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THE NATURE AND CAUSES OF

The landlord, however, whose estate is bounded by a kelpshore of this kind, demands a rent for it as much as for hiscorn fields.

The sea in the neighbourhood of the island of Shetland ismore than commonly abundant in fish, which make a greatpart of the subsistence of their inhabitants. But in order toprofit by the produce of the water, they must have a habita-tion upon the neighbouring land. The rent of the landlordis in proportion, not to what the farmer can make by theland, but to what he can make both by the land and by thewater. It is partly paid in sea fish ; and one of the very fewinstances in which rent makes a part of the price of thatcommodity, is to be found in that country.

The rent of land, therefore, considered as the price paidfor the use of the land, is naturally a monopoly price. Itis not at all proportioned to what the landlord may have laidout upon the improvement of the land, or to what he can af-ford to take; but to what the farmer can alford to give.

Such parts only of the produce of land can commonly bebrought to market, of which the ordinary price is sufficient toreplace the stock which must be employed in bringing themthither, together with its ordinary profits. If the ordinaryprice is more than this, the surplus part of it will naturallygo to the rent of the land. If it is not more, though thecommodity may be brought to market, it can afford no rentto the landlord. Whether the price is, or is not more, de-pends upon the demand.

There are some parts of the produce of land for which thedemand must always be such as to afford a greater price thanwhat is sufficient to bring them to market; and there areothers for which it either may or may not be such as to affordthis greater price. The former must always afford a rent tothe landlord. The latter sometimes may, and sometimesmay not, according to different circumstances.

Rent, it is to be observed, therefore, enters into the com-position of the price of commodities in a different way fromwages and profit. High or low wages and profit are thecauses of high or low price; high or low rent is the effectof it. It is because high or low wages and profit must bepaid, in order to bring a particular commodity to market,that its price is high or low. But it is because its priceis high or low; a great deal more, or very little more, orno more, than what is sufficient to pay those wages and