DENSITY OF POPULATION 11 



of holding which will support a family. Once this limit 

 has been reached the increase of population ceases, the con- 

 dition of the greater section of the people degenerates until 

 the positive check of starvation and disease keeps the death- 

 rate equal to the birth-rate. The important point to notice 

 for our present purpose is that in these circumstances the 

 land supports the maximum population possible with a 

 given technique of agriculture and industry. Furthermore, 

 it is to be observed that all improvements of agricultural 

 methods which can be adopted by an illiterate population 

 with low standard of living will merely tend to increase the 

 density of the population in the district, that is the number 

 per square mile. Facilities granted for cheap credit, and 

 even permanent i-nprovements of the land, will have the 

 same effect : they merely increase the number of persons 

 living on the land per square mile. In comparing the four 

 cases of different land tenure, however, 1 assume that the 

 method of cultivation and the degree of the improvement 

 of the land is the same in every case. All conditions must 

 be the same excepting only the difference of tenure. 



In the second case we may assume conditions which are 

 familiar under the name of ryotwari tenure. The cultivators s 

 hold their land subject only to payment of revenue to \ 

 Government, and there are no landlords or other intermedi- 

 aries. In this case the gross produce of the land is not 

 entirely available for the support of the rural population, 

 consequently the population cannot multiply to a density 

 equal to that of the first case, and the minimum size of 

 holding for every grade of land must be larger. 



In the third case let us assume that the cultivating 

 population pays rent to a landlord class who pass 

 on a large proportion of it as land revenue to Govern- 

 ment ; but that there are various restrictions upon the in* 

 crease of rentals, by occupancy rights and so forth, 



