340 BRITAIN FOR THE BRITON 



aiul a fatuous fiscal system have cast about her laud iudustiy, 

 aud she will be able to grow all her owu corn, butter, cheese, 

 poultry, eggs, bacon, vegetables, and practically every ounce of 

 food she requires for her own population, and— a great deed more 

 besiehs if nceessari/. 



The bill for these importations amounts to £172,000,000 

 annually, every penny of w^hich could be put into the pockets 

 of our agriculturists with the greatest ease. 



Peesent Bars to Successful Agricultuke 



The restrictions to agriculture are well known and well 

 marked, and consist chiefly of two formidable obstacles, 

 (a) Impossible land tenures ; (h) an impossible fiscal system. 



Tariff-reforms will most likely remove the latter obstruction 

 before long ; while the former will soon be entirely changed 

 and remodelled on up-to-date rational lines by the common- 

 sense of the people. Agriculture, " small holdings," " back to the 

 land" and such-like matters, have been much in the public 

 mind of late, and public thought will soon find material 

 expression in overt action. 



Give to the country a sensible system of land tenures where- 

 under every cultivator of the soil, who could render a good 

 account of himself, would have reasonable chances of acquiring 

 proprietary rights over the land he tills, and this country would 

 not only grow all her own corn, but a lot more for export, if 

 other people wanted it— which they are not foolish enough 

 to do. 



As the ways and means to this end have been clearly set 

 forth in Chapters XXIV. to XXVII. , it is only necessary to 

 add that, as this country possesses, according to Parliamentary 

 returns, 49,000,000 acres of " cultivated " land which comprises 

 the finest wheat-growing lands in the vjorld, the 280,000,000 

 bushels of wheat which the United Kingdom requires annually 

 for her own consumption could be grown with the greatest 

 case. 



Here is the matter in a nutshell : 



The average wheat consumption of the United Kingdom is 

 280,000,000 bushels. The average yield per acre is 32 bushels.* 

 The average area under wheat annually to produce the280,000,000 

 bushels would be 8,750,000 acres. 



Ample Akea. for Corn Growing 



This wheat area, which represents a little more than one- 

 sixth of the " cultivated " area, is, as every farmer knows, well 



* Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, 1908, Cd. 4445. 



