56 THE LAND AND ITS PROBLEMS 



staffs can give, that we can hope to improve our standard 

 of farming. Our average farmer does not yet understand 

 the economic use of artificial manure or even of the 

 fundamental farm-yard manure ; he does not under- 

 stand the economic feeding of live stock ; he has not 

 made a study of the proper organization of farm labour. 

 Yet these points are of the greatest importance in the 

 economy of the industry. There are still too many 

 farmers who do not understand that science has been of 

 untold value to them ; were it not for science such every 

 day substances as superphosphate, basic, sulphate of 

 ammonia, would not be there to help the farmer in 

 his conquest of the soil. If farmers fail to see what 

 research has done for them in the past, in spite of 

 this constantly recurring evidence, how make them 

 understand the still unlimited resources which science 

 can make available for agriculturists ? 



Finally, the organized farmers should have a strong 

 publicity department and be prepared, when need 

 arises, to carry on an educational campaign amongst 

 our ignorant townspeople and to answer maliciously 

 false attacks on the industry. 



During the war our urban consumers made frequent 

 allegations of profiteering against the producers of food ; 

 in their ignorance they accused the farmer of profiteering 

 and running up the cost of Hving, when the enhanced cost 

 was really due to world prices. As a matter of fact, owing 

 to Government action in regard to wheat and other 

 commodities, our farmers actually received considerably 

 less than the world prices. No one denies that a large 

 number of farmers did well during the period of the 

 war, but it is quite certain that they did not recoup 

 themselves for their losses during the long period of 

 depression when the nation lived on the landowners' 



