. Many persons, chagrined with a city life, or tired of their profession, fancy they will find profit and happiness by retiring to the country and commencing farming. Independently of the pecuniary losses attending such a change, none is more certain of being attended with disappointment to the generality of men. The activity required, and the privations that must be endured, are too painful to be submitted to; whilst the dull uniformity of a farmer's life to one accustomed to the bustle of cities, becomes intolerable to such as do not find resources in their fire-sides, their own minds, or, as Professor Thaer observes, in the study of nature.

4453. The most likely persons to engage in farming with success, are the sons of farmers, or such others as have been regularly brought up to the practice, with their own hands, of every part of agriculture. They must also have an inclination, as well as competent understanding of the theory or principles of the art. Books are to be found every where, from which the science of the art is to be obtained; and there are eminent farmers in the improved districts who take apprentices as pupils. In The Husbandry of Scotland, the case is mentioned of Walker, of Mellendean, an eminent farmer in Roxburghshire, who rents about 2866 acres of arable land, and is distinguished for his skill in agriculture, who takes young men under him as apprentices, who, instead of receiving wages, have uniformly paid him ten pounds each, Some of them remain with him two years, but the greater number only one. They eat in his kitchen, where they have always plenty of plain wholesome food. He takes none who are above living in that way, or who will not put their hand to every thing going forward on the farm. sometimes been offered ten times the above sum, to take in young gentlemen to eat and associate with his own family, but that he has uniformly declined. These young men have an opportunity of attending to every operation of husbandry, as practised on Walker's farm; and are taught to hold the plough, to sow, to build stacks, &c.

SECT. II. Of the Capital required by the Farmer.

He has

4454. The importance of capital in every branch of industry is universally acknow. ledged, and in none is it more requisite than in farming. When there is any deficiency in that important particular, the farmer cannot derive an adequate profit from his exertions, as he would necessarily be frequently obliged to dispose of his crops for less than their value, to procure ready money; and it would restrain him from making advantageous purchases, when even the most favorable opportunities occurred. An industrious, frugal, and intelligent farmer, who is punctual in his payments, and hence in good credit, will strive with many difficulties, and get on with less money, than a man of a different character. But if he has not sufficient live stock to work his lands in the best manner, as well as to raise a sufficient quantity of manure; nor money to purchase the articles required for the farm, he must, under ordinary circumstances, live in a state of penury and hard labor; and the first unfavorable season, or other incidental misfortune, will probably sink him under the weight of his accumulated burdens. Farmers are too generally disposed to engage in larger farms than they have capital to stock and cultivate. This is a great error; for it makes many a person poor upon a large farm, who might live in comfort and acquire property, upon one of less extent. No tenant can be secure without a surplus at command, not only for defraying the common expenses of labor, but those which may happen from any unexpected circumstance. When a farmer, on the other hand, farms within his capital, he is enabled to embrace every favorable opportunity of buying when prices are low, and of selling when they are high.

4455. The amount of capital required must depend upon a variety of circumstances; as whether it is necessary for the farmer to expend any sum in the erection, or in the repair of his farm-house and offices; what sum an in-coming tenant has to pay to his predecessor, for the straw of the crop, the dung left upon the farm, and other articles of -similar nature; the condition of the farm at the commencement of the lease, and whether any sums must be laid out in drainage, enclosure, irrigation, levelling ridges, &c. ; whether i is necessary to purchase lime, or other extraneous manures, and to what extent; on