THE COST OF FERTILISING 73 



Mr Treadwell, on the other hand, though he admits 

 that nothing will make or restore a pasture so quickly 

 as a liberal use of cake by sheep or cattle, and has 

 proved that " to the hilt " by his own experience, is con- 

 vinced that, at the present price of produce, the higher 

 you farm the more money you lose. 



Sir John Lawes says " the last bushel always costs 

 1. ore than all the others." With low prices, you cannot 

 force the produce of the land remuneratively beyond 

 what he calls the average of the seasons. He fears that 

 farmers who have farmed very highly have lost money. 

 But his view is rather a condemnation of extreme for- 

 cing of the soil, than what people ordinarily understand 

 by liberal treatment of the land. " It would be equally 

 bad economy to farm too low." The natural produce of 

 the soil would not pay a man to cultivate now. 



In every case, when closely questioned, there came 

 the admission that the chances of success in these times 

 were increased by having the best stock, the best seeds, 

 the best cake and manures, the best equipment, and the 

 best labour. 



It is the letting down of land which is the sure and 

 unfailing precursor of the ruin of the farmer. The 

 higher fertility created by doing everything well, not 

 only makes the best bid for a profit now, but is con- 

 tinually adding to the savings bank for the future. The 

 only qualification is that the cultivation must be ap- 

 propriate to the land, and that on many of the heaviest 

 and lightest of lands, irrespective of their having been 

 let down, the chance of a margin of profit is too slender 

 now to justify outlay. These types of land must, in some 

 cases, for the present disappear from cultivation, and 

 their owners and occupiers must be content with the 

 lowest ^return from these either as rough temporary 

 grazings, or for the still humbler function of rabbit 

 warrens. 



One unanswerable proof that liberal outlay in farming 

 still pays is that the testimony of almost every witness 

 is practically unanimous that there is a striking com- 

 petition for farms where this policy has been pursued, 



