48 THE FUTURE OF OUR AGRICULTURE. 



forget Canada, which operates fruitfully on its own origi- 

 nal lines ! All round, in fact, we see push and movement, 

 realised settled aim, and accordingly steady advance. 

 We practically alone — among leading countries — have 

 rested aimlessly upon our oars. Under such inertness 

 and inability to make up our minds, adhering to old routine 

 practices and letting things slide, our Agriculture, thus fallen 

 into decay, the war has found us out as being as unprepared 

 as were the foolish virgins of the parable, not thinking of their 

 oil until the moment had come when they badly wanted 

 it. However, people appear now to have pretty well made 

 up their minds that this state of things cannot be allowed 

 to continue ; that, the lesson, once learnt, is to be well 

 taken to heart. The iron wants to be forged while it is 

 in a glow. Putting things off is likely to mean dropping 

 them altogether and relapsing into our old loppaty-loppaty 

 crawl. Such national misfortune should be guarded against. 

 The body being found to be sick, there is one thing that 

 we might well adopt from the German practice, now held 

 up so much as a model to follow, and that is, to diagnose 

 the illness discovered and analyse the causes of our agricul- 

 tural decumbiture. That done, we shall be able to form a 

 " National Agricultural Policy," and to pursue it methodi- 

 cally and steadfastly — let us hope with vigour as well 

 as with judgment — and finally with success. 



