1920] 



on British Crop Production 



<;i 



potency ; one can quite understand the reluctance of tbe farmer to 

 quit tbis path of safety. 



If one could accept the doctrine that a man could do what he 

 liked with his land the grass farmer could be left alone and reckoned 

 among Virgil's too happy husbandmen. But this doctrine is now 

 somewhat out of court, and the needs of the community have also to 

 be taken into account. From this point of view grass husbandry, 

 in spite of its safeness for the individual farmer, is not as good for 

 the community as arable farming, since it is less productive per acre 

 of ground. This was realised before the war, and was vividly brought 

 to the notice of farmers by Sir Thomas Middleton, who drew up the 

 following table : — 



Number of Persons who could be Supplied with Energy for 

 One Year from the Products of 100 Acres of 



Poor pasture converted into meat . 

 Medium pasture ditto 



Rich pasture ditto 



Arable land producing corn and meat 



2-4 



12-14 



25-50 



100-110 



The area of rich pasture is very restricted. An improvement 

 can often be made in poor and medium pasture by the use of basic 

 slag, by drainage and in other ways, but the results could probably 

 never surpass those now obtained on rich pasture. None of them 

 approach the results obtained on arable land. 



During the War, therefore, the policy of the Food Production 

 Department was to convert grass land into arable, and much was 

 done ; but now that the shadow of D.O.R.A. no longer lies over the 

 land some of the arable is going back to grass. It is not that 

 the farmer is trying to avoid work ; he is impressed by the greater 

 risk of arable farming,* and above all he desires to keep to the well- 

 established principle that his system of husbandry must suit the local 



* On our ordinary farm at Rothanisted (distinct from the experimental 

 land), the expenditure on arable land is continuously increasing, while that 

 on the grass land is much less. The figures are : — 



1917-18 



Grass (Hay) . 

 ,, (Grazing 



3 12 

 2 15 



4 16 

 2 4 



1918-19 



6 

 3 



About 40 per cent, of the expenditure on arable land goes in direct wage 

 payments, but less than 15 per cent, of that on grass land. 



