296 PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION 



* 



In the above paragraphs the distinction between the production 

 of foodstuffs as a whole and that of animal foodstuffs, has not been 

 clearly maintained. This is because of the Empire's deficiency, 

 not only in the latter, but also in all kinds of agricultural products 

 that depend upon arable cultivation, and because an increase in 

 the production of the latter is a necessary condition of an increase 

 in that of the former. Though the net deficiency of the Empire in 

 wheat is small, it is clear from its deficiencies in other directions 

 that the area of land under crops of all kinds and especially of 

 those required for the maintenance of animals is quite insufficient 

 to supply the requirements of its population in foodstuffs. It 

 may be in the near future that the total production of wheat in 

 the Empire will be equal to, or greater than, the total consumption, 

 but much wheat is at present produced in Canada and Australia 

 on the exhaustive one-crop system, which cannot be continued 

 indefinitely. From every point of view, therefore, it is desirable 

 that the cultivation of rotation crops, supplying animal feedstuffs, 

 should be extended. If the whole of the feedstuffs so produced is 

 not consumed by food-producing animals on the spot, the balance 

 might be exported to those parts of the Empire where feedstuffs 

 are now, or may be in the future, deficient, particularly to the 

 United Kingdom. In order that the Empire's requirements in 

 animal foodstuffs may be supplied from its own production, it 

 appears that a large increase is required in the areas of land under 

 cultivation in the more accessible and longer settled parts as well. 

 The figures given in Chapter I., above, show that in addition to a 

 deficiency of nearly 26 million cwt. of animal foodstuffs, the Empire 

 showed, in 1913, a net deficiency of over 56 million cwt. of feed- 

 stuffs, not including the deficiency in oats for horses. These 

 56 million cwt. of feedstuffs would represent about 5 million cwt. 

 of animal foodstuffs, making the total deficiency of the latter up 

 to 31 cwt. It will be seen at once how great must be the increase 

 in the labour and capital employed within the Empire in agri- 

 culture in order to provide not only the present deficiency in 

 feedstuffs, but also for the maintenance of the deficiency in food- 

 producing animals, which would themselves necessitate the em- 

 employment of much additional labour and equipment. 



If considerable importance is to be attached to the Empire 

 becoming more self-contained in the matter of foodstuffs and feed- 

 stuffs, still greater weight must be given to progress in the same 

 direction in the United Kingdom. This country, in spite of its 

 marked deficiency, is nevertheless a greater producer of animal 

 foodstuffs, as measured by gross values, than any other part of 

 the Empire. Many authorities are of the opinion that the agri- 

 cultural output of the United Kingdom, including that of animal 

 foodstuffs, could be considerably increased if proper steps weie 

 taken. 1 This seems to be borne out by comparisons with neigh- 



1 See Report of the Land Enquiry Committee, 1910, Vol. I., pp. 231-254, 

 and in addition numerous books and articles by prominent writers on British 

 Agriculture. 



