25 April, 1917.] German Ch allenge to British Agriculture. 217 



On the otlier hand, the average 100-acre German farm has only 32 

 acres devoted to grass, and no less than 46 acres to cereals, 10^ acres 

 to potatoes, 9 acres to roots, sugarbects, and legumes, and 2^ acres to 

 orchards. In other words, in Germany over two-thirds of every farm 

 is kept under the plough, whilst in (Jroat Britain less than one-third 

 of the cultivated land is ploughed. Herein is the main reason for the 

 improved carrying capacity of German farms, for it is an axiom that 

 tilled land will generally produce from two to five times as much food 

 as land allowed to lie in grass. 



Britain " Organize and Speed the Plough." 



If agriculture, therefore, is to make headway in Britain, the first 

 plank must he a policy of " Speed the Plough " and immediately 

 increase the proportion of land sown to crops. Instead of less than 

 one-third of the cultivated land being under the plough, as at present, 

 at least one-half or two-thirds could and should be made to grow 

 crops. But to double the area of land ploughed each year would require 

 an enormous increase in the working capital and the farm labour of 

 the country. This capital is required (a) to purchase equipment — 

 ploughs, cultivators, seeding and harvesting machinery, (b) to finance 

 the extra labour necessary for the work. But where are these two 

 fundamental requisites for the extension of arable farming to come 

 from? Capital is scarce, labour even scarcer, and the earnings both 

 of labour and capital have been higher in industrial concerns than in 

 agriculture. In spite of the high prices for all agricultural products in 

 Great Britain during the war, agricultural production has not increased. 

 A material extension in the arable area of Great Britain would be 

 possible therefore only by diverting capital from other industries. Very 

 few farmers have the capital necessary for a material enlargement of 

 their arable area. Even if a farmer could secure the financial accom- 

 modation necessary, and could overcome the difficulty of securing 

 efficient labour, he has still to consider the possibility of a bad season, 

 or low prices, or both. 



To be successful in arable farming, especially on high-priced land, 

 plans must be made years ahead. Fat and lean years must be expected, 

 and careful crop rotations practised. If a definite State policy is 

 framed, and the State is willing to stand behind the farmer in lean 

 years, and in times of low prices, capital will be attracted to agricul- 

 ture, and an agricultural revival will set in. Sueh a permanent 

 guarantee would be secured by (1) the fixation of prices for a period 

 of years, or (2) by a protective tariff on foodstuffs. Either of these 

 methods, if made permanent, would rapidly lead to an extension of 

 arable farming, and attract the necessary capital for financing such 

 extension. The discussion of these methods cannot be given here. That 

 is a political problem, and lies entirely outside the scope of this article. 

 It may be said, however, that European countries generally impose a 

 protective tariff of Is. 6d. to Is. 9d. per bushel on wheat, and similar 

 tariffs on other agricultural products. In these countries the whole 

 community has been willing to pay a higher price for its food and 

 meat rather than let home agriculture languish from the competition 

 of foreign-grown products. 



