JOHN BULL'S OTHER ISLAND. 173 



of a life of wretchedness by what our critics 

 are pleased to call a spoon-fed policy." This 

 statement, however, only added interest to 

 my visit, for 75 per cent of the population 

 of Ireland are dependent on what they can 

 wrest from the soil for their daily bread, and 

 of these 75 per cent occupy holdings of less 

 than 30 acres in extent. 



Here indeed we are witnessing the makmg 

 of a new Ireland out of conditions worse than 

 those which obtained in Denmark before she 

 inaugurated her bold agricultural state policy. 

 Out of the seething pot of Irish politics has 

 emerged a new life. 



Just outside Dublin stands a factory for 

 the polishing of the human machinery which 

 forms the refining element in the agricultural 

 revolution. This is the Glasnevin Agri- 

 cultural College, where a young Irish farmer 

 can, at a cost of £l5, obtain for a term of 

 eleven months a practical education in agricul- 

 ture, horticulture, and dairy farming ; and 

 this small sum not only includes tuition, but 

 board and lodging, as well as laundry and 

 medical attendance. 



In England, even with grants from county 

 councils, the fees of one of our agricultural 



