AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
In all kingdoms this first and original art [agriculture]—this foundation of all others—must be pursued and encouraged, or the rest will faint and be languid.—ARTHUR YOUNG.
The most important practical reform of all is to make the land more productive, to put it to the most profitable use. By profitable use we do not mean using it so as to bring the owner the largest return in money per acre, aiming at the largest net profit by reducing expenditure as much as possible and growing whatever will fetch the highest price at least cost of production. The really useful object is to lay out and use all the land of the country in such a way as to produce the greatest aggregate of commodities which are of real intrinsic value for use or which can be exchanged for useful commodities coming from other nations; in particular to produce in our own country as much wholesome food as possible, and in so doing to support as large an agricultural population as possible in reasonable comfort and health. To grow in our own country a larger proportion of the food we consume is necessary, first, in order to meet our own needs from our own internal resources, and so reduce the amount which has to be paid to other countries for the commodities they supply; secondly, in case of war, to avoid the risk of starvation and reduce the strain on the Navy and on the Mercantile Marine due to the necessity of bringing the larger part of the essential food of the country overseas and also, what may be equally important, to avoid the distress which may be caused owing to the country being unable to provide the means of payment for the immense proportion of the
food required which must be brought from overseas. It was long ago pointed out that the "trades by which the British people has believed it to be the highest of destinies to maintain itself cannot now long remain undisputed in its hands."
The next object is to increase the agricultural population. It has been found again and again in other countries as well as our own that a large and healthy agricultural population is essential to keep up the physique of a nation. The town folk tend to decay unless constantly replenished by influx from the country. One good effect of the War has been to direct attention to the vital importance of this subject, and careful inquiries have been made and useful steps taken which have had the effect of greatly increasing the home production of food.
The subject is treated clearly in a popular way in a book published in 1917 on Agriculture after the War by Sir A.D. Hall, now secretary of the Board of Agriculture, and in fuller detail in the report of a committee of which Lord Selborne was chairman. The report was published at the beginning of 1918; some of the proposals have been already acted upon, others will no doubt be the basis of future action by the Board of Agriculture and the Ministry of Reconstruction.
Before the War the imports of food less re-exports amounted to about 229 millions annually, or, to put the case in another way, about half of the total food consumed in the British Islands was brought overseas; but "if the most essential foodstuff, wheat, is considered, less than one-fifth of what we required was produced in the country." The position was one of terrible insecurity; but for the efficiency of the Navy the country would have been starved into complete submission in this War, and its prosperity and liberty would have been lost for ever. After the War the financial question of the continued ability of the nation to pay for the food we require is probably the most serious we have to face. The first remedy for the
existing state of things is the increase of tillage. Assuming that the same pecuniary profit can be obtained by using any land for tillage as for pasture or other purposes, it is obvious that it is right to do everything possible to get that land devoted to tillage, first, as national insurance for the reasons above stated, and, second, to support a larger population under healthy conditions. One of the great causes of discontent, of vagrancy, and of distress in the sixteenth century was certainly the conversion of large tracts which had formerly been arable into pasture land, because the land laid down as pasture would produce a larger profit to the owner though it supported a much smaller population and required far less labour. A considerable portion of the rural population was thrown out of employment and the supply of food was diminished. Again and again the decay of the agricultural population has been the ground of complaint. Goldsmith speaks of it beautifully and pathetically in the "Deserted Village," and the process went on, becoming year after year a greater national peril; but the Government and Parliament seemed to care little about it, so that even during the last forty years, according to the statement of Sir A.D. Hall, "the productivity of the land of Great Britain as a whole has declined." Although a far larger rent might be obtained from the wealthy who use a great part of Scotland for shooting than could be obtained from crofters, national welfare demands that it should be used for crofts and to raise the population which has supplied our armies with many of the finest soldiers and the whole Empire with many of its best colonists. Of course, there are large tracts of such a character that people cannot support themselves in tolerable comfort by tilling them, and it is better that land of that kind should be used for sheep if possible, and, in cases where even this is impossible, for deer forests or grouse moors, subject to reasonable public rights of access.
Among the measures which may be taken to in
crease the home production of food the following may be mentioned:—
1.—Improved farming or intensification of agriculture under the existing system. It is admitted that English, and perhaps still more Scottish, farming at its best is admirably conducted. Fortunately, very many of the large landowners are themselves keenly interested in agriculture and take a pride in promoting it. It is perhaps not generally known what a useful and valuable trade the country carries on in the export of pedigree stock. The prices obtained for the best bred British bulls, rams and boars are very high. An extension over all suitable parts of the country of the highest type of British farming would add to the wealth of the country immensely.
Connected with this subject is the promotion of agricultural education, and along with that of agricultural research. Very great advances have been made of recent years, and it would be an utterly false economy to starve productive work of this kind. It ought to be held a disgrace for a country landowner not to have some knowledge of agriculture and interest in it.
2.—Industrialised farms, i.e., the organisation of large farms to be managed as business enterprises under the control of a general manager. If farming was thus carried on on a large scale machinery would be employed to its full advantage, and there would be economy in buying and selling wholesale and avoiding waste in preparing for and placing commodities on the market. The most highly trained, skilled and energetic management would be obtained for farms of this kind. It is to be noticed that, although some commodities can equally well be produced by small culture, it is generally only on a large scale that cereals can be profitably cultivated.
3.—Co-operative farming.—The subject is one of special interest, as co-operative farming in some form was historically the basis of the whole system of society in many countries. Experiments in co-operative farming may be tried with advantage. They may take
various forms. It will, no doubt, be found that in certain branches of farming, such as dairy farming in some districts, co-operative action is almost necessary to success. The experience of Denmark has shown how much can be done to keep up a definite standard in butter, for example, by sending milk to some large, well-equipped and well-managed dairy. Such establishments have also far better opportunities for dealing with transport and distribution.
4.—Colonies of Small Holdings.—It is to be hoped that when the troops are demobilised, and the Small Holdings Acts are put into fuller operation, the number of small holdings will be increased. A population of independent yeomen is the best reservoir of the manhood of any country. No finer race has existed than the statesmen who cultivated the small farms among the hills of Cumberland and Westmorland.
5.—There is a great deal of land, both on the seashore and in inland districts, which might be reclaimed.—The cost of such work would be heavy, but the return in greater aggregate production and in providing means to support a larger country population would be most important. This question will be alluded to briefly in Chapter XXI.
6.—Important industries, such as basket-making and many others, might be carried on in rural districts along with their principal work by those engaged in agriculture or horticulture, just as Swiss peasants by wood carving, when agricultural operations are impossible, produce a number of articles for which there is a substantial demand in other countries.
7.—Last, and perhaps the most interesting and important step of all, is to increase allotments. The demand for allotments, both by the agricultural population in rural districts and by the urban population who are engaged in industrial or even in commercial pursuits in the forge towns, is very keen. The effect of the War and the more pressing need for home-grown food have stimulated the demand, and in trying to meet it, both the Board of Agriculture and private individuals
and local authorities have done splendid work, which ought to be recognised as one of the most beneficial movements which have taken place within living memory. More than seventy years ago William Howitt called attention to the advantages derived from the system of urban allotments adopted near his own town of Nottingham, and attention has been subsequently drawn to the subject, but its importance was not fully realised until the outbreak of the War. An enormous advance has already been made, and if the right steps are taken for securing more permanence of tenure, and for obtaining land on fair terms near to the homes of the workers, a far greater and more lasting advance will be made. The number of allotments in England and Wales before the War was about 570,000. It is estimated that now there are upwards of 1,400,000. The urban allotments have increased enormously, an interest has been added to the lives of many workers; their supply of wholesome food of their own growing has been increased and the health of these urban workers promoted. At present the total area taken up by allotments is about 200,000 acres. If half of these are devoted, say, to growing potatoes and produce an average of seven tons per acre, the allotment holders in England and Wales would this year grow "700,000 tons of the most essential war-time crop practically on the spot where the crop is to be consumed." It appears that, taking the whole of England and Wales, there was an allotment holding for one household in twelve before the War. On May 1st, 1918, one household in five held an allotment. In the county boroughs before the War one household in thirty-two possessed an allotment, now the proportion is one household in nine, and the process is going on. It is the most encouraging development, whether looked at from the economic point of view or from the point of view of national health and happiness, that has taken place within living memory. The urban allotments are regularly worked by persons who are engaged in various forms of industry during the greater
part of their time, and it is found that the allotments must be small, usually about fifteen to an acre. They ought to be as near as possible to the homes of the people who work them. One of the reasons pointed out for the slow development of the system, even where it has been so successful as in Nottingham long before the War, was the distance of the allotments from the homes of the workers. In town planning there should be an attempt wherever possible to arrange for allotments close to the new small dwellings which are erected. It will be essential, however, to insist (i) on more permanent tenure for those who work their allotments properly and keep them in good condition; (ii) that the land required should be obtained on reasonable terms. Some landowners have themselves voluntarily taken the matter in hand, but in other cases compulsion will be necessary, and, as already stated, it will be right that where the land has been agricultural or vacant land, bringing in a small or even no return, the price or rent paid for it should be based on its agricultural value plus some reasonable addition, and not on the enormously enhanced value of the land as land which has become building land owing to the growth of the urban population in the neighbourhood. It will be desirable to arrange by co-operative or municipal action for the supply of seeds, plants and fertilisers, and also for the sale of any surplus produce not required by the holder for his own use.
The admirable work which is being done by the Board of Agriculture in encouraging allotments ought to be recognised and supported in every possible way.