capital, who have all the best implements of Europe; by the poorest settlers this is not the case, from want of stock; and by the native American farmers, from indolence, which, according to all accounts, is their general defect. An American labourer is most expert at the use of the axe and the scythe; the spade he handles in a very awkward manner, and has no idea of banking, hedging, clipping or cutting hedges, and many other operations known to every labourer in a highly cultivated and enclosed country like Britain. But the versatility of talent of an American labourer amply compensates for his inexperience in these operations, and is more useful in his circumstances. In handling the saw, the hammer, and even the trowel, the British labourer has no chance with him. Most of them can build a house, mend a plough or waggon and even the harness, and kill and dress sheep and pigs.

1171. Field labours in America require to be performed with much greater expedition than in England. The winter is long and severe, and the transition to spring is sudden; this season in many provinces only lasts a few weeks, when summer commences, and the ground becomes too hard and dry for the operations of tillage. The operations of seedtime must therefore be performed with the greatest rapidity. The climate of New York may be reckoned one of the best in North America. There the ground is covered with snow, or rendered black by frost, in the beginning of December, and continues without a speck of green till May. Ploughing generally begins in the last week of April; oats are sown in that month; and maize and potatoes about the middle of May. By the end of May the wheat and rye which has stood the winter, the spring-sown corn, the grass, and the fruit trees appear as forward as they are at the same period in England. There is very little rain during June, July, and August. Cherries ripen in the last week of June; by the middle of July the harvest of wheat, rye, oats, and barley, is half over; pears ripen in the beginning of August; maize (fig. 159.), rye, and wheat are sown during the whole of October; corn is cut in the first week of September; peaches and apples are ripe by the end of the month; the general crop of potatoes is dug up in the beginning of November; and also turnips and other roots taken up and housed; a good deal of rain falls in September, October, and November, and severe frosts commence in the first week of December, and, as above stated, continue till the last week of April. Such is the agricultural year in the country of New York. Live stock require particular attention during the long winter; and unless a good stock of Swedish turnip, carrot, or other roots, has been laid up for them, they will generally be found in a very wretched state in April and May.

159

1172. The civil circumstances of the United States are unfavourable to the domestic enjoyments of a British farmer emigrating thither. Many privations must be suffered at first, and some, probably, for one or two generations to come. The want of society seems an obvious drawback; but this Birkbeck has shown not to be so great as might be imagined. When an emigrant settles among American farmers, he will generally find them a lazy ignorant people, priding themselves in their freedom, and making little use of their privileges; but, when he settles among other emigrants, he meets at least with people who have seen a good deal of the world and of life; and who display often great energy of character. These cannot be considered as uninteresting, whatever may be their circumstances as to fortune; and, when there is something like a parity in this respect and in intellectual circumstances, the social bond will be complete. It must be considered that one powerfully operating circumstance must exist, whatever be the difference of circumstances or intellect; and that is, an agreement in politics both as to the country left and that adopted. For the rest, the want of society may be, to a certain degree, supplied by the press; there being a regular post in every part of the United States, and numerous American and European newspapers and periodical works circulated there. Birkbeck mentions that the Edinburgh and Quarterly Reviews, the Monthly and other Magazines, and the London newspapers are as regularly read by him at the prairie in Illinois, as they were at his farm of Wanborough in Suffolk; and that all the difference is, that they arrive at the prairie three months later than they did at his British residence. We have seen sketches of the houses erected by this gentleman, and by some others who have settled around him, and we consider them as by no means deficient either in apparent commodiousness or effect. They remind us of some of the best houses of Switzerland and Norway. (fig. 160.) Birkbeck and part of his family were drowned in crossing the Wabash in 1825, an event which must be deeply

lamented by all who knew any thing of this intelligent, enterprising, and benevolent character.

on their estates at the prairie," much as they were accustomed to live in England." An interesting account of the house, garden, and domestic economy of Mr. Hall of Wanborough, a neighbour of Mr. Birkbeck's, will be found in the Gardener's Magazine, vol. i. p. 327. and vol. iv. p. 155.

1174. As a country for a British farmer to emigrate to, we consider the United States as superior to every other, in two respects: first, on account of its form of government; by which property is secure, and personal liberty greater than any where else, consistently with public safety, and both maintained at less expense than under any government in the world: secondly, on account of the stock of people being generally British, and speaking the English language. The only objection we have to America is the climate -the long and severe winter, and the rapid and hot spring and summer. Land equally good, and nearly as cheap, may be had in the south of Russia and in Poland; but who that knows any thing of the governments of these countries, would voluntarily put himself in their power while the United States were accessible?

SUBSECT. 2. Of the present State of Agriculture in Mexico.

1175. The climate of this extensive and recently revolutionised country is singularly diversified, between the tropical seasons and rains, and the temperature of the southern and even middle countries of Europe. The maritime districts of Mexico are hot and unhealthy, so as to occasion much perspiration even in January; the inland mountains, on the other hand, present snow and ice in the dog-days. In other inland regions, however, the climate is mild and benign, with some snow of short duration in winter; but no artificial warmth is necessary, and animals sleep all the year under the open sky. From April to September there are plentiful rains, generally after noon; hail storms are not unknown; thunder is frequent; and earthquakes and volcanoes occasionally occur. The climate of the capital, in lat. 19° 25', differs much from that of the parts of Asia and Africa under the same parallel; which difference seems to arise chiefly from the superior height of the ground. Humboldt found that the vale of Mexico is about 6960 feet above the level of the sea, and that even the inland plains are generally as high as Mount Vesuvius, or about 3600 feet. This superior elevation tempers the climate with a greater degree of cold; upon the whole, therefore, it cannot be regarded as unhealthy.

1176. The surface of the country is diversified by grand ridges of mountains, numerous volcanoes some of which are covered with perpetual snow, cataracts worthy of the pencil of Rosa, delicious vales, fertile plains, picturesque lakes and rivers, romantic cities and villages, and a union of the trees and vegetables of Europe and America.

1177. The soil is often deep clay, surprisingly fertile and requiring no stimulus except irrigation. In some places it is boggy or composed of a soft black earth, and there are barren sands and stony soils in the elevated regions.

1178. Of the agriculture of Mexico some account is given by the Abbé Clavigero and the Baron de Humboldt. According to the first author, agriculture was from time immemorial exercised by the Mexicans, and almost all the people of Anahuac. The Toltecan nation employed themselves diligently in it, and taught it to the Thechemecan hunters. With respect to the Mexicans, during the whole of their peregrination, from their native country Atzlan, unto the lake where they founded Mexico, they are said to have cultivated the earth in all the places where they made any considerable stop, and to have lived upon the produce of their labour. When they were brought under subjection to the Colhuan and Tepanecan nations, and confined to the miserable little islands on the lake, they ceased for some years to cultivate the land, because they had none, until necessity and industry together taught them to form movable fields and gardens, which

1179. The method of forming floating fields, which they still practise, is extremely simple. They plait and twist together willows and roots of marsh plants, or other materials which are light, but capable of supporting the earth of the field firmly united. Upon this foundation they lay the light bushes which float on the lake, and, over all, the mud and dirt which they draw up from the bottom of the same lake. Their regular figure is quadrangular; their length and breadth various; but in general, they are about eight perches long, and not more than three in breadth, and have less than a foot of elevation above the surface of the water. There were the first fields which the Mexicans owned after the foundation of Mexico; there they first cultivated the maize, great pepper, and other plants, necessary for their support. In progress of time as those fields grew numerous from the industry of those people, there were among them gardens of flowers and odoriferous plants, which were employed in the worship of their gods, and served for the recreation of the nobles. At present they cultivate flowers, and every sort of garden herbs upon them. Every day of the year, at sun-rise, innumerable vessels loaded with various kinds of flowers and herbs, which are cultivated in those fields and gardens, are seen arriving by the canal, at the great market-place of that capital. All plants thrive there surprisingly; the mud of the lake is an extremely fertile soil, and requires no water from the clouds. In the largest islands there is commonly a little tree, and even a little hut to shelter the cultivator, and defend him from rain or the sun. When the owner of an island, or the chinampa, as he is usually called, wishes to change his situation, to remove from a disagreeable neighbour, or to come nearer to his own family, he gets into his little vessel, and by his own strength alone, if the garden is small, or with the assistance of others, if it is large, he tows it after him, and conducts it wherever he pleases with the little tree and hut upon it. That part of the lake where those floating fields are is a place of infinite recreation, where the senses receive the highest possible gratification. These floating fields, Humboldt informs us, still exist: they are of two sorts; the one mobile and blown here and there by the winds, and the others fixed and united to the shore. The former alone merit the appellation of floating, and they are diminishing day by day. He assigns to them the same origin as the Abbé Clavigero; but thinks it probable that nature also may have suggested the first idea, and gives instances of small pieces of the surface, netted with roots and covered with plants, being detached from the marshy shores of other American lakes, and floating about in the water. The bean, pea, apple, artichoke, cauliflower, and a great variety of other culinary plants, are cultivated on them.

1180. A floating island, in a small lake in Haverhill, in New England, is mentioned by Dr. Dwight. It has, he was informed, immemorially floated from one shore to another, whenever it was impelled by a violent wind. Lately it has adhered for a considerable time to a single spot; and may perhaps be so firmly fixed on the shelving bottom, as to move no more hereafter. Several trees and shrubs grow on its surface, and it is covered by a fresh verdure. (Travels, vol. i. p. 371.)

1181. Having neither ploughs nor oren, nor any other animals proper to be employed in the culture of the earth, the Mexicans, when they had shaken off the Tepanecan yoke, supplied the want of them by labour, and other more simple instruments. To hoe and dig the ground they made use of the coatl, or coa, which is an instrument made of copper, with a wooden handle, but different from a spade or mattock. They made use of an axe to cut trees, which was also made of copper, and was of the same form with those of modern times, except that we put the handle in the eye of the axe, whereas they put the axe into an eye in the handle. They had several other instruments of agriculture; but the negligence of ancient writers on this subject has not left in our power to attempt their description.

1182. They irrigated their fields with the water of rivers and small torrents which came from the moun. tains, raising dams to collect them, and forming canals to conduct them. Lands which were high, or on the declivity of mountains, were not sown every year, but allowed to lie fallow until they were over-run with bushes, which they burned, to repair by their ashes the salt which rains had washed away. They surrounded their fields with stone enclosures, or hedges made of the penguin, which makes an excellent fence; and in the month Panquetzaliztli, which began on the third of December, they were repaired if necessary.

1183. In the sowing of maize, the method they observed, and which they still practise in some places, is this: the sower makes a small hole in the earth with a stick, or drill probably, the point of which is hardened by fire; into this hole he drops one or two of the grains of maize from a basket which hangs from his shoulder, and covers them with a little earth by means of his foot; he then passes forward to a certain distance, which is greater or less according to the quality of the soil, opens another hole, and continues so in a straight line to the end of the field; thence he returns, forming another line parallel to the first. The rows of plants by these means are as straight as if a line were made use of, and at as equal distances from each other as if the spaces between were measured. This method of sowing, which is now used by a few of the Indians only, though more slow, is, however, of some advantage, as they can more exactly proportion the quantity of seed to the strength of the soil; besides that there is almost none of the seed lost which is sown: in consequence of this, the crops of the fields which are thus cultivated are usually more plentiful. When the maize springs up to a certain height, they cover the foot of the plant round with earth, that it may be better nourished, and more able to withstand sudden gusts of wind.

1184. In the labours of the field men were assisted by the women. It was the business of the men to dig and hoe the ground, to sow, to heap the earth about the plants, and to reap; to the women it belonged to strip off the leaves from the ears, and to clear the grain; to weed and to shell it formed the employment of both.

1185. They had places like farm-yards, where they stripped off the leaves and shelled the ears, and granaries to preserve the grain. Their granaries were built in a square form, and generally of wood. They made use of the ojameth for this purpose, which is a very lofty tree, with but a few and slender branches, and a thin smooth bark; the wood is extremely pliant, difficult to break and slow to rot. These granaries were formed by placing the round and equal trunks of the ojameth in a square, one upon the other, without any labour except that of making a small notch towards their extremities, to adjust and unite them so perfectly as not to allow any passage to the light. When the structure was raised to a sufficient height, they covered it with another set of cross-beams, and over these the roof was laid to defend the grain from rains. These granaries had no other door or outlet than two windows; one below, which was small, and another above somewhat wider. Some of them were so large as to contain five or six thousand, or sometimes more, fanegas of maize. There are some of this sort of granaries to be met with in a few places at a distance from the capital, and amongst them some so very ancient, that they appear to have been built before the conquest; and, according to information had from persons of intelligence, they preserve the grain better than those which are constructed by the Europeans.

1186. A little tower of wood, branches, and mats, they commonly erected close to fields which were sown, in which a man, defended from the sun and rain, kept watch, and drove away the birds which came in flocks to consume the young grain. These little towers are still made use of, even in the fields of the Spaniards, on account of the excessive number of birds.

1187. The woods which supplied them with fuel to burn, timber to build, and game for the diversion of the king, were carefully preserved. The woods of King Montezuma were extensive, and the laws of King Nezahualcojot concerning the cutting of them particular and severe in their penalties. It would be of advantage to that kingdom, says Clavigero, that those laws were still in force, or at least that there was not so much liberty granted in cutting without an obligation to plant a certain number of trees; as many people, preferring their private interest and convenience to the public welfare, destroy the wood in order to enlarge their possessions.

1188. The breeding of animals was not neglected by the Mexicans: though there were no sheep, they bred up innumerable species of animals unknown in Europe. Bullock (Travels, 1824) informs us, that they are very curious in rearing and feeding swine; and that an essential requisite in a Mexican swineherd is an agreeable voice; in order that he may sing or charm the animals into peace when they quarrel and fight, and lull them to sleep at proper times to promote their fatting. Wind and sounds of every kind have been long known to have a powerful effect on this genus of animals. Private persons brought up techichis (quadrupeds similar to little dogs), turkeys, quails, geese, ducks, and other kinds of fowl; in the territories of the lords were bred fish, deer, rabbits, and a variety of birds; and at the royal residences, almost all the species of quadrupeds and winged animals of those countries, and a prodigious number of water animals and reptiles. We may say that in this kind of magnificence Montezuma II. surpassed all the kings of the world, and that there never has been a nation equal in skill to the Mexicans in the care of so many different species of animals, which had so much knowledge of their dispositions, of the food which was most proper for each, and of all the means necessary for their preservation and increase.

1189. The Mexican cochineal, so greatly valued in Europe on account of its dyes of scarlet and crimson, demands a great deal more care from the breeder than is necessary for the silkworm. Rain, cold, and strong winds destroy it; birds, mice, and worms persecute it furiously, and devour it: hence it is necessary to keep the rows of Opuntia, or nopal, where those insects are bred, always clean; to attend constantly to drive away the birds, which are destructive to them; to make nests of hay for them among the Opuntia, by the juice of which they are nourished; and when the season of rain approaches, to raise them with a part of the plants, and guard them in houses. Before the females are delivered they cast their akin, to obtain which spoil, the breeders make use of the tail of the rabbit, brushing most gently with it that they may not detach the insects from the plants, or do them any hurt. On every lobe they make three nests, and in every nest they lay about fifteen cochineals. Every year they make three gatherings, reserv. ing, however, each time, a certain number for the future generation; but the last gathering is least valued, the cochineals being smaller then, and mixed with the prickles of the Opuntia. They kill the cochineal most commonly with hot water. On the manner of drying it afterwards the quality of the colour which is obtained from it chiefly depends. The best is that which is dried in the sun. Some dry it in the comelli, or pan, in which they bake their bread of maize; and others in the temazcalli, a sort of oven Clacigero, vol i p. 357. to 581.)

1190. The fruits of Mexico are very numerous. The banana and granadilla are very common; the bread-fruit and cocoa are extensively cultivated; and a number of sorts of anona, or custard apple, and especially the cherimoyer (A. Cherimòlia), which is much esteemed. In short, all the fruits of Europe, and most of those of both Indies, are to be found in the gardens of the nobles and the priests.

SUBSECT. 3. Present State of Agriculture in the British Possessions of North America. 1191. The principal British provinces in America are Canada, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, and the adjacent islands of Newfoundland and the Bermudas.

1192. Canada is an extensive country, and the only British province in which agriculture is generally pursued. The climate of this country is extremely irregular; in July and August, the heat is often 96°, while in winter the mercury freezes. The ground is covered with snow from November till May, when it thaws suddenly, and vegetation is instantaneous. The surface of the country is generally mountainous and woody; but there are savannas and plains of great beauty towards Upper Canada.

1193 The soil consists principally of a loose dark-coloured earth, ten or twelve inches deep, lying on a bed of cold clay. This thin mould, however, is very fertile, and yields plentiful crops, although it is worked every year by the French Canadians, without being ever manured. The manures chiefly used, since the practice of manuring has been introduced, by those who are the best farmers, are marl and gypsum, the former is found in great quantities in many places along the shores of the river St. Lawrence.

1194. With respect to the products of Canada, the low country is peculiarly adapted to the growth of small grain. Tobacco also thrives well in it, but the culture is neglected, except for private use; and more than half of what is used is imported. The snuff produced from the Canadian tobacco is held in great estimation. Culinary vegetables arrive at great perfection in Canada, which is also the case with most of the European fruits. The currants, gooseberries, and raspberries are very fine; the latter are indigenous, and are found very abundantly in the woods. A kind of vine is also indigenous; but the grapes produced by it in its uncultivated state are very poor and sour, and not much larger than fine currants. In the forest there is a great variety of trees; such as beech, cak, elm, ash, pine, sycamore, chestnut, and walnut; and the sugar-maple tree is found in almost every part of the country. Of this tree there are two kinds: the one called the swamp maple, being generally found on low lands; and the other, the mountain or curled maple, from its growing upon high dry ground, and from the grain of its wood being beautifully variegated with little stripes and curls. The former yields more sap than the latter, but its sap affords less sugar. A pound of sugar is frequently procured from two or three gallons of the sap of the curled maple, whereas no more than the same

sugar is the only sort of raw sugar used in the country parts of Canada, and it is also very generally used in the towns.

1195. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are intensely cold countries, and only partially civilised. The vale of St. John's river is the principal scene of cultivation in New Brunswick. The upland parts of the country are chiefly covered with forests of pines, hemlock and spruce fir, beech, birch, maple, and some oak. The pines of St. John's river are the largest in British America, and afford a considerable supply of masts for the royal navy. Nova Scotia produces little grain; supplies being sent from England. The soil is thin and barren, except on the banks of the river, where it produces grass, hemp, and flax. A great improvement, however, in the agriculture of Nova Scotia is said to have taken place, in consequence of certain letters written on the subject, which first appeared under the name of Agricola, in the Acadian Recorder, a Halifax newspaper. These letters are by John Young, secretary to the provincial agricultural board, and have since been collected and published in a separate volume. Some account of them, accompanied by extracts, will be found in the Farmer's Magazine, vol. xxiv. p. 81. 1196. In the island of Cape Breton the soil is mere moss, and has been found unfit for agriculture. Newfoundland seems to be rather hilly than mountainous, with woods of birch, pine, and fir, numerous ponds and morasses, and some dry barrens. The chief produce of these islands, as well as of the other British possessions in America, consists of furs and skins; and the same remark will apply to the Bermudas and the unconquered countries, which need not be further noticed.

SUBSECT. 4. Of the present State of Agriculture in the West India Islands.

1197. The principal West India Islands are Cuba, St. Domingo, Jamaica, and Porto Rico; and, next, the Windward Islands, Trinidad, the Leeward Islands of the Spanish, and the Bahamas.

1198. Cuba is an extensive and naturally fertile island; but, from the indolence of the Spaniards, not above a hundredth part of it is cleared and cultivated. Like most islands in the West Indies it is subject to storms, but the climate is, upon the whole, healthy, and even temperate; for, though in this latitude there is no winter, the air is refreshed with rains and cooling breezes. The rainy months are July and August; the rest of the year is hot. A chain of mountains extends the whole length of the island from east to west, and divides it into two parts; but the land near the sea is in general level, and flooded in the rainy season. The soil is equal in fertility to any in America, producing ginger, long pepper, and other spices; aloes, mastich, cassia fistula, manioc, maize, cocoa, &c. Tobacco is one of its principal productions, and it is supposed to have the most delicate flavour of any produced in the new world. The cultivation of sugar has lately been introduced; but the indolence of the inhabitants renders it in every respect much less productive than it otherwise might be. The quantity of coffee is inconsiderable; the chief plantations are in the plains, and are cultivated by about 25,000 slaves. Among the trees are oaks, firs, palms, cotton trees, ebony, and mahogany (Swietènia Mahagoni). (fig. 161.) In 1763 bees were introduced by some emigrants from Florida, and they multiplied so much in the hollows of old trees, that they soon obtained honey enough for their annual consumption. In 1777 they exported honey to the amount of 715,000 pounds. The island abounds with mules, horses, sheep, wild boars, hogs, and fine black cattle. The horned cattle have increased so much that the forests are filled with droves of them, which run wild, and are hunted and killed for their hides and tallow. The chief birds are paroquets, turtle doves, and partridges; water-fowl are numerous; and on the coast turtles are abundant; mullets and shads are the principal fish.

1199. Jamaica has been in possession of the English since the middle of the seventeenth century. The climate is extremely hot throughout the year, though mitigated by various causes. The surface of the country is very irregular: a ridge of mountains from east to west divides it into two parts. At a small distance from the shore it rises into hills with gentle acclivity, which are separated from each other by spacious vales and romantic inequalities. On the southern side of the island there are precipices and inaccessible cliffs, amidst which are vast plains covered with extensive cane fields. To the inequalities of surface that distinguish this island it is owing, that, although the soil in many parts of the island is deep and very fertile, yet the productive land is but of small extent in proportion to the whole. That which is actually cultivated is of a middling quality, and requires labour and manure to make it yield liberally.