28 THE MURDER OF AGRICULTURE 



The loss of ;£i, 150,000, 000 {eleven hundred and fifty 

 millions sterling) in landowners' and farming capital 

 means, at only four per cent profit, an annual loss of 

 income amounting to the colossal sum of £46,000,000 

 {forty-six millions sterling) to landlords and farmers 

 alone. 



But before we proceed further with this matter, let us 

 make it quite clear to that section of the public which 

 generally dismisses such questions with the euphemistic 

 " bally rot," that there is no " bally rot " here, but hard 

 grisly facts. 



A more concrete example, which, although arrived at 

 by different methods, illustrates the same principle, is 

 the following: 



Of the land " under cultivation," we find that over 

 34,000,000 acres are in grasses and pasturage. 



Good pasturage to-day commands as much rent as 

 good arable, because, owing to the general neglect of 

 agriculture, there is little or no demand for land for arable 

 purposes. 



Restore agriculture, however, to the place it ought 

 to occupy as the central industry of the country, and 

 must occupy before we can employ the people and 

 bring about a general state of prosperity , and good arable 

 land at once assumes a value far higher than any pas- 

 turage could command. Three to five pounds per acre 

 would be a common rental for arable land under a sen- 

 sible agricultural system; 15s. to 25s. per acre is a com- 

 mon enough price to-day. 



Assuming for the moment that arable land, under 

 more favourable conditions, would command only £1 



