xiv PREFACE 



terests for cheap food, blame the landlords and the 

 land laws, and raise the shout, " The Land for the 

 People." The real remedy is Tariff Reform. It is 

 manifestly unfair that agriculturalists paying high taxa- 

 tion should be exposed to the competition of foreign 

 imports, which pay no rates and taxes. Proprietors 

 and others would help greatly to remedy this unfortu- 

 nate state of matters if they would take some trouble 

 to encourage co-operation and better organisation for 

 the disposal and sale of Home Produce. The en- 

 couragement of the Scottish Agricultural Organisation 

 Society Ltd., 5 St. Andrew Square, Edinburgh, is 

 doing good work in fostering the erection of bacon 

 factories, co-operative dairying and egg societies, all 

 of which go to encourage thrift and method with 

 business habits amongst the peasantry and farmers, and 

 at the same time find better sale for their produce. 

 With the advent of Tariff Reform would come the 

 opening of flour mills now long silent, which would 

 supply cheaper offal and stuffs for the feeding and 

 fattening of cattle and pigs in this country. It will be 

 seen, therefore, that it is to the advantage of proprietors 

 and large farmers, as well as others interested in agri- 

 culture, to encourage these objects with the view to 

 bringing back to the country contentment and renewed 

 prosperity. 



It cannot be said that land is over-rented ; few in- 

 vestments show so poor a return as land, and one is in- 

 finitely better with his money in Consols, being saved 



