120 A NEW AGRICULTURAL POLICY 



national lines those services for the efficient 

 conduct of which the county as a unit is too 

 small, such as agricultural education, transport, 

 afforestation, the reclamation of waste land, 

 electric power, the distribution of coal and oil, 

 as well as of farm produce, the provision of 

 market places, the importation and milling 

 of wheat, the manufacture and purchase of 

 machinery, feeding stuffs and fertilisers, which 

 may become not only national, but international, 

 services. There are also the discovery and 

 selection of new seeds, of new methods of 

 dealing with diseases, and of new implements, 

 to be taken into account, for undoubtedly we 

 shall in time have our national agricultural 

 laboratories and engineering works. Prices 

 will have to be fixed nationally. 



Such an agricultural super-body would be 

 essential in order to be in close touch with the 

 Chancellor of the Exchequer, hot only to exer- 

 cise control over services fundamentally national, 

 but also to direct the cultural policy. For 

 instance, whilst a vigorous plough policy is 

 absolutely essential, both for the production of 

 more milk and meat, as well as for bread, it 

 may be wise, on information received at head- 

 quarters on the estimated yield of the world's 

 harvests and the demand of other nations, to 

 grow less wheat, and more oats and barley, or 

 vice versa. It may be, too, a more economic 

 policy at times to extend arable dairying at the 



