portion portion of arable land lies fallow; the gross produce per acre is much less than it is in Belgium
patch of land, and they have four or five children, and they will say, 'To A so much is given; to B so much is given; to C so much; and to D so much is given.' And it is a common practice with them, after they have got husbands for their daughters, and have got rid of their children in that way, to dispose of it to another party in the same way, who is ignorant of the previous disposition. Then between these parties, the rightful owner, in the first place, and these other parties, there is an eternal scene of litigation taking place." - Ibid. p. 382.
Rob. O'Brien, Agent and Land Proprietor.
"This class (small farmers) also embarrass themselves very much in giving marriage portions to their daughters, consisting often of some money, some stock, and generally a promissory-note for a part of it. . . .
"By what means are children provided for at the death of their parents?—The case of children is one of the most difficult of solution, and a constant source of controversy between landlords and tenants, as amongst the small farmers
fying remarks which Mr. Mill has added in his last edition to the chapter from which they are taken.
"Impressed with the conviction that, of all faults which can be committed by a scientific writer on political and social subjects, exaggeration, and assertion beyond the evidence, most require to be guarded against, I limited myself in the early editions of this work to the foregoing very moderate statements. I little knew how much stronger my language might have been without exceeding the truth, and how much the actual progress of French agriculture surpassed anything which I had at that time sufficient grounds to affirm."—Ibid. p. 191.
As, however, the subdivision of holdings and parcelles in France has considerably increased between the dates of the two editions, I do not apprehend that Mr. Mill has changed the opinion he had previously expressed on this latter point.
"La révolution de 93, en morcelant les biens nationaux,a fait une chose agréable ai peuple et même utile pour un certain
