viii INTRODUCTION. 



The present generation owes much to its for- 

 bears who have made the land. This little 

 island in the mists of the northern sea cannot 

 as a whole be described as a naturally fertile 

 country, though its soil for the most part 

 responds generously to generous treatment. The 

 present fertility of large parts of it is the result of 

 the lavish outlay of labour and capital. Millions 

 of money, generations of men, have gone to the 

 making of English land. It is a goodly heritage : 

 let us cherish it ! 



Even on the surface of agricultural affairs, 

 where, as observed above, movement and dis- 

 turbance are apparent, a reference to the subjects 

 dealt with in these papers justifies the saying that 

 the more things change the more they remain the 

 same. In summarising the history of British 

 agriculture during the half century which had 

 elapsed since the repeal of the Corn Laws 

 (Chapter II.), an allusion to the public discussion of 

 protective duties in 1897 was made : in 1913 the 

 discussion is unfinished. The " rural exodus " 

 (Chapter IV.) aroused great interest twenty years 

 ago : the consideration of its causes and effects 

 is equally insistent now. The conditions under 

 which agricultural produce can best be brought 

 to the consumer — the need for effective market 

 facilities (Chapter III.)— are still of vital import. 

 Even in the comparatively minor matter of the 

 method of selling live stock (Chapter IX.), the 

 inertia of the agricultural mind is exemplified. 



