The Organisation of the Industry. 25 



neighbouring holdings, with the same class of land and the 

 same opportunities, were only worked with equal 

 intelligence and energy there would be no agricultural 

 problem to discuss. In many parts of the country it is 

 clear that the farmer is occupying more land than he can 

 properly manage with the capital at his disposal." 



We may sum up the position of farming in this country, 

 up to the outbreak of war, by saying that the industry had 

 surmounted the crisis of the period 1880-igoo and was 

 offering encouraging returns to the enterprising and skilful 

 farmers ; that a minority of farmers were making good 

 use of their opportunities and had little to learn in the 

 conduct of their farms, but the majority of the farmers 

 were failing to make use of their opportunities and were 

 handling their land in a way that was a distinct loss to 

 the community. The general level of farming in Scotland 

 was higher than in England (" Pilgrimage of British 

 Farming," p. 151), although rents and wages were higher. 



It is probably true of every industry that there is a wide 

 difference in efficiency between the various units engaged 

 in it, but the proportion of inefficients is much greater in 

 agriculture than in any other industry. In two very 

 important directions agriculture is peculiar. A large 

 number of farmers look upon farming as a way of living 

 rather than as a business. They are content to scrape 

 along, if they can make ends meet. The old ways satisfy 

 them so long as they can just pull through. To develop 

 their business means the exercise of continuous care and 

 the taking of risks ; the unenterprising way is easier if less 

 remunerative. In far too many cases they have neither 

 the skill nor the capacity for conducting the industry on 



