Ionian Islands the richest lands, once in a state of high cultivation, are now almost entirely abandoned; and must so continue until there can be again exhibited that habit of association which enables man to combine with his fellow-man for the subjugation of nature.

Coming now to Africa, we may trace the increase of that habit, and the growth of that power, in the gradual descent of population towards the Nile-bringing into activity the rich lands of the Delta; and with their decline, the abandonment of those lands, the filling up of the canals, and the concentration of the population on the higher and less productive soils. Passing thence to the Roman province, we see the rich lands of the olden time— the plains of the Metidja, of Bona, and others—almost, even when not quite, abandoned; while the yet remaining population clusters around the mountains of the Atlas. Looking next to Italy, we see a growing people subduing to cultivation the rich. lands of the Campagna and of Latium, to be again gradually abandoned and now affording miserable subsistence to men, many of whom go clothed in skins of beasts—and whose number but little exceeds that of the cities which once flourished there. Passing north, we may see the rich lands of the Siennese republic in cultivation until the sixteenth century, when the ferocious Marignan drove to the hills the small remnant of the population that escaped the sword-and gave to the world a pestilential desert, in lieu of the highly cultivated farms that before abounded. Farther north may be seen the destruction of the canals of Pisa and the abandonment of its fertile soils, while its inhabitants perish by pestilence within the city walls-or transfer themselves to the head of the Arno, to seek there the subsistence no longer afforded by the richer lands near its mouth.

In France, in the days of the English wars, we see the lower and richer countries ravaged by bands of fierce mountaineers the wild Breton, the ferocious Gascon, and the mercenary Swissunited for the plunder of the men who cultivated the more fertile soils and driving them to seek refuge in the wild and savage Brittany itself. We may see the richest lands of the kingdom rendered utterly desolate-la Beauce, one of its most fertile portions, becoming again a forest-while from Picardy to the Rhine not a house, unprotected by city walls, is left standing, nor a farm

that is not stripped. In later times, Lorraine was reduced to a desert and fine forests but recently stood where formerly the richer soils yielded liberal returns to labor. Throughout France we witness the effects of perpetual war, in the concentration of the whole agricultural population in villages, at a distance from the lands they cultivate-there inhaling a foul atmosphere, and losing half their time in transferring themselves, their rude implements, and their products, to and from their little properties; whereas the same labor bestowed upon the land itself would give to cultivation the richer soils.

§ 3. Crossing the Atlantic, we find further evidence of the fact that as population everywhere brings the food from the rich soils, so depopulation everywhere drives men back to the poor ones. In the days of Cortes, the valley of Mexico afforded food for a numerous people, but it is now in a state of desolation-its canals choked up and its cultivation abandoned; while, from the poorer lands that border it, strings of mules bring, from a distance of fifty miles, the provisions by which the people of the city are now supplied.

Passing north and arriving in the United States, we find further illustration of the law, that to enable men to pass from the cultivation of the poor to the rich lands there must be a growing habit of association, consequent upon diversification in the modes of employment, and development of their various individualities. The State of Virginia once stood at the head of the Union, but the policy she has advocated has tended to the exhaustion of the lands first cultivated and to the abandonment of her soil-the consequences of which are seen in the constantly increasing unhealthiness of the parts first occupied-the lower counties of the State. "The entire country," says a recent writer, "is full of the ruins of gentlemen's mansions-some of them palatial in size noble old churches, whose solid walls were built of imported brick, but which could not hold the builders. And as for their descendants," as he asks, "where are they? The splendor, indeed, which filled all the counties of Lower Virginia has departed. Why? Because the whole country is miasmatic, and is suffered to remain so. It is dangerous for whites to spend the sickly season there; and all, accordingly, who can, abandon

and

their homes in August and September, to seek a more healthful location.

“This miasmatic region covers all the sea-coast of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, except occasionally an isolated spot; and extends inland from ten to a hundred miles. It is so bad in the vicinity of Charleston, that it is death to sleep a single night outside of the city; and even riding across the infected district in the night, on the railroad, has caused all the passengers to vomit like a sea-sick company on shipboard."

As a consequence of this, Virginia and Carolina are steadily declining in their position in the Union; and so must continue to do, until increase in the power of association shall enable them to cultivate their richest lands.-Looking to Jamaica, we see the same great fact as a result of the selfsame cause- a recent return of the property on the island showing that no less than 128 sugar estates have been totally, while 71 have been partially, abandoned. If to these be added the coffee and other estates wholly or partially so, the number amounts to 413- embracing an area of more than four hundred thousand acres.

Abandonment of the soil by a portion of its inhabitants, brings with it, necessarily, a diminution of the power of combination for the maintenance of drains that are required for the preservation of health and for the construction and support of roads; and as the burdens increase, the disposition to fly from the land is seen augmenting from year to year. The purely agricultural country must export raw produce and must exhaust its soil; and such export must bring with it a necessity for the export of man - followed by constant decline in the power of association, in the development of individuality, in the ability to maintain commerce, and in the position of the community among the communities of the world. That such is the case is proved by the experience of all antiquity; and if we would see it fully established in modern times, we have but to turn our eyes to Portugal, Ireland, and Turkey in the Eastern hemisphere, and Jamaica, Carolina, and Virginia in the Western one.

Whenever population and wealth, and the consequent power of combination, are permitted to increase, there arises a tendency towards the abandonment of the poor lands first cultivated; as is

proved by the experience of France, England, Scotland, Sweden, and several of our Northern States. Whenever, on the contrary, population, wealth, and the power of association decline, it is the rich soil that is abandoned by men who fly again to poor ones, in hopes to find in their cultivation the means of subsistence for their families and themselves. With every step in the former direction, there is an increase in the value of man and a decline in that of all the commodities required for his use, accompanied by growing facility of accumulation; whereas with every movement in the latter one, he becomes more and more the slave of nature and of his fellow-man, with constant increase in the value of commodities, and as constant decline in his own.

CHAPTER VI.

OF VALUE.

§ 1. WITH the growth of numbers and increase in the power of association, man is everywhere seen passing from the cultivation of the poor to that of the richer soils-from being the slave of nature towards becoming her absolute master, and compelling her to do his bidding — from a state of weakness towards one of strength from being a mere creature of necessity towards becoming a being of power-from poverty to wealth-and now possessed of numerous objects to which he attaches the idea of VALUE. Why he does so, and how he is accustomed to measure value, we may now examine.

The

The

Our Crusoe, on his island, found himself surrounded by fruits, flowers, and animals of various descriptions-some of them more, and others less, calculated to supply his wants; but nearly all of them beyond the reach of his unassisted forces. The hare and the goat so far excelled him in speed, that he could have no hope for success in the chase while dependent on his legs alone. bird could soar in the air, while he was chained to earth. fish could sink at once into the deep water, where, if he attempted to follow, he would surely perish; and he might die of hunger in the sight of endless quantities of the materials of food, while the fly and the ant were rejoicing in the superabundance of their supplies. The tree would furnish him with a house, had he an axe with which to fell it; or a saw with which to convert it into planks. Destitute of these implements, he finds himself compelled to occupy a hole in the earth, always damp and always exposed to the wind; while the humble-bee is enabled to provide for herself the most perfect habitation.

Inferior to all other beings in the physical qualities required for self-preservation-and in the instinct which prompts them to