36 ARABLE LAND VERSUS GRASS 



whereupon the increased demand for land would have 

 resulted in the displacement of the farmer who lived by 

 skimming a large area of cheap land ; either he would 

 have to give place to a man with more adequate capital, 

 or he would have to yield up part of his land and con- 

 centrate his capital on the rest. More intensive methods 

 and a bigger output would have followed ; against the 

 increased expenses costs could be reduced by improved 

 organization and the introduction of machinery ; wages 

 would be increased to meet the demand for a more 

 technically skilled labourer. Taken by themselves, 

 improved organization and machinery would tend to 

 reduce the number of men upon the land ; but if they 

 are employed to correct the costliness of a more 

 intensive agriculture and an increased productivity, 

 both the requirements of the State for further produc- 

 tivity and more employment, and that of the individual 

 for profit, can be met. 



Where the land is in excess, as in the new countries, 

 undoubtedly the maximum production and profit 

 per man is to be obtained by farming wide areas 

 in the cheapest way possible ; as soon as the amount 

 of land and not the number of men become the 

 limiting factor intensive agriculture is necessary. 

 Now the paradox that England presents of a limited 

 amount of land in close proximity to the best markets 

 of the world, accompanied by farming that is yearly 

 growing less instead of more intensive, is only susceptible 

 of one explanation that the amount of land is still in 

 excess of the demand for it on the part of men who are 

 capable of using it to advantage. Owing to the attrac- 

 tions of other industries or to the difficulty of access to 

 the land, the number of really skilful faimers has not 



