Land Problems and National Welfare 



never more than two quarters of barley per 

 acre was actually sold, and so it did not pay ; 

 though what there was of it was commonly of 

 good quality and realised high prices. The 

 grass land was generally very poor and a source 

 of loss, and seeds were a failing crop. 



The heavy loss on the farms was undoubtedly 

 due to the following causes : 



(i) To the fact that keeping beasts till they 

 are three years old does not pay on the 

 ordinary mixed farm with poor grass. 



(2) To the fact that what grass there was 

 was poor, and that in most years a large portion 

 of the seeds and root crops were only half or 

 even quarter crops. Though the farms were 

 nominally 1,000 acre farms, rarely more than 

 300 or 400 acres were under effective cropping. 



(3) To the excessive amount of ground game. 

 I removed this last source of loss as speedily 



as possible by exterminating rabbits and reducing 

 the number of hares. 



With regard to the other sources of loss, the 

 way in which I proposed to meet them was : 



(i) By substituting heavy milking dairy cows 

 for fatting beasts ; by trusting to arable land for 

 providing food for the cows, and for such beasts 

 as I decided to keep ; in other words by employ- 

 ing largely fodder crops — lucerne, sainfoin, 

 catch crops, etc. 



(2) By endeavouring to improve such grass 



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