Rural Depopulation 153 



were of little avail ; but in time the evils 

 were redressed to a great extent by the 

 action of economic forces. The growth of 

 the towns led in time to a greater demand 

 for corn, and as, for long, the country was 

 self-supporting, the growth of population 

 inevitably caused an increase in the 

 production of the staple food. 



It is, indeed, obvious that so long as the 

 country was self-supporting the growth of 

 the towns and cities, and what is the same 

 thing, the extension of trade and manu- 

 factures, was only possible if the needs of 

 the new forms of labour as regards food 

 were met by fresh surplus from the country, 

 and that means that a smaller number of 

 hands were required to raise a given 

 amount of food. This again means that 

 the general increase of population could 

 only go on with a relative or proportionate 

 diminution in the agricultural population. 



