2 THE RAILWAYS AND AGRICULTURE 



of a country district means far more to a British 

 railway company than the carriage of a larger 

 quantity of agricultural produce therefrom. It 

 means greater traffic to the district in the shape 

 of seeds, manures, feeding-stuffs, implements, and 

 agricultural machinery before the return freight 

 in the shape of actual produce is ready. It means 

 that more families will settle in those districts, 

 and that with every additional family there will 

 be greater need for the transport of furniture, 

 food, clothing, and countless other household 

 necessaries. It means that as the income of the 

 family increases they will be able to afford 

 domestic luxuries in the shape of pianos, carriages, 

 and other such things, which will probably be 

 bought " in town " and carried on the railway ; 

 and it means, also, that more individuals will 

 travel to and from the districts in question, and 

 thus swell the receipts from passenger traffic. In 

 these and other ways the British railways have a 

 direct and very important interest in the welfare 

 of British agriculture. Indeed, as shown by the 

 considerations just presented, they have much 

 more to hope for from carrying a given quantity 

 of British produce than they have from simply 

 bringing from the coast to an inland town a 

 corresponding amount of foreign produce, which 

 represents, for them, only a single transaction. 



