ON THE CORN LAWS. 237

nature, and îts eff upon agriculture. Nothing is more certain, than that the fertility of the foil is exhaufted by too conftant a fucceflion of crops of corn, and reftored by allow- ing it to remain for à certain time in paîfture. It is there obvious, that in a country only fo far advanced in population, as to require but one fourth of the land being kept in culti- vation for fupporting the inhabitants, the other three fourths remaining in pafture, more abundant crops of corn will be then raifed, with lefs labour and expence than can afterwards be produced on the fame foil, by any exertion of fkill

fore

and capital, when à more extenfve population requires perhaps

feven eighths of the lands being kept conftantly under the plough. This progrefs in the œconomy of nature is ful exemplified in this country, by the rich Crops raifed on the ploughing up of old paftures. The luxuriant Crops that grow on new foils are alfo found to decline and to be rendered lefs certain, being more affected by the influence of bad{a- fons in proportion to the length of time the land has been kept under the plough. Hence in England, countries advanced in wealth and popul

lation, corn is raifed at a greater expence of manure and cultiv

H 5? iY

and in other

ation, and the crops are more precarious, than in countries thinly peo-

pled, fuch as America or Poland, where a fimple plowing, or rather fcratching and throwing in the feed, are frequently fuficient to fecure a good crop.

Às a teftimony of the above mentioned progrefs in agriculture, and the effeét of wealth and population in advancing the price of corn, I fhall add that Mr Young, in his 1 3th volume of the

LETT, IL Lu)