158 THE LAND AND ITS PROBLEMS 



control, it will be found wellnigh impossible to 

 compel the farmers to grow the amount of corn we 

 should grow. And I am certain it will be a grave 

 error of judgment on the part of the Government to 

 concentrate upon this. 



Even the guaranteed prices for wheat and oats, fixed 

 to safeguard the farmer against loss, will not materially 

 increase the area under corn. I am all in favour of the 

 principle of the guarantee ; for it is a great step in the 

 right direction for an English Government to recognize 

 that the farmer must be guaranteed against loss, if asked 

 to grow certain crops in the national interest. But we 

 must not expect too much from the guarantee, rather 

 must we attempt to create conditions generally favourable 

 to arable cultivation. 



The essential is to have the necessary area under 

 the plough. 



To secure this, the sounder plan will be to concentrate 

 on increasing the area of arable land by encouraging 

 the widest possible range of arable crops — lucerne, 

 sugar beet, fodder crops {vide Harper Adams system), 

 and above all potatoes ; these crops are all excellent 

 preparation for corn growing, and when a crisis comes 

 the land is there ready for corn. We will now consider 

 certain special crops which should be encouraged. 



CERTAIN SPECIFIC DEVELOPMENTS 



(i) Increased area under potatoes. Potatoes yield more, 

 far more, farinaceous food per acre than any other crop. 

 We have soil admirably adapted for growing potatoes, 

 our climate suits the plant, and our potato farmers are 

 the most skilled growers of potatoes in the world. Yet 

 we only produce about five million tons of potatoes 



