90 



with the benefit of plenty of capital and brains, could produce more 

 per acre than was produced at the present time, and, what was 

 more important so far as the producer was concerned, could secure 

 greater net output per man ; for on that standard depended the 

 standard of living for the rural worker. 



To attain these objects we needed larger holdings, but the policy of 

 the large farm system did not mean what is called extensive cultivation. 

 Cultivation on the large farm of 1,000, 5,000, or 10,000 acres could be 

 just as intensive, almost as productive per acre, as on the small existing 

 farms, or even small holdings. But there was this important difference 

 the co?t of production was not so great. The agricultural labourer 

 could not secure more responsibility in his work or more payment for 

 skill or knowledge on the little farm : he could not do this even if the 

 whole country were cut up into small holdings for his benefit. But he 

 could do it if the present system of hereditary capital and management 

 were broken down, to let in the man who was a trained agriculturist 

 and to develop the commercial side of agriculture so that capital 

 whether from the State or through the Banks could be invested in 

 the industry. 



QUESTIONS. 



Question : What is the cause of the difference in the production per 

 individual in Great Britain and Germany ? 



Answer : One reason for the difference in production per man is 

 the fact that the average size of British farms is far greater than the 

 average size of German ones ; and I think you will find that with 

 small farms you have low production per man, partly because it is 

 almost impossible to apply machinery, at any rate, so economically 

 on a small as on a large unit. 



Question : The lecturer tried to point out that the large farms pro- 

 duced more than allotments or small holdings. I don't think they do. 

 Does Mr. Ashby find that the large farmer produces more than the 

 allotment holder or small holder ? The ordinary average earnings of 

 the ordinary labourer in 1907 for England and Wales were 45 per 

 year, he says : how does he get that amount ? 



Answer : If you take small holdings of 5 to 10 acres on fairly good 

 soil near a town, and then a farm 20 miles away from a town, you can 

 prove that the small holding produces five times the value, per acre, 

 of the big farm, but the system of farming and the possibility of 

 production are absolutely different. If you wish to compare production 

 you must take small holdings and large holdings producing the same 

 commodities. It would be difficult to prove that the small holders on the 

 whole produce very much more per acre than the big farmers, especially 

 if you make a fair comparison. The market garden holding has been 



