H4 A NEW AGRICULTURAL POLICY 



absentee landlord spending in riotous living, in 

 foreign cities, the money earned by the sweat 

 of other men's brows, he has still the power to 

 reduce the fertility of our land and to increase 

 unemployment. If the farmer be stupid or 

 lethargic, so long as he pays his way, he can 

 still remain squatting on ill-cultivated acres. 

 But if the labourer proves his inefficiency he 

 instantly gets a week's notice, and loses, often 

 enough, not only his job but his home. A 

 great deal of weeding out has been performed 

 by employers since the minimum wage became 

 statutory. It should not be very difficult, now 

 that workers have come to know one another's 

 capacities better through the formation of trade 

 unions, to select men of exceptional ability. 



As I look out of the window my glance falls 

 upon a cottage roof which shelters a farm worker 

 who, to my knowledge, has not only ploughed, 

 sowed, and reaped corn for his employer, 

 thatched the farm ricks, painted wagons which 

 have won prizes, and broken in the colts, but 

 has killed his neighbours pigs for them, doctored 

 their sick cows, clipped their horses, cleaned 

 out and repaired their wells, mowed their 

 orchard grass with a scythe, planted fruit trees, 

 and driven bees into empty skeps. He has a 

 knowledge of wild life which would make many 

 a sportsman envious ; and with his strong, deft 

 hand he has led to market many an untamed 

 heifer which had never been haltered. I have 



