Note 150-4 — Chapter II

Ricardo illustrated this by the following example. An uncultivated tract of country is settled by a small colony. As long as there is here an excess of land of the best quality, and everyone may take possession of it without paying anything therefor, no rent of the land which is merely occupied is possible. But if all the first class land is under cultivation—land which perhaps with the employment of a small amount of capital yields 5 quarters an acre per annum; and the increasing population necessitates the cultivation of land of the second class, which with the same outlay of capital yields only 4 quarters an acre per annum, there arises a rent of 1 quarter an acre per annum for land of the first class. For the price, 4 quarters is now high enough to cover the cost of production per acre, and it must be a matter of complete indifference (complete indifference?) to a new comer whether he obtains 5 quarters from land of the first class as a farmer and pays out 1 quarter, or whether he harvests 4 quarters from second class land as proprietor. If there is a further increase of population, so that land of the third class also, which yields only 3 quarters per acre per annum, must be brought under cultivation, the price of corn rises again because the cost of production has now to be covered by three quarters. Land of the first class now pays a rent of 2 quarters and second class land of 1 quarter. (Ch. 2.)