78 GREAT BRITAIN AND IREIAND - AORICUETURAI, ECONOMY IN GENERAI. 



The Committee looked beyond the war. They stated that after peace 

 has been declared the financial and physical welfare of the country will 

 demand the fullest possible development of the capacity of the soil. Bur- 

 dened with a huge debt the nation will be strongly interested in producing 

 as much as possible of its food and importing as little as possible. Exhaiisted 

 in man-power it will find in the expansion of the rural population of its 

 islands the best restorative of its vital and creative energy. 



Two recommendations of the committee have not been reflected in 

 the Act. In the first place they gave it as their opinion that there can be 

 no satisfactory development of agriculture while the demand for good cot- 

 tages for agricultural labourers remains unsatisfied. The provision of cot- 

 tages should be undertaken without a moment's avoidable delay after 

 the war. 



Secondly the committee recognized that the State ought to place at 

 the disposal of farmers the best available scientific and practical advice. 

 They declared indeed that it was essential to their scheme that the present 

 opportunities for agricultural education, technical advice and research 

 should be developed. There must be insistence on the importance of 

 drainage, demonstrations of the best means of converting grass to arable 

 land and of manuring, demonstrations as to the best varieties of seed, and in 

 general as to methods of increasing production without loss of profit. 



