THE STATE AS FARMER 87 



of the cottage kitchen, but nicely housed in 

 a clean weather-tight pen in which he may 

 thrive under the best conditions. Are we 

 going to attain to this desirable state if every- 

 one is allowed to do what is right in his own 

 eyes ? 



There is in the July number of The 

 Journal of the Board of Agriculture a very 

 interesting account by Mr. J. W. Welsh of 

 the Hitchin Bacon Factory. Mr. Welsh 

 describes just the kind of establishment I 

 am urging for every acre in the land, and 

 he supplies perfect evidence for my general 

 argument. He tells these damning facts : 



Unfortunately the success of the factory as a 

 co-operative institution has been somewhat impaired 

 by the failure of the members to support it loyally. 

 The farmers show a marked disinclination to bind 

 themselves to send all their pigs to the factory, and 

 still often sell to local dealers whenever the price 

 offered is higher than that offered by the factory. 

 They fail to realise that their loyal support would 

 increase the dividends and apparently forget that 

 they have invested their capital in the factory. It 

 should be pointed out, moreover, that the competi- 

 tion of the factory has been instrumental in raising 

 the local prices by from 5 to j\ per cent., and that, 



