THE WEALTH U I*' NATIONS.

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actual value of the greater part of the lands in the kingdom,but by reducing the price of the most important species ofsmall cattle, it would have retarded very much its subsequentimprovement.

The wool of Scotland fell very considerably in its price inconsequence of the union with England, by which it was ex-cluded from the great market of Europe , and confined to thenarrow one of Great Britain. The value of the greater partof the lands in the southern counties of Scotland , which arechiefly a sheep country, would have been very deeply affectedby this event, had not the rise in the price of butcher’s meatfully compensated the fall in the price of wool.

As the efficacy of human industry, in increasing the quan-tity either of wool or of raw hides, is limited, so far as it de-pends upon the produce of the country where it is exerted; soit is uncertain so far as it depends upon the produce of othercountries. It so far depends, not so much upon the quantitywhich they produce, as upon that which they do not manu-facture; and upon the restraints which they may or may notthink proper to impose upon the exportation of this sort ofrude produce. These circumstances, as they are altogetherindependent of domestic industry, so they necessarily renderthe efficacy of its efforts more or less uncertain. In multi-plying- this sort of rude produce, therefore, the efficacy of hu-man industry is not only limited, but uncertain.

In multiplying another very important sort of rudeproduce,the quantity of fish that is brought to market, it is likewise bothlimited and uncertain. It is limited by the local situationof the country, by the proximity or distance of its differentprovinces from the sea, by the number of its lakes and ri-vers, and by what may be called the fertility or barrenness ofthose seas, lakes, and rivers, as to this sort of rude produce.As population increases, as the annual produce of the landand labour of the country grows greater and greater, therecome to be more buyers of fish, and those buyers too havea greater quantity and variety of other goods, or, what isthe same thing, the price of a greater quantity and varietyof other goods, to buy with. But it will generally be impos-sible to supply the great and extended market without em-ploying a quantity of labour greater than in proportion towhat had been requisite for supplying the narrow andconfined one. A market which, from requiring only onethousand, comes to require annually ten thousand ton of