THE STATE AS FARMER 55 



destiny with, success — is it not probable 

 that these thousands of other pests will 

 laugh to scorn the efforts of a few isolated 

 farmers endeavouring to perform their duties 

 in a scientific manner ? And in the case of 

 so large and valuable a thing as a sheep we 

 might expect a certain ease and thorough- 

 ness of defence or antidote : the examination 

 of the patient is simpler and the treatment 

 would appear to be worth attending to 

 because of the money value involved. The 

 same may be said of the various other ills 

 that cattle, sheep, and pigs are heir to. But, 

 in these attacks of disease or pest, the 

 difficulty does not lie in the importance or 

 insignificance of the patient. For, though 

 a sheep is individually of more importance 

 than a potato, a field or the national acreage 

 of potatoes is of more value than many sheep. 

 And, as we have seen in the case of fluke, the 

 attack upon valuable stock may come from 

 some most insignificant area of neglected 

 poor land. We may take it, then, that 

 whether it be the indiscernible origin of 

 swine fever, mange or the abortive influences, 

 the horrible fly-nuisances, and other sorrows 



