THE OBJECTIVE IN PRODUCTION 157 



but this will be minimized because the changes must be 

 gradual. And many of those dispossessed, having realized 

 their capital, can start on a smaller scale and therefore 

 with a higher rate of capital per acre — which is one of the 

 secrets of success. Others can find a haven on the land 

 overseas and many of them should do well there, once 

 prised out of the rut they are in at present. 



A LESSON FROM THE WAR 



The war has taught us beyond dispute that it is the 

 farinaceous foods which it is so essential to grow at home, 

 i.e. corn and potatoes. They are the most bulky form 

 of food to transport, therefore in time of war their 

 importation should be reduced to the minimum. They 

 are arable land crops, and as shown in preceding 

 chapters our proportion of grass land is altogether too 

 large. Unfortunately we are not Nebuchadnezzars, we 

 cannot live on grass ! 



In times of peace we should prepare for the possibility 

 of war ; food is the main munition of war, and if our food 

 supply is known to be vulnerable it invites attack. The 

 submarine in the next war will be much more formidable 

 than in the Great War, when, fortunately for us, it was 

 a new weapon. If perfected, submarine warfare could 

 effectively blockade our coast for nine months and 

 starve us out, unless we greatly increase the production 

 of farinaceous food within the United Kingdom. 



For the past sixty years, from March to September 

 we have had generally only six weeks' supply of wheat 

 in the country, sometimes less — a sort of month-to-month 

 supply, unsatisfactory at best and a great danger in time 

 of war. 



In times of peace, even granted all Government 



