154 CAPITAL THE MOTHER OF LABOUR iv 



a ram and some ewes, left to themselves for a few 

 years, would probably generate as large a flock ; 

 and the superadded labour of the shepherd would 

 nave little more effect upon their production than 

 upon that of the blackberries on the bushes about 

 the pastures. For the most part the increment 

 would be thoroughly unearned ; and, if it is a rule 

 of absolute political ethics that owners have no 

 claim upon &quot; betterment &quot; brought about inde 

 pendently of their own labour, then the shepherd 

 would have no claim to at least nine-tenths of 

 the increase of the flock. 



But if the shepherd has no real claim to the 

 title of &quot; producer,&quot; who has ? Are the rams and 

 ewes the true &quot; producers &quot; ? Certainly their title 

 is better if, borrowing from the old terminology of 

 chemistry, they only claim to be regarded as the 

 &quot; proximate principles &quot; of production. And yet, 

 if strict justice is to be dispensed, even they are 

 to be regarded rather as collectors and distri 

 butors than as &quot; producers.&quot; For all that they 

 really do is to collect, slightly modify, and render 

 easily accessible, the vital capital which already 

 exists in the green herbs on which they feed, but 

 in such a form as to be practically out of the 

 reach of man. 



Thus, from an economic point of view, the 

 sheep are more comparable to confectioners than 

 to producers. The usefulness of biscuit lies in 

 the raw flour of which it is made ; but raw flour 



