44 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION 



but also an at least equally large number of men who have never 

 given a thought to farm or cowhouse or plough. These people are 

 promised holdings, as if that meant an assured living worth so 

 much, which would take care of itself. Holdings will not do that, 

 unfortunately, and, unless we wish to justify the pessimist predic- 

 tions referred to, we shall certainly have to see that our military 

 and naval settlers have some idea of what they are about filtered 

 into their heads. 



Fortunately, among the class of actual and intending small 

 holders, and small rural men generally, there is a very much better 

 prospect of producing an educational impression than we know 

 from experience that there is among the backward portion of the 

 large and more substantial farmers, who consider that they know 

 quite enough, and therefore close their ears to new instruction, going 

 on comfortably farming as " grandfather " and " father " did. I 

 certainly have found, in addressing meetings of such small men, a far 

 more ready disposition to listen and reflect, to take up new ideas, 

 to think and draw conclusions, than among larger farmers. Their 

 mind has appeared to me more awake. Even though on specialist 

 points they should be fully aware of their own superior proficiency, 

 they realise also that those special points do not make up the 

 corpus of agricultural knowledge, and show themselves willing to be 

 told what they do not know. Among the backward of our larger 

 farmers that disposition is known to be disappointingly wanting. 

 Misinterpreting the meaning of the old proverb which says that an 

 ounce of practice is worth a ton of learning, they consider them- 

 selves, with their practical experience safely proof against any 

 charge of deficiency of knowledge, or backwardness, and not ad- 

 vancing with the times. Claiming the privilege of kings, to whom 

 time makes no difference (nullum tempus occurrit regi) they hold 

 that " grandfather's " practice, which was considered good in his 

 day, it may be excellent, is good for all time. And in the late Mr. 

 Buckmaster's words : ' ' What they know they know, and what they 

 don't know they don't want to be taught." There are bad farmers 

 among these men, " lazy farmers," farmers just skimming the surface 

 for what will make a " living " — while the nation is clamouring for 

 " intensive " farming and bumper yields ; foul farmers. There are 

 also excellent farmers by the side of them, steeped in practice and 

 experience like themselves, but steeped also in knowledge, pains- 

 taking, clean, expert in all that pertains to tillage, to the rearing of 

 live stock, to keeping the land in heart. However, they will not 

 learn from these men. As a writer of undoubted authority observes, 



