THE STATE AS FARMER 3 



sanitation and general well-being, the burning 

 memories of our present experience will in 

 all probability secure for us a more patient 

 hearing in the future. 



The war has made even the most indifferent 

 among us feel that the nation is a single entity 

 precious to us all, and its safety and well-being 

 must be placed far above any purely personal 

 claims. The singleness of essential interest 

 coincides with the demands of commercial 

 judgment. The land cannot bring forth and 

 send into the market for the people its 

 maximum of produce unless it be treated as 

 a single national whole. During the war 

 some slight indication of national purpose 

 and patriotism has been given in cases where 

 the system of grazing, which gave greater 

 bulk of produce, has been adhered to instead 

 of the slightly more profitable practice of re- 

 duced expenditure and less weight in returns. 

 It requires but a nodding acquaintance with 

 agriculture to recognise that this reduction 

 in expenditure can be carried into an amazing 

 number of undertakings, till transport, labour, 

 and housing are so treated that population 

 dwindles, the amenities of life decay, and the 



B 2 



