8 



THE RURAL PROBLEM. 



"seventies " was the occurrence of bad seasons. Crops were poor, 

 many wasted in the ^elds, and diseases were rife amongst cattle 

 and sheep ; and through it all prices were falling. An indication 

 of the course of prices is provided by the following index numbers, 

 which represent the prices of 1900 as 100.* 



1871 

 1SS3 

 189.5 

 19U0 

 1!»13 



PRICES OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE. 



Biitish Wheat. 



210-5 

 ;154-5 

 85-8 

 100-0 

 117-7 



British Beef. 



111-2 



125-9 



93-1 



• 100-0 



1110-3 



British Mutton. 



98-6 

 120-8 



98-6 

 100-0 

 109-7 



British Wool. 



221-6 

 111-4 

 12G-6 

 100-0 

 201-6 



English trade also suffered at this time, but perhaps industrial 

 enterprise was not weakened to the same extent through loss of 

 capital. It has been estimated that landowners and farmers lost 

 capital to the extent of £1,000,000,000 during the worst period of 

 the depression. But whilst in industry steps were taken to meet 

 the conditions, there was stagnation in agriculture for many years. 

 The way out of the difficulty of farming land at a profit with low 

 prices for cereals was found, as has been seen, by the increase of 

 the milk trade, feeding more beef, and the development of the 

 market for vegetables and fruits. Between 1872 and 1913 the 

 total number of cattle in England and Wales increased by 1,212,000, 

 of which increase milch cattle accounted for 490,000. 



The market for milk and garden produce had been developing 

 in the " seventies," but while the prices of cereals were high, few 

 farmers paid any attention to it. In many districts there are 

 records that the production of milk for sale, potatoes, &c., was 

 left to the smaller farmers and small holders ; but these new types 

 of farming eventually proved to be the salvation of many large 

 farmers. In a district like the south and south-east of Oxford- 

 shire, the system changed from one of cereals and sheep to milk 

 production for the great industrial markets. Sometimes the 

 changes were made by men actually on the farms, but often these 

 failed, and new managers came from other districts, notably Scot- 

 land and the West of England. The traditional organisation of 

 farming had to some extent failed. In particular, the market 

 experience and outlook of the managers of the 150 to 500 acre 

 farms were limited. They failed to appreciate the new demands 

 which were arising around them, or to estimate the effects of the 

 supplies from new sources. Although changes in production were 

 slowly made, no essential changes in organisation occurred ; and 



* The use of index numbers renders comparison simpler, e.g., the price of 

 British wheat in 1895 was 85-8 per cent of what it was in 19u0. 



