dialectics to look upon a plant or animal as other than perfect in itself and perfect in relation to nature as a grand whole-that the imperfection of man and the manifest march of man onwards and upwards may, on rational grounds, find its explanation, not in a process of evolution from an original state of utter barbarism, or worse, but in the way which is pointed out in the Scriptures. Up to a certain point, no doubt, man owes much of his improvement to descent; but, so far as I can make out, the improvement which is due to this cause is but small in comparison to that which I do not hesitate to ascribe to intuition, or rather to Inspiration. The exceptional appearance of the great men of the earth-the salt by which the common herd of mankind is seasoned and preserved from corruption-is not to be accounted for by descent; it can only be accounted for by intuition-by the baptism of fire -by Inspiration. In every case, as it seems to me, man is almost suddenly raised to a higher level, not by self-assertion, but by self-abasement, selfsacrifice, his strength always being made perfect in weakness, through intuition through the baptism of fire-through Inspiration. The process is as much opposed as it can be to the notion of slow selfdevelopment-at-the-expense-of-others upon which the Darwinian doctrine of evolution is based. M. It follows, more or less clearly, from what has been said, that the life of man is not closed by death. Does it follow that all that may be claimed for man in this direction may also be claimed for all other living creatures? C. I do not see my way clearly out of this difficulty. It may be that similar plants and animals are perpetuated, and that the same plants and animals are not perpetuated. It may be that the same ridos or seminal form does duty in building up a succession of similar plants and animals. I can scarcely imagine a future state of things in which man is alone with his fellow man and with God. But M. But, it is time to come to a close, for, instead of listening to your last remarks, I have been wondering what our friend at The Retreat would think if he had been listening to our conversation and were of a malicious frame of mind. You have been striving to show that the true pedigree of man must reach its beginning, as did the pedigree of St. Joseph which is recorded in the Gospel of St. Luke, that is, through Noe, "which was the son of Lamech, which was the son of Mathusela, which was the son of Enoch, which was the son of Jared, which was the son of Maleleel, which was the son of Cainan, which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God." Whereas he, poor fellow, was put under a certificate of lunacy, and sent to an asylum, because he believed himself to be the son of God, and was thought to have manifested suicidal tendencies. It may even be wrong to suppose that he wished to drown himself when he was found floundering in the river. He would never say why he got into this dilemma, but he always repudiated the notion of suicidal intention or impulse. He may have got into the water because he believed himself to be capable of walking upon it-as Christ is seen to be doing in a favourite picture of his. And if this were so, then there may have been no very sufficient ground for dealing with him as lunatic; for, to be over-charitable, which was and is his only fault, is no very certain sign of lunacy. It is, indeed, well for those who shut him up that he cherishes no feeling of resentment against them, for an action might lie against them, with a certainty of heavy damages, if a jury could be brought to adopt your views respecting the pedigree of man. Goodnight. C. Only one word more. You have not thought it necessary to say anything in answer to those who believe that man is descended from several distinct stocks. Am I at liberty to disregard those views, and to take Adam as the true starting-point for all races of man? M. I claim for myself such liberty, and I have done so ever since the time when I became acquainted with Dr. Prichard's great work on "The Physical History of Mankind." C. I must read that book when I can get it. C. Good-night. "Die Geisterwelt ist nicht verschlossen; C. B. RADcliffe. AGRICULTURAL PROSPECTS IN ENGLAND, CANADA, AND THE UNITED STATES. THE HE old adage that "misfortunes never come singly" has been seldom more strikingly illustrated than in the year 1879, which will long be memorable in the annals of England on account of the combination of adversities which affected the nation's prosperity. The general scarcity of employment, the stagnation of trade, and the unfavourable weather, which prevented either fruit or grain from properly maturing, seriously affected most classes, but chiefly those interested in agriculture; the extent of whose loss may be estimated from the fact that it was necessary to import 18,000,000 quarters of foreign wheat, at a probable cost of £46,000,000, to supply the deficiency of home produce, which only amounted to about 6,000,000 quarters. It is not pleasant to contemplate this enormous sum of money withdrawn from home enterprise and the comforts of the English people to enrich other communities, especially the United States, whose selfish and exclusive fiscal policy shuts out as much as possible of our manufactures. The past unfavourable season ruined many of the farmers, and compelled most landowners to reduce their rents. Indeed, it is probable that the extent to which those engaged in the cultivation of the soil are injured is not yet known, since a landlord would naturally avoid dealing hardly with his tenant, even if unable to pay his rent, while so many farms were vacant. Some idea of the severity of the pressure experienced may, however, be gathered from the Agricultural Returns of June, 1879, which showed a reduction of nearly 2000 in the number of occupiers of land, owing for the most part, without doubt, to so many farms having been thrown upon the hands of their owners; and from the fact that, during each of the later months of 1879, between 500 and 600 farmers executed Bills of Sale, as against an average of only 80 for the years 1870-3. Much of this suffering and loss may be traced to temporary causes which will pass away. The unexplained cycle in which bad years succeed good and good years succeed bad, alike in agriculture and commerce, will soon bring more genial seasons and a revival of trade. But it is a question well worth careful study whether even then the conditions of English agriculture can remain as heretofore, and how far the competition of American and Canadian agriculturists will ultimately affect the interests of the farmers and landowners of this country. Notwithstanding that much has been already written upon this subject, it is worthy of continued attention on account of the enormous interests at stake. The social and pecuniary position of the territorial aristocracy, and the capability of land to bear in the future its present share of local and imperial taxation, are both involved; as also another question of no little importance-namely, whether the bulk of the profit to be obtained by supplying this country with grain shall enrich other, and it may be hostile nations, or bring wealth to our own colonists. It has been said that the power of foreign agriculturists to compete with our own resolves itself into a question of freight as against rent. But this is hardly a correct statement, since the English farmer is not only weighted with rent, but with a heavy local and imperial taxation. He is also often restricted as to the method of cultivating his land, incurs great expense in manuring it, and has to suffer from extravagant charges for the railway carriage of his produce. Moreover, he has to contend with inefficient labour, the result of those degrading influences which have been for long deteriorating our agricultural population. The Nemesis which follows injustice is now tracking the descendants of those who, in former times, allowed the independence of the labourers to be destroyed by rates in aid of labour, thus imbuing this class with a pauper spirit, which is still strong in many districts. The following statistics regarding the cultivation of wheat in England, which have been collected from the best sources, may be taken as fairly correct, though it is difficult to obtain exact information, as the cost of producing and the results vary very much, according to the mode of cultivation and the locality. The average yield per acre on good soil and in ordinary seasons may, however, be estimated at about 291 bushels, and the average weight at 61 lbs. to the bushel; a result which compares very favourably with most other countries, as, for instance: In Holland the average yield is 28 bushels per acre. France 5호 10 The price of wheat in England during the five years preceding 1871 was 558. 2 d., and during the five years preceding 1879, 52s. 5d. per quarter; and, at the former price, the pecuniary return per acre of land under wheat was £10 1s. 6d. The cost of production, as has been said, varies very much. Mr. Mechi, one of the most able of our agriculturists, gives it as between £7 and £8 per acre; and his opinion, which is supported by that of other competent authorities, is that 40s. per quarter is the lowest price at which wheat will pay the producer. We may, therefore, conclude that under present conditions this is the lowest price at which wheat can be produced at a profit in England; and the result of the past year shows that present prices of meat and other agricultural produce will not suffice to compensate for any material fall in the price of grain. On the other hand, we find that the cost of wheat production in Minnesota, in the United States, is about 15s. 3d. per quarter, made up as follows : "The land is easily broken up at 12s. per acre, and cross-ploughing or backsetting is undertaken at a cost of 8s. So soon as the weather permits, the seed is sown. It comes up in a few days, and requires no further labour until harvest. Gathering and threshing cost about another 12s. per acre, which, allowing 68. for seed, which is a full estimate, gives a total of 38s. per acre. The average produce is about twenty bushels per acre.' A gentleman who has recently travelled through Manitoba, and devoted most careful attention to the subject, gives the cost at which wheat can be produced in the North-West, or fertile belt of Canada, and the probable cost of conveying it to Liverpool on the completion of the line of railway now being constructed between Manitoba and Canada, as follows: "When," he says, "the railway is completed, by which time a railway from Winnipeg, the capital of Manitoba, to the West, to the extent of two hundred and fifty miles, will also probably be ready, and the Welland Canal deepened so as to allow large steamers to pass between Thunder Bay and Kingston, the following will be the proximate cost of growing and transporting grain from that portion of Canada to Liverpool : "Corn can be grown within this district, including all outlays, interest on land bought, labour, ploughing, sowing, and harvesting, for 45c. per bushel, or 158. per quarter. Transit by railway to Thunder Bay will cost 15c. per bushel; transit by steamer from Thunder Bay to Montreal, including landing at Kingston, 10c. per bushel; and freight from Montreal to Liverpool, including lifting charges, 5s. per quarter; which is equal to a cost of 13s. 4d. per quarter for transit from a point two hundred and fifty miles west of Winnipeg to Liverpool. "The total cost will then be as under Producing wheat on fertile land within two hun- -15s. per quarter. 13s. 4d. 288. 4d. "In practice," he adds, "I am satisfied that, three years hence, wheat grown in our North-West will be laid down in Liverpool at from 26s. to 28s. per quarter." * The Times, 28th October, 1879. |