The farmer then, although he pays no part of his landlord's rent, that being always regulated by the price of produce, and invariably falling on the consumers, has however a very decided interest in keeping rent low, or rather in keeping the natural price of produce low. As a consumer of raw produce, and of those things into which raw produce enters as a component part, he will in common with all other consumers, be interested in keeping the price low. But he is most materially concerned with the high price of corn as it affects wages. With every rise in the price of corn, he will have to pay out of an equal and unvarying sum of 720_l._, an additional sum for wages to the ten men whom he is supposed constantly to employ. We have seen in treating on wages, that they invariably rise with the rise in the price of raw produce. On a basis assumed for the purpose of calculation, page 106, it will be seen that if when wheat is at 4_l._ per quarter, wages should be 24_l._ per annum. L _s._ _d._ L _s._ _d._ { 4 4 8 } { 24 14 0 When Wheat { 4 10 0 } wages would be { 25 10 0 is at { 4 16 0 } { 26 8 0 { 5 2 10 } { 27 8 6 Now, of the unvarying fund of 720_l._ to be distributed between labourers and farmers, L _s._ _d._ _s._ _d._ L _s._ _d._ When the { 4 0 0 } the { 240 0 } the { 480 0 0 price of { 4 4 8 } labourer { 247 0 } farmer { 473 0 0 Wheat is { 4 10 0 } will { 255 0 } will { 465 0 0 at { 4 16 0 } receive { 264 0 } receive { 456 0 0 { 5 2 10 } { 274 5 } { 445 15 [12] And supposing that the original capital of the farmer was 3000_l._, the profits of his stock being in the first instance 480_l._, would be at the rate of 16 per cent. When his profits fell to 473_l._, they would be at the rate of 15.7 per cent. 465_l._ 15.5 456_l._ 15.2 445_l._ 14.8 But the _rate_ of profits will fall still more, because the capital of the farmer, it must be recollected, consists in a great measure of raw produce, such as his corn and hay-ricks, his unthreshed wheat and barley, his horses and cows, which would all rise in price in consequence of the rise of produce. His absolute profits would fall from 480_l._ to 445_l._ 15_s._; but if from the cause which I have just stated, his capital should rise from 3000_l._ to 3200_l._ the rate of his profits would, when corn was at 5_l._ 2_s._ 10_d._, be under 14 per cent.