OUR LAND AND THE EMPIRE 109 



" In the case of cotton, the agricultural product 

 of a single section lays tribute upon farthest civil- 

 isation and heathendom," 



" It is the motive power that drives hundreds of 

 wheels in England." 



It is such a scientific enquiry, such enthusiasm, 

 such faith in the possibilities of the land, which is 

 wanted here, and if we succeeded in producing such a 

 report we should then take the first step towards 

 the great national and imperial land policy the 

 thoughts of which are now slowly crystallising 

 throughout the Empire. 



***** 



In this lecture I want to draw a picture of what 

 the organisation of agriculture in the United 

 Kingdom might be, and what results would accrue 

 from such an organisation. Then I shall deal with 

 the question of the future development of land 

 from the Imperial point of view. 



First of all, as concerns the United Kingdom : I 

 have shown how the agricultural population has been 

 decreasing, and further how the yield of the land, in 

 spite of all the modern discoveries which Science has 

 put at the disposal of the cultivator, instead of in- 

 creasing rapidly, has tended persistently to decrease. 



Our land resources are being wasted. There are 

 areas which might be cultivated, and which are not 

 cultivated, but this side is not of great importance. 

 By far the most important fact is that the culti- 

 vated land is not being put to its fullest use, that 

 the proportion of grass is too high, higher than in any 

 other country in the world. Yet it is arable land 

 that gives employment to the largest number of 

 people, so that from the social point of view, if 



