AN AGRICULTURAL CAREER 143 



farm, it must pay cash for them. And if the passive 

 partner wants extra work done in the pleasure grounds 

 or kitchen garden, he should get in an extra labourer, 

 so as not to upset the organization of labour on the farm. 



C.XPITAL REQUIRED 



For this partnership farming, in general terms, it 

 would be a mistake to make the unit less than four or 

 five hundred acres of good average land. The profit 

 from a smaller area would not be sufficient to attract 

 a really good working partner. The farm could be rented 

 or purchased according to the amount of capital available ; 

 the point to bear in mind being that, whereas /[lo per 

 acre was a fair working capital before the war, now it 

 should be at least ,(^20 per acre, for stocking the farm, 

 etc., so that a total sum of ;(^ 10,000 would be required 

 for a 500-acre farm.^ 



Suitable land can be bought in most counties at from 

 ^25 to £25 P^^ ^^^'^ ' ^^^ ^^ ^^ generally cheaper, so 

 long as the present low rents continue, to rent rather 

 than to buy the farm — though there is always the risk of 

 the owner being obliged to sell, and the tenant being 

 turned out in consequence. 



\\ here possible, it would be desirable to consult the 

 active partner before taking the farm — in any case he 

 should be consulted in regard to the outlay of the working 

 capital ; he has to pay the passive partner interest on this 

 capital, so it is only fair that he should have the right 

 to see that it is expended in the most effective way 

 possible. 



It must always be remembered that the first two or 



* With the downward tendency in prices the amount of working 

 capital can be reduced. 



