170 BEITAIN FOTl THE BEITON 



but 3 "93 per cent, of it used for producing the natural food of 

 the people — Beead, and only 640 per cent, of this magnificently 

 fertile area used for producing — Food for Man. 



Unfortunately, under the seeming folly there is bitter 

 suffering and ceaseless pain and misery to millions of inoffensive 

 people, who certainly deserve a better fate than that involved 

 in the destruction of this great labour-employing and food- 

 producing industry — AGRICULTURE. This is a most deplorable 

 condition of British Agriculture, which, although well known 

 to students, will come as a startling revelation to most of our 

 fellow-countrymen, but it is hoped that there is yet time to 

 retrieve the errors of the past by endowing agriculture with 

 all those essentials to success which it must possess before it 

 can do for the British people what it has done, and is doing, 

 for the peoples of other countries. 



Let us now see what we have to build upon : what the 

 basis of our land scheme is, and if it is broad and strong 

 enough upon which to build a powerful, stable agricultural 

 industry which will give full employment to our people and 

 lasting prosperity to our country. 



Splendid Opportunities for Agriculture 



Dealing with even numbers, we have 48,000,000 acres of 

 what, by courtesy, is called by Government " cultivated " land, 

 which, although not tilled in greater part, is nevertheless known 

 to be among the finest corn -producing land in the world. 

 Every acre of this vast area is capable of high cultivation and 

 immense production. 



Then we have 16,000,000 acres of what is termed "heath, 

 grazing, and uncultivated land," practically the whole of which 

 is capable of producing, under a sensible, up-to-date agricultural 

 system, excellent crops. 



After this come upwards of 13,000,000 acres of " uncultiv- 

 able or uncultivated " land, including mountains, waters, roads, 

 etc., which are more or less of an unknown quantity. 



A good deal of this " mountain, uncultivable or un- 

 cultivated" land might be converted into productive forests 

 and good sheep pasturage, and even into arable land ; indeed, 

 had it belonged to Continental States this " mountain " land 

 and the rest of it, which, in reality, partly consists of low 

 hills varying from a few hundred to two or three thousand 

 feet high, would have been converted to national uses a couple 

 of generations ago. 



Dealing with even figures, we have, then, a broad area 

 consisting of — 



