A G R
A G R
that the ftandard be moderate, and that its 4grarzan\&vf& pre- vent accumulation.
This author thinks, that in a territory not exceeding England in revenue, if the ballance be in more hands than three hundred, it is declining from monarchy; and if it be in fewer than five thoufand hands, it is fwerving from a commonwealth, V. Harringt, Works, p. 392.
The fame writer defines an equal Agrarian, a perpetual law eftablifhing and preferving the ballance of dominion by fuch a distribution, that no one man, or number of men, within the compafs of the few or ariitocracy, can come to over- power the whole people, by their pofleflions in lands. Ibid.
P-54-
He alfo obferves, that the people of Rome by ftriving for an Agrarian, ftrove to fave their liberty ; and that commonwealth, thro' want of fuch a law, or the non-obfervance of it, came to ruin.
In the Grecian cities, the defect of an Agrarian was fupphed by oftracifm.
In Venice, the council of ten, and the officers of pomp, re- flrain thofe who might be too powerful ; and thefe two orders in a commonwealth, where the gentry have but ImaH eftates in land, are as much as needs be in lieu of an Agra- rian.
Some German republics have no more to fupply the place of this law, than that eftates defcending are divided among the chil- dren. — And the fame law would eftablifh an Agrarian in En- gland, lb. p. 292, 293.
Agrarian laws may be framed different ways, as by intailing the lands upon certain families, without power of alienation in any cafe, as in Ifrael and Lacedemon : or, except with leave of die magiftrate, as in Spain. But this by making fome families too fecure, as thofe in poffeffion, and others too de- fpairing, as thofe not in poileffion, may make the whole peo- ple lefs induftrious.
Therefore Harrington prefers a law regulating eftates, fo that no man mall have above two thoufand pounds a year in land ; and that the eftates of thofe who exceed this proportion, fhall be divided in defcending to their children, till the greater fhare do not exceed 2000 /. per annum. This is the rule he lays down for bis commonwealth of Oceana, by which he means his fcheme for the government of En- gland.
By this law Harrington intended that the property of land in England, fhould never fall into fewer hands than 5000 ; as he computes the rents of this country to be ten millions. But if thefe rents, as is probable, amount now to twenty mil- lions, it would follow that, by our author's rule, the land could never be in lefs than 10000 hands, which, accord- ing to his fyftem, muft effectually fecure the liberties of the people.
It would exceed the limits of our defign, to enter into die full detail of all the reafonings of this ingenious author, on the fubject of Agrarian laws ; we therefore refer to his works. See alfo the articles Government, Property, &c. AGRESTA, in medicine, an unripe grape ; otherwife called, Omphax and Uva acerba, by the French Verjus. Agreflis are held cooling, deterfive, and aitringent ; they temper the acrimony of the bile, and chear the heart a . Eaten plentifully, they have been found to deftroy worms b . — [ a Le- mery, des Drog. p. 19. h Vallifnieri, Prim. Raccolt. d'ofie- roaz. p. 89. Giorn. de Letter, d'ltal. T. 5. p. 182.] Agresta is fome times alfo applied to the juice of this fruit, more properly called Qmpbacium. Cajl. Lex. Med. P* 2 5* £$uinc. Lex. Med. p. 12. Bwggr. Lex. Med. P- 357- fe q- AGRICULTURE (Cycl. ) is particularly ufed to denote the art of managing and improving fields, arable, pafture, and meadow. In which fenfe it Bands contradiftingutfhed from gardening, the culture of the vineyard, of timber, woods, &c. Agriculture is alfo ufed in a more cxtenfive (zi\['z, for the whole art of husbandry. Phil. Tranf. N°. 114. p. 320. Agriculture, in this fenfe, befides tillage, comprehends feeding and the management of cattle, and the rural fports, hunting, fifhing, &c t Some even include under it the hufi- nefs of mines, coal-pits, and other fubterraneous matter. Walch. Introd. Philof. 1. 2. c. 7. §. 30. p. 611. feq. Agriculture is faid to have been firft invented, at leaft per- fected in Europe, by Ceres, queen of Sicily, in memory whereof, flie was placed among the principal divinities : fhe taught the inhabitants of that iiland how to fow all kinds of grain, particularly wheat, as well as die manner of reaping, grinding, and making bread. Till that time corn had only been confidered like other herbs, and fuffered to grow wild among the reft, without any care taken to fcperate, cultivate, or apply it to die nourifhment of man. Sicily, where the foil is fo fertile in corns, was the place where its ufe was firft difcovered ; and from hence the knowledge of it was propagated into Italy, Greece, and the more north- ern parts of Europe. In confeq.uen.ee of the new invention, Ceres firft made a law, for diitingu ifhing lands and pofleflions, which till then lay open and in common, that each perfon might reap the corn, he had been at the pains of Cowing. Vid. Le Clerc. Bibl. Hiftor. T. 6. » 62. feq.
The primitive Agriculture is ftill faid to be fubfifting affiofig the favages of America, who fow, reap, and prepare the corn much as was done fome thoufand years ago, e'er mills were invented. Lafitcu, Paral. des Mccurs des Sauvag. ap, Mcm. de Trev. 1725. p. 200.
During the firft 500 years of Rome* the people employed all their intervals of peace in Agriculture ; the difference of condition was not then at all perceived in the difference of occupation. The great were not lefs laborious than the poor 4 and thofe two ranks fo different from each other in the city^ under the titles of Patricians and Plebeians, were united in the country under the common name of hufbandmem Hif- tory is full of fuch inftances, not only in the firft ages of the commonwealth, when it was ufual to take dictators^ and confuls from their farms ; and from the low office cf driving cattle, remove them to the command of legions ; but alfo in thofe flourifhing days, when Rome had already fubdued Italy* and began to be refpc&ed on the other fide the fea. It is trite that C^ Cincinatus was found plowing his ground, when news was brought of his being named dictator. But what is^ not fo well known, Curius Dentatus, Eabricius, Attilius, Licinius Stolo, Cato the cenfor, and many others appear to have taken their furnames from that part of the country life* to which they had chiefly applied thcmfelves. For it is hence, according to Varro, Pliny, and Plutarch, that the families Afmia, Vitellia, Suillia, Porcia, and Ovinia were fo called ; by reafon of their authors or founders, who had diftinguifhed them- felves, by the breeding of fuch animals. And thus others ren- dered themfclves famous by the culture of certain herbs, or pulfe ; whence the denominations Fabius, Pifo, Cicero, &c, Vid. L'Abbe de Couture, in Mem. Acad. Infcrip, T. 2. p. 388. Mem. de Trev. 1708. p. 1159. It was reputed a kind of infamy to ncglc£t or defpife the cul* ture of their grounds, and it was to praife a man, in Cato's judgment, to fay he was much addicted to tillage. The in- habitants of the country were held in more efteem than thofe of cities ■, and accordingly the ruftic tribes were allowed the preheminence, and it is faid to have been chiefly thefe that produced the braveft foldiers. Olivet, ap. jour, des Scav. T. 67. p. 653.
Agriculture firft fell to decay in Italy towards the clofe of the eighth century, on occafion of the irruptions of the Lombards, under king Aftolpbus, and afterwards of the Hungari and the Sarazens, who fpread terror and defolation over the whole country. The Popes being forced to Avignon,- could bring no remedy to the difeafe ; and it is only within thefe two laft centuries, that any meafiires have been taken in earneft for cultivating the country about Rome. S. Nuzzi a learned Roman prelate, has a trcatife on the fubjccl:, wherein he propofes divers means for that end.
The firft, to grant privileges to hufbandmen, after the ex- ample of Theodofius, Arcatlius, Honorius, and divers popes, as Clement VII, Sixtus IV, Julius II, Clement VIII, Paul V. The fecond by fettling a vent for corn into other countries. The third by introducing the culture of other plants befides corn, as hemp, olives, millet, vines, mulberry-trees, &c. V. Mem. de Trev. 1703. p. 468, — 472. Agriculture has met with different fates in different na- tions ; of all people the Jews feem to have been molt en j tirely attached to it a . It was long negle£ted among the northern nations, as the Goths b , Germans, Britons c , &f> ; who chofe rather to fubfift themfelves by the chace, the ufe of milk, fifh, fowl, &c. The like ftill obtains among the favages of Louifiana, where the tillage of the ground is left to the women d , the men being employed in hunting, csY. Among the Japanefe, Agriculture retains its antient honour, and among the Cbinefe is diftinguifhed and encouraged by the court beyond all other feiences. — [ a GundUng. Hift. Philof. Moral, c. 7. §. 3. p. 82. b Rudbeck. Atlant. ap. Phil. Tranf. N°. 300. p. 2032. c Coming, de Habit. Corp. Germ. p. 53. feq. d Jour, des Scav. T. 67. p. 621.]
To encourage the people to Agriculture, the emperor of China yearly, at the beginning of fpring, goes to plough in perfon, aflifted by all the princes and grandees of the empire. The ceremony is performed with great folemnity ; and is accompanied with a facrifice, which the emperor, as high- prieft, offers to Chang Ti, to produce a plentiful crop in fa- vour of his people. To prepare himfelf for this facrifice, the emperor is to faft, and abftain from venery, the three days preceding ; and the like preparation is to be made by thofe who attend him. On the day of the ceremony, the emperor deputes fome of his chief courtiers to the hall of his anceftors, where, falling proitrate, they give them notice, as if they were ftill alive, that on the morrow he will offer the great facrifice. Divers tribunals have alio a fhare in the prepara- tions : one is to provide the things to be offered ; another compofes the words, which die emperor is to rehearfe ; a third is to affemble forty or fifty venerable aged hufbandmen, to be prefent when the emperor ploughs ; as many young perfons, cf the fame profeffion, are alfo brought, to put the plough-gear in order, bamefs the oxen, and prepare the feed corn. The emperor fows five kinds of grain, which are thofe moft neceffary in China, and under which all the reft are included, viz. wheat, rice, beans, arid two fpecies of
millet.
