TENANT-FARMERS. 33 



drawbacks under which British agriculture labours. Mechi and other 

 advanced agriculturists speak of 15 to 20 per acre, and even more, 

 as being an amount of capital which may be profitably employed in the 

 cultivation of a farm. That such an amount of capital will be required 

 will in fact be shown in a succeeding chapter that is, where improve- 

 ments are contemplated on a scale equal to the requirements of modern 

 agriculture. Professor Low, in his work ' On Landed Property,' estimates 

 the amount of capital required to stock an arable farm, managed on a 

 five years' rotation, as practised in the eastern and border counties of 

 England and Scotland, at about 7 per acre, taking it for granted that 

 every payment is made in ready money, and on the supposition of a large 

 amount of live stock being required. Professor Low's estimate is rather 

 higher than that given by Mr Stephens that is, after deducting the 

 receipts of the first year from the first year's outlay ; but since the time 

 when those estimates were made, a considerable change has taken place 

 in certain points of farm practice ; and the advanced farmer of the present 

 day has to provide for an outlay in artificial manures and artificial feed- 

 ing-stuffs which was not heard of fifteen or sixteen years ago an outlay 

 which amounts annually, in many instances, to more than the full yearly 

 rent of the farm. No doubt the farmer gets credit from his manure and 

 cake merchant, but still these sources of outlay must be taken into 

 account and provided for in calculating the amount of capital required 

 to work a farm to advantage under present circumstances. The price of 

 labour has also increased since those estimates were made ; but against 

 this we may set the use of certain kinds of farm implements and 

 machinery calculated to save labour, which is also a new feature ; at the 

 same time, the cost of purchasing these adds considerably to the expense 

 incurred in stocking a farm. 



As a general rule, it is estimated that a capital equivalent to at least 

 10 an acre is required to work an arable farm with any prospect of suc- 

 cess ; and although farming may be entered upon by a skilful man with 

 perhaps a less amount of capital than this limit, yet it should always be 

 borne in mind that a tenant who has a sufficiency of capital at command 

 for all purposes is a much more desirable tenant than one who is likely 

 to be frequently pressed to make both ends meet. 



