156 PRINCIPLES OF RURAL ECONOMICS 



At this point in our discussion a word of caution is necessary. 

 It is sometimes assumed that a large product per acre is a desir- 

 able thing in itself. Such is not the case. What is really to be 

 desired is a large product per man. It is only where the product 

 per man is large that there is a high standard of living and a 

 high state of well-being for the average man. Where the land 

 is abundant a large product per man is most easily secured by 

 extensive farming, that is, by farming a large acreage per 

 man, which usually means a small product per acre. When, 

 however, all the land of a country is once occupied, if the pop- 

 ulation continues to increase, the continuance of a large product 

 per man can only be secured by increasing the product per acre ; 

 that is to say, while a large product per acre is not in itself a 

 desirable achievement, it is sometimes desirable as a means 

 of getting a large product per man, and is not desirable in 

 any other sense whatever. It is quite possible to have a large 

 product per acre with a very small product per man, but such a 

 condition of affairs is always accompanied by squalor and misery, 

 and we find this to be the actual situation in those countries 

 which can point to the largest product per acre. And these are 

 the countries which are so frequently held up by thoughtless 

 people for our admiration ! 



Though it is sincerely to be hoped that a kind Providence 

 will preserve us from the fate which has overtaken such coun- 

 tries, or rather that our people will themselves see to it that no 

 such results occur here, nevertheless it seems inevitable that our 

 population should increase considerably in the next few years, 

 especially if the present rate of immigration should continue. 

 Therefore it is of the highest importance that we should learn 

 how to increase the productivity of our land per acre without 

 reducing the productivity per farmer. 



There are two general methods of increasing the productivity 

 of each acre of land in use. One is the substitution of more 



