62 



Mr. Edward J. Russell 



[Feb. 20, 



conditions. This is strikingly shown by the following returns from 

 a large number of farms : — 



Collected by the Agricultural Costings Committee. 



* Including change in valuation. 



The profit per acre from the large sheep farm is small in itself, but 

 it is large in proportion to the capital and the expenditure, and given 

 a sufficient acreage the farm is more lucrative than the more risky 

 mixed or dairy farms. The risk of corn production can and probably 

 will have to be met by some system of insurance or guarantee ; 

 but the need to conform to local conditions will always remain. 



The problem therefore arises — can a system of husbandry be 

 devised which suits the natural conditions as well as grass, and which 

 is as productive of total wealth as arable crops ? I believe this can 

 be done. Grass is not the only crop adapted to moist conditions 

 or heavy soils, and appropriate for the production of meat and 

 milk. Many other leaf or root crops serve as well, some of which 

 yield much more food per acre than does grass. Vetches, rape, 

 mangolds, kale, marrow-stem kale, can all be used direct, and there 

 are various mixtures of oats with peas, tares, vetches, etc., that can 

 be fed green, made into hay or into silage as the farmer may wish. 

 The use of these crops in the place of grass for the feeding of live- 

 stock is known as the soiling system. 



AVe are only just beginning to discover the combinations of crops 

 best suited to particular conditions. An interesting experiment is 

 in progress at the Harper Adams Agricultural College, which, how- 

 ever, should be repeated elsewhere. Each crop is governed by the 

 same general laws as hold for cereals. In each case the yield and 

 feeding value can both be increased by the proper use of artificial 

 fertilisers, and there is the further possibility of great improvement 

 by the plant breeder. 



It is in this direction that I think British agriculture will develop 

 in the future. The system is strictly in accordance with the laws of 

 science, and therefore it needs a minimum' amount of artificial 

 support. It gives the farmer abundant scope for the production of 

 livestock, which he has alwavs regarded as his sheet anchor. It 



