TARIFF REFORM AND ITS EFFECTS. 85 



vt'ould come to £50; aud he would be stocked 

 with all the latest appliances, and svich as would, 

 with the occasional repairs which a farmer now 

 has to make, last him a lifetime. Now, it used 

 to be considered that a farmer ought to have 

 £10 of capital for every acre he desired to farm. 

 For argument's sake, we shall suppose the farmer 

 has £5; and we are willing to admit that in the 

 great majority of cases to-day, owing to general 

 agricultural depression, he has not even that 

 sum. Very well, on a farm of 200 acres, which 

 would be but of moderate size, his capital would 

 therefore be £1,000 on the lowest computation, 

 whilst on a 400 acre farm it would be £2,000. 

 Will any man say that in return for the expendi- 

 ture of the extra £50 referred to, once in a life- 

 time, the returns offered him in another direction 

 by tariff reform are not vastly greater? Tho 

 fact is, that the whole £50 would be recouped 

 on most farms in one or two years at the outside, 

 and would be an excellent investment at that. 

 The " extra cost for machinery " bogey does not, 

 we are glad to think, frighten the farmer, al- 



/ though, by the way, from some mere politicians'! 



I talk he ought to be frightened out of his witsj 



j on this score by now. 



Small and Laege Occitpiers. 



The small occupier, whether he be a small 

 -holder who depends largely upon fruit and vege- 

 tables for his living, or a market gardener who 

 makes a speciality of, say, jjotatoes, strawberries, 

 ur some other commodity, will benefit probably 



