WHY IT SHOULD BE GROWN. 17 



any likelihood of the revival of com crops ? Since 

 the Governments, following in the footsteps of 

 Cobden, have acted in accordance with the idea 

 that our chief industry was to be manufacturing 

 and not agricultural, and that we were to be the 

 Queen of manufacturing nations — a fallacy, alas ! 

 as other countries are far in advance of us now 

 — but since our duties and regulations have been 

 fi'amed in accordance with this view, the English 

 farmer is far too heavily handicapped to venture, 

 with his eyes open, to lay out his capital on 

 crops that will find no market on account of the 

 foreign crops which are not handicapped at all. 



Corn growing, then, being a losing industry, 

 is not likely to increase, but rather diminish, 

 now that the farmer has opened his eyes to the 

 fact that his losses are not mei-ely due to bad 

 seasons, but to fiscal causes, apparently equally 

 beyond his powers to avert — so that the culti- 

 vation and cure of tobacco could not be fairly 

 considered as a possible deterrent, or in the 

 slightest degree prejudicial to food production, 

 whereas it will and must be productive of an 

 infinite amount and endless source of labour in 

 the prepai-ation of the soil, tending the seed- 

 lings, transplanting, weeding, worming, watei-- 

 ing, hoeing, plucking off suckers, dead leaves 



