928 POLITICAL ECONOMY OF 



that some of the tribes inhabiting central Africa 

 and the South Sea Islands, who live on fruits 

 and vegetables, have been equally ferocious and 

 cruel. 



The superiority of vegetable over animal food 

 is still more striking in an economical point of 

 view. For example, if we estimate the average 

 produce of wheat at 1250 Ibs. per acre ; a square 

 mile, or 640 acres, would yield 800,000 Ibs., which 

 would support a population of 1462 individuals, 

 allowing each to consume 24 oz. per day through- 

 out the year. And it is well known that an acre 

 of ground will produce from 40 to 50 per cent, 

 more barley, maize, oats, beans, or peas, than of 

 wheat. But if the products of an acre of ground 

 be required to give 200 Ibs. of meat on an average, 

 a square mile would give 128,000 Ibs. : so that if 

 it contain 25 per cent, of fat and 25 per cent, of 

 lean meat, deprived of water, there would remain 

 64,000 Ibs. of nutritive matter, which would sup- 

 port 117 inhabitants, allowing 24 oz. for each. 

 From which it follows, that land sown in wheat 

 would support above 12^ times the number of 

 inhabitants that it could if devoted to the rearing 

 of cattle and sheep. 



But at present the number of horses in Great 

 Britain is 2,166,000, and of cattle 13,000,000: so 

 that if each of these animals consume as much 

 food as five men, that of the whole would main- 

 tain a population of 75,830,000. If to this we 



