1918] 



on Food Production and English Land 



279 



stock curves for England ; sheep have declined with the arable land, 

 for in England sheep are largely fed on the arable ; cattle have 

 increased ; above all dairy stock have grown in number. In Scotland 

 and Ireland no such great change had taken place, though the arable 

 land has declined, and in Scotland the proportion of temporary grass 

 reckoned as arable land has increased, yet these countries being at 

 the outset more concerned with stock than corn have maintained their 

 position. 



How had the production of food been affected ? 



Fig. 2. 



At first sight the change seems all right : corn had been exchanged 

 for beef and milk ; the nation got the richer food and left to other 

 nations the output of cheap raw materials like wheat ; the farmer was 

 better off by concentrating on the more profitable market. 



This is plausible enough until you come to consider quantities, 

 then an immense falling off in gross output l^ecomes apparent. 



In the first place any change to animal products from vegetable 

 means waste when the consumer is down near the line of bare sub- 



u 2 



