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so  that  the  worst  land  bears  no  rent  ;  and
let  it  be  given  also  that  the  inhabitants  of
the  country  continue  to  multiply  notwithstanding. ­
  In  consequence  of  the  latter  circumstance, ­
  the  demand  for  the  fruits  of  the
earth  would  rise,  and,  if  payment  for  land  did
not  rise  proportionately  at  the  same  time
and  the  worst  land  bear  a  rent  corresponding
to  the  increased  value  of  its  produce,  all
farmers  would  make  profits  over  and  above
those  earned  by  men  of  similar  capacity  in
other  callings,  because  presumably,  prior  to  the
rise  in  the  price  of  food,  the  farming  business
was  neither  more  nor  less  profitable  than
other  businesses.  The  comparative  fortunes
to  be  made  out  of  tilling  the  soil  would
attract  into  the  farming  industry  larger
numbers  year  by  year  ;  which  is  to  say
that  in  a  short  time  excessive  competition
to  obtain  land,  the  source  of  the  abnormal
profits,  would  appear.  Under  the  pressure
of  this  competition,  the  land  at  the  bottom
of  the  scale,  as  regards  quality,  would  begin
to  bear  a  rent,  and  this  rent  would  rise  until
the  farming  of  that  land  was  no  more  profitable ­
  than  any  other  business,  that  is,  until  the
substitution  of  farming  for  another  trade
would  be  a  matter  of  indifference  from  the
pecuniary  point  of  view.  And,  just  as  and