WORK OF THE PEASANT FARMER 153 



to rise to Rs.'2 a day, the small land-holder would 

 probably see the advantage of performing for him- 

 self most of the work for which he now pays wages, 

 and his labour bill would go down instead of going 

 up. 



When we contrast the standard of effort in one 

 country with the standard of effort in another and 

 say that the farmers in one country are hard-working 

 and that the farmers of another country are indolent, 

 it does not, of course, mean that all the farmers in 

 the one country are hard-working or that all the 

 farmers in the other are indolent. It is not to be 

 expected anywhere that all will be models of diligence 

 and perseverance ; but in countries where a large 

 proportion of the farmers (say 60 per cent.) are keen, 

 hard-working men, we may expect to find agricultural 

 progress, whereas in countries where only a small 

 proportion (say 20 per cent.) of the farmers have de- 

 veloped these characteristics, we cannot expect to find 

 any general progress. Peasant agriculture is most 

 exacting in this respect, and without strenuous ap- 

 plication and dogged perseverance the cultivator 

 cannot expect success under ordinary conditions. 

 The proportion of hard-working cultivators, therefore, 

 tends to be much the same thing as the proportion 

 of successful cultivators ; so that this proportion is a 

 matter of the greatest importance. It is to be feared 

 that in India the proportion of really hard-working 

 cultivators is, owing to various causes, not so large 

 as it should be, and it becomes necessary for us to 



