224 BRITAIN FOn THE BRITON 



iudustries ; but this only exemplilics the fact that agriculture 

 has its ups aud downs, and that those engaged in it must take 

 their chances like other men. 



No man in his senses can, in face of the overwhelming 

 evidence in favour of agriculture being still our greatest 

 industry, legitimately assert that there is no money in the 

 land, tiiat it does not pay, that it is altogether a quantUe 

 ncfjllgeaUc, because such a contention would argue that all 

 who have been engaged in the industry during the last tifty 

 years and are engaged in it still, are fools, and have only been 

 throwing good money after bad all that time. Few there are 

 who would be bold enough to assume so indefensible a position. 



The Tkutii about Agriculture 



If we delve down to the stable foundation of solid truth we 

 shall find that, in spite of the fact that everything has been 

 done Ijy the Governments of the past to ruin the land industry 

 and to discourage agriculturists in every possible manner, the 

 land may still be regarded by capable, hard-working, thrifty 

 persons as a calling by which men may make a decent living. 

 To assert, however, tliat the industry is in a flourishing con- 

 dition because some of those engaged in it do fairly well, would 

 be as foolish as to contend that there is no money in it because 

 all do not make a fortune, or because some en^aued in it fail. 



It is the fashion to believe that there is no money in 

 agriculture, and that it could not be worked profital)ly, even 

 if it were conducted with the same skill and energy aud Ixicked 

 up by ample capital as other industries are. Let us, however, 

 briefly examine this view of the case and see if there is a real 

 truth underlying the belief! 



In the flrst place we must not overlook the important fact 

 that up to this period agriculture has not been v/orked on the 

 same lines as other industries. For years past the land has 

 been farmed chiefly by poor, unenterprising men who, if they 

 had the will, certainly had not the power of spending large 

 sums of money in fortifying their lands with those manures 

 which are necessary in maintaining their maximum produc- 

 tiveness, or in e(]^uipping themselves with all those costly, 

 up-to-date agricultui-al labuur-saving machines and implements 

 that are essential in economical production. This fact is 

 exemplified by the reduced yield per acre in wheat, for example, 

 and in the primitive agricultural methods that are still followed 

 in many parts of Great Britain. 



This IS an age of progress, of push and enterprise, and if 

 farmers stand still where other men press onwards with energy 



