100 THE LAND AND ITS PROBLEMS 



but we do not handle our grass land properly and so we 

 lose on both counts. 



Diagram No. Ill, page 78, shows at a glance the case 

 of grass versus arable, and I again make certain com- 

 parisons with the situation in Germany because it helps 

 us to understand the situation here. There is more 

 than twice as much grass land, per 100 acres of cultivated 

 land, in the United Kingdom as there is in Germany. 

 Let us examine the reasons for this. 



(i) The question of climate is an important factor ; 

 the climatic conditions are more favourable for grass 

 production here than anywhere in Europe. But un- 

 fortunately it does not follow that our grass land is of 

 an uniformly high quality ; quite apart from the fact 

 that there is much land in England under grass which is 

 less suited to grass than to arable cultivation. Even in 

 parts of the country which from every point of view 

 are rightly grass land districts, there is much poor 

 grass — poor owing to neglect and bad farming. 



(2) There is no doubt that for many years the con- 

 tinental farmer has realized that arable farming is more 

 profitable than grass land farming. This is a point that 

 the English farmer does not yet fully understand. 



(3) Arable farming requires more capital, and a 

 greater annual expenditure than grass farming ; and 

 whereas the German farmer (and indeed the continental 

 farmer generally) was quite wiUing to embark upon this 

 expenditure, knowing full well that his Government 

 and his nation would see that he was not let down, the 

 English farmer had no such assurance — but very much 

 the reverse. 



(4) There is no doubt that the inclination of the 

 English farmer has always been towards grass rather 



