472 EVENING DISCOURSES 



The Production of Food for Man. 



We have considered how much crude protein we can produce from an 

 acre of grassland. In the western part of England in fields laid down 

 with Prof. Stapledon's indigenous pedigree strains of grasses, I believe we 

 should eventually be able to produce 15 cwts. of crude protein per acre, 

 and I hope that some day we may be able to obtain this figure as the average 

 production per acre over a whole farm, but for the present we will be satis- 

 fied with a figure of 700 lb. per acre, which we are now obtaining in 

 Cheshire. We will consider how much food for man can be produced 

 from this protein. 



I acre grass yields . . . 700 lb. crude protein 



giving in the form of dressed beef . 45 lb. of protein 



or in the form of milk . . . 103 lb. of protein (300 



gallons of milk) . 

 I acre of wheat (17 '7 cwts.) yields . 178 lb. crude protein 

 giving in the form of flour . . 100 lb. of protein. 



This 700 lb. of crude protein in grass can be fed to produce beef and will 

 yield 45 lb. of protein in the form of dressed joints of beef, or it can be fed 

 to milch cows, when it will yield 103 lb. of protein in the form of milk, 

 which can be drunk or made into cheese. 



Let us compare this with the yield of human food obtained from wheat. 

 The average crop of wheat in this country is i'7 "7 cwts. per acre, containing 

 178 lb. of crude protein. This wheat can be ground to give flour, bran 

 and wheatings. The flour will contain 100 lb. of protein, which is food 

 for man, and the bran and wheatings 78 lb. of protein for animal feed. 



So that an acre of grassland at Dairy House in Cheshire is giving approxi- 

 mately the same amount of food for man in the form of milk as can be obtained 

 from an acre of wheat. But the protein in milk is of more value for human 

 food than the protein in flour. The League of Nations Committee on 

 Nutrition considered that half the protein consumed by man should be of 

 animal origin. Besides this, milk contains vitamins necessary for life, and 

 there is no doubt that in time of necessity we should be in a strong position 

 if our system of agriculture made it possible to produce large quantities of 

 milk protein per acre. 



Our national agricultural policy has in the past been based upon wheat 

 as the most important food for man which can be produced in this country. 

 I think we have now demonstrated that more valuable food can be obtained 

 from an acre of land by growing grass and feeding cattle if a grass drier is 

 used. 



The Future. 



I have mentioned the possibilities opened up by Prof. Stapledon's strains 

 of grasses of some day producing 1,500 lb. of crude protein per acre. At 

 present we are producing on one or two farms about 700 lb. per acre, but 

 from this we are only able to make 100 lb. of first-class protein in the 

 form of milk, or 45 lb. in the form of beef. If we could feed grass protein 

 to pigs, we might produce 70 lb. of protein in the form of pork, for the 

 pig is a more efficient feeder than the bullock, but grass contains too much 

 fibre to be the principal food for pigs. 



Now, from ancient times until the middle ages, animals were well fed 

 in the summer and starved on hay in the winter. There was very little 

 milk available in the winter, and no fat beef. The cows did well to live 

 until the young grass began to grow in the spring. The chief protein food 



