(I 



CHAPTER XXIII 



CONSUMING THE CROPS — MORE FACTORY METHODS 



The labour economies of Continuous Cropping, or 

 Farming on Factory Lines, is not confined to the grow- 

 ing of the crop, but may also be applied to a consider- 

 able extent to the consuming of the crops. 



With the exception of crops intended for direct 

 human consumption, e.g., potatoes, cereals, a farmer 

 should look upon the product of his soil as so much 

 raw material to be converted into such marketable 

 commodities as milk, beef, mutton and pork, just as 

 the linen or cotton manufacturers regard flax, or raw 

 I cotton as the raw material of their respective indus- 

 |l tries. The latter type of manufacturer has been and 

 | \ still is on the look-out for more economical methods 

 \ *of production, but the manufacturer of beef, milk, etc., 

 in the majority of cases, has seldom given the econo- 

 mical methods of production, or in the case under dis- 

 cussion, the economical consumption of crops, the 

 slightest consideTUUUH.  T ' ' ' ' l ' lls 



There are tremendous possibilities in the latter direc- 

 tion, the carting home of, say, a 30 ton crop of winter 

 greens and the carting back and spreading of the 

 necessary farmyard manure to maintain the fertility of 

 the land, may involve a labour expenditure of from 

 30s. to 40s. per acre. So that by consuming the crops 

 on the land, a saving often greater than the rent, 

 rates and taxes of the acre of land can be effected. 



