against the fea; and, fo loofe is their furface, that the weft and northwest winds, whofe violence is here peculiarly tramendous, brush it off, adding to the fterility of the parts adjacent, what they take from the fecurity of the whole country. This fandy rampart (to obferve it by the way) feems, in a manner, left to the care of the fame engineer, that first raifed it, Nature. She has indeed pointed out the way how to bind it fast, by causing to grow in many parts of it, the Arundo arenaria, Elymus arenarius, Triticum junceum, Convolvulus Soldanella, Hippophaë rhamneides, and (though rare) Salix arenaria: but thefe her hints, have not been followed up and improved.

:

From its nature and fituation a country lying low and near the fea muft of courfe have the water not far from the furface and, as fuch is the nature and fituation, fo alfo is it the cafe of Flanders. Now this circumftance, unremedied, chills the very vitals of agriculture.

For, allowing that a foil, fuch as has been defcribed above, contains the food neceffary to plants; yet this food is loft to them, if they are not put in a way and condition to feck it. The principal channels through which plants receive their nourishment, are their roots. The bed, therefore, in which it is intended that plants fhould thrive, muft afford, to the minuteft fibres of their roots, a free and cafy paffage and, because experience teaches us that air is indifpenfably neceffary to vegetation, to the influence of the air alfo muft that bed be penetrable. Upon thefe principles have the various implements of husbandry been provided, to break, to crumble, to pulverize the earth.

It remains now to fee by what means the induftry of the Flemish has been able to effect thefe purposes in a country abounding with water, and to bring that country under the high degree of culti vation in which it is at present. The means are very fimple. Befides a great number of artificial canals, which antwer the double purpofe of commerce and draining, other confiderable drains conduct the fuperfluous water, either into the natural

rivers, or at once into the fea.

This practice may be no more than what other countries of fimilar fituation have in common with Flanders: but this is not all. An infinity of fimaller cuts and ditches divide it, and bleed out its redundant moisture: not a whole farm only, bu; every piece of ground, every houfe,

a moa

ree

every hut, is furrounded w ditch of fome kind. The fubdivifi the fields themselves has fomething fin larly nice and laboured. Beds, from to eight feet in breadth, are separated fro each other by a deep furrow. The furrow which feparates the beds, is trenched to the depth of between twelve and twenty inches, in proportion to the lefs or greater stiffness of the foil; and the mould neatly fcattered over the beds, whose surface li ade. even with edges as ftrait and as full as thofe of a bed, of afparagus, when it is dreffed for the winter, a wonder to behold. All these trenches, communicated with the main drain, either immediately, or by the mediation of another cut running across their extremities, and leaving a headland where the fide of the ground may make it neceffary. To return to the beds. This mode of dreffing the land is fo prevailing, that, even in places which by their elevation require it lefs, a fcrupulous attention is paid to the practice: as if the object was no lets to admit the air, than to exclude the water. Here then, a in brief, is the whole mystery; this is the bafis, this the foundation of Flemish hufbandry: others are but fecondary means.

But before this account is permitted to proceed to more minute obfervations, hu mode alfo of enclosing claims our notice. It is already apparent, from what has jutt been faid, that ditches, whilst they drain, difcriminate the lands. The fences here are water. Wherever the hand of indus try is most conspicuous, every field, which feldom excedes two or three acres, is encompaffed with a ditch. This ditch is, at the top, from fix to ten feet over; but, at the depth of two feet or more, two horizontal shelves or borders, each two feet wide, are taken from the breadth of it, one on each side: the ditch having thus loft four feet of its breadth, is deepened four or five more, with a flope fufficient to uphold the fides. The borders left on both fides are not thrown away: for, at proper diftahces are planted the Populus alba, tremula, nigra; and Salix alba. The Lombardy poplar too, has, within thefe twenty years, been here introduced to its aquatic fifters. The remaining in

tervals are dedicated to the Betula Alnus, for coppice-wood. The advantages refulting from this manner of enclosing, are manifold. The earth dug out, has given the area of the enclosure an arable elevation; the capital mifchiefs of rainy feafons are prevented; the fcouring of the ditch is excellent manure; and a genial

atmosphere,

1

phere nknown to bleak expofures, rooding on the land.

The fize of farms in general is modeIn the Pays de Waefe in particular, ich is deemed the richest in all Flaners, thirty or forty acres English is no contemptible farm. There are alfo many of greater extent; but then there are thofe, which cannot afford a horfe, and where y the whole bufinefs is executed with the ade. That is accounted a very fizeable a farm, which can be carried on, in all its ts departments, by the affiftance of two or three fervants or labourers added to the hands of the family. Upon thefe laft are to acquired fortunes, which enable the farmers to retire and spend the rest of their days at their favourite St. Nicholas, the principal market town of the Pays de to Waefe. Many there are, who own the land they occupy.. Hence fprings an incredible fpirit of industry: example anifor mates. Whoever is able, purchases a nook where he can; where

Sau regna videns miratur, the and falls in love with independence.

Of the implements of husbandry it need only be told, that to an English eye they have a clumfy appearance. The fpades dindeed are handy, five inches by fifteen, fed to the trenching bufinefs. The shoes are mattocks. The harrows have wooden teeth, or tines of an enormous length, pointing forward, and reaching as deep as the plough has opened the ground. No invariable rotation of crops feems established. What is moft wanting and the se ground will bear, is fown: yet the repetition of clover has an interval of fix years; fo has that of flax; no follows. Some very dry and sandy spots rest for a few years under broom fown among rye, for which latter alone this foil is fit. Clover is ploughed up the second year.

Clover,

but instead of wheat, especially if it has preceded thofe crops very lately, is fown medin, rye, or barley; thefe three as well as the wheat, are winter corn.

As foon as a crop is off the ground, if the land is not wanted for winter-corn, in goes the plough for turneps; thefe fucceed very frequently to colefeed.

After turneps come fpring vegetables, oats, beans, flax, and buck-wheat. It may be remarked, that for fpring-fowing the beds are two or three times as wide as for winter, with the trenches between fhallow.

If the ground is not thought fufficiently clean for flax, it is dug a foot deep, or deeper, with a spade.

The ufual manure is dung, lime, peatafhes, wood-afhes, lye-athes from the foap-boilers, and the drainings of the cow-houfe meeting human excrements in a well constructed to receive them; whence after proper fermentation, they are con veyed in cafks to the fields.

Short rotten dung is ufed for flax, for potatoes long. If the ground has had no dung, when it was dug for flax, it is topdreffed with peat-afhes. Clover thrives better being top dreffed with these than with any other manure: the time for it is march. In the latter end of June, or the beginning of July, after the first mowing, a top-dreffing of lime is often administered, when the clover is even a foot high. Wood and lye-afhes agree beft with meadows, efpecially falt marfhes. As for the foetid mixture, where it is wanted, it is ladled on flax and turneps just after sowing; and on the tardy clumps of potatoes. The ground is generally limed for turneps before ploughing.

The beft peat-afhes come from Holland, and are in Flemish called Hollandts-afh. The Flemish peat-afhes are inferior to the Dutch; but fome people fay that with the addition of fea falt they might be ren

Beans,

-Potatoes,

THE

HE navigation act was first enacted in the time of the ufurpation in 1651, and re-enacted on the restoration with fome variations, as appears by Scobell's collections. The principle of this at was interwoven by James I. and Charles I.

But this being the registered" tonnage, in order to find the real tonnage, add one third

nnage}

266,288

1,065,152

71,010

Add one 15th for the tonnage of Scotland, British commercial tonnage, 1,136,162 navigated (allowing 12 men to 200 tons) by 68,228 failors.

At the time of establishing the navigation act, the foreign tonnage cleared outwards, was equal to half the English tonnage. About the year 1700, it was confiderably lefs than a fifth of the English. About the year 1725, it was little more than a nineteenth part. In 1750, it was rather more than a twelfth part, and in 1774, it was confiderably lefs than a twelfth.

The immediate great effed of the act in queftion, and the gradual great effect Ence, furely fpeaks fufficiently. Is it neceffary to add more to induce Englishmen to fupport that incftimable law !

It is a well known fact, that our Weft India plantations have been fettled and extended, in no inconfiderable degree, upon the credit given by our merchants; and that, perhaps, not lefs than a third part of all the property in the islands is either owned by or owing to the inhabitants of this country; ander fuch circumstances, furely, the British creditor has a right to expect every kind of public fecurity for his property thus invefted, which he conceived he derived from the navigation act; poffibly in a great measure, from the idea

of this fecurity, he ventured to launch out fo largely in a concern so distant from his immediate infpection. If the North American States are permitted to become the carriers between the continent and the iflands, a very favourable opportunity will be afforded to such of the planters as may wish to evade the payment of their debts to this country, when they find it more convenient to apply their crops to other purpofes. Is it not a poffible cafe, that they may in fome inftances fell a part, or the whole, of their crops to the North American merchants, who, having eftablifhed a credit here, will pay them one third in bills of exchange upon England, a third in lumber, provifions, &c. and the remainder either in cafh or bills, when the cargo is difpofed of in Europe, and the merchant has availed himfelf of the proceeds? The planter may apply the money to difcharge his engagements in the islands, in purchafing flaves to improve and extend his eftate, &c. &c. whilft his British creditors may be put off from time to time. But the evil might not rest here. The North American merchant would be furnished with a valuable commodity, which would eftablish his credit in Europe, and enable him to purchase those foreign manufactures, that would otherwife be imported into America, through the medium of Great Britain.

By preventing their veffels from coming to our iflands, we fhall alfo avoid, in great meafure, the mifchief complained of, that the Americans took cafh from our iflands for lumber and provifions, and laid it out in the foreign iflands from the opportunity of getting West India produce there, at a much cheaper rate. If this trade fhould be confined to our own fhipping, rum and other articles will be bartered for lumber and provisions.

By ineffectual and unneceffary attempts to court American commerce, we fhall difguft nations with whom we have great intercourfe, and prejudice the best trade we have. Our exports to the Baltic and the countries North of Holland, are equal to what our exports to the American Sta tes were at any time; and more real Britifh fhipping has been employed to the North, than had ever been employed to the American States. Before the war, very few British fhips went to the ports north of Philadelphia; they went principally to the Southern States. Lift of Ships that passed the Sound, to and from the Baltic for Three Years preceeding 1782.