34 THE POLICY OF THE PLOUGH 



Board of Agriculture, Mr. T. H. Middleton gives the 

 following table : 



On each hundred acres of cultivated land : 



(1) The British farmer feeds from 45 to 50 per- 



sons, the Grerman farmer feeds from 70 to 

 75 persons. 



(2) The British farmer grows 15 tons of corn, the 



Grerman farmer grows 33 tons. 



(3) The British farmer grows 11 tons of potatoes, 



the German farmer grows 55 tons. 



(4) The British farmer produces 4 tons of meat, 



the German farmer produces 4 J tons. 



(5) The British farmer produces 17J tons of milk, 



the German farmer produces 28 tons. 



(6) The British farmer produces a negHgible 



quantity of sugar, the German farmer pro- 

 duces 2| tons. 



The cultivation of sugar in Germany deserves a few 

 words of special comment. British agriculture should 

 similarly develop on a grand scale the sugar-beet 

 industry. 



The anxieties and distractions caused during the 

 war by the maintenance of our sugar supply are suffi- 

 cient indication of the strength we should acquire as 

 a nation if we produced a considerable proportion of 

 our sugar at home. Our soil and cHmate are quite as 

 suitable as those of Germany for growing sugar-beet. 

 But the industry has never been encouraged, and 

 without State help and encouragement it is not likely 

 to succeed. Few men will risk their money in a new 

 industry which requires the building of expensive 



