26o SECTIONAL ADDRESSES 



ten and a quarter millions representing the debit caused by the action of 

 the Wages Committees, thus bringing out a net gain of about twenty-three 

 and a half millions. Some adjustment of these figures is required at the 

 present date. Owing to the rise in the price of wheat, the wheat subsidy, 

 which as you know is not a direct Treasury grant but is obtained from the 

 consumers of flour, is at present negligible. On the other hand, the cattle 

 subsidy now stands at five millions instead of three and a third and sums 

 amounting to a maximum annual total of ^(^3, 490, coo have lately been 

 promised in respect of oats and barley, lime and basic slag, land drainage 

 and the reduction of live stock diseases. In his balance sheet. Dr. Venn, 

 no doubt wisely, made no allowance for the option afforded to the farmer 

 of being assessed for income tax on his rent instead of on his actual profits, 

 should these prove to be the greater. What that special concession is 

 worth, it is impossible to estimate, but with any improvement in the 

 financial position of the industry its value progressively increases. 



The items in the balance sheet, apart from the recent additions which I 

 have mentioned, are, as you may remember, wheat, beet, meat, milk, land 

 settlement and allotments, afforestation, local taxation reliefs, and ad- 

 ministrative and development services. This last is a comprehensive 

 item embracing many and varied matters such as live-stock improvement, 

 land drainage, etc., and including the subjects which are of special interest 

 to many members of this section. Education and Research. For the 

 financial year 1912-13, the State grants for these subjects amounted to 

 £(>Sj75° in England and Wales, and ;{^34,889 in Scotland, a total for Great 

 Britain of ^(^100,639, whereas in 1936 the corresponding figures were 

 ^(^628, 570 in England and Wales, and £136,769 in Scotland, a total of 



^765.339- 



These are large and striking increases, but it must be remembered that 



for many years our standard of expenditure on these services was much 

 lower than that in several other countries, so that if we were to attain, 

 as we have done, fairly adequate recognition of their importance within a 

 reasonable time, a steep financial ascent was inevitable. In view of the 

 interest in the subject, it is tempting to ascertain whether this growing 

 outlay has been reflected in an increased yield of agricultural products. 

 The question, however, is not an easy one to answer, since many factors 

 are at work, and it is difficult to ascribe an increase to any particular one. 

 The output of live-stock products, for example, must depend very largely 

 on the prices of imported feeding stuff's. Possibly the least fallacious 

 measure to apply is the average yield per acre of our principal crops, 

 though here again the problem is not simple. For instance, if the total 

 acreage of a crop falls, the average yield per acre tends to rise, since it is 

 from the least suitable land that the crop will be withdrawn ; conversely, 

 an extended acreage will probably mean a somewhat smaller average pro- 

 duction. It is subject to this and other qualifications that the following 

 tables should be taken as providing any indication of the effects of our 

 education and research. The figures are for 35 years from 1900 onward 

 and are given as quinquennial averages, so as to smooth out to some 

 extent annual fluctuations due to weather conditions, etc. 



In Great Britain as a whole, wheat, the acreage of which has fallen since 



