CHAPTER XIV 



THE PLACE OF INTENSIVE 

 FARMING 



THE doctrine of the survival of the most 

 fit applies equally to the field of biol- 

 ogy and to the field of economics. The gen- 

 eral introduction of vegetables and fruits 

 into the human dietary has, by banishing the 

 loathsome diseases of the Middle Ages, 

 greatly increased human efficiency. It fol- 

 lows that those peoples or nations who 

 employ vegetables and fruits in abundance, 

 other things being equal, will be most fit to 

 survive and must outstrip others less fortu- 

 nately situated. We may for this reason 

 alone look forward to the increasing im- 

 portance of vegetable growing and fruit 

 raising; but there is a more obvious and 

 perhaps more direct reason. There is in the 

 production of vegetables, at least, a method 

 of satisfying the dietetic needs of an increas- 

 ing population. The employment of a part 

 of the area now in cereals and forage crops 

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