246 Increasing Basic Slag Supplies. [JUNE, 



again, it may be anticipated, when builders will be glad to 

 secure work, and when materials will be forthcoming. It is, 

 I think, beyond dispute that 15,000,000 acres of land suited 

 for tillage could be found ; what the farmer argues is that in 

 view of the increase in his herds he could not carry on his 

 business with 12,000,000 acres of grass only in England and 

 Wales; he wants to have the 16,000,000 he had availablein 1914. 

 As I have already indicated, I admit the difficulty. I do not 

 say to him : " The extra 4,000,000 acres under tillage would 

 feed as many animals as the 4,000,000 acres grass ploughed up." 

 In theory they could do so ; in practice the farmer might not 

 succeed in the attempt. What I should prefer to say is : 



Given manure and reasonable management, there will be 

 no difficulty in growing as much grass and hay on 12,000,000 

 acres in future as you produced on 16,000,000 before the War." 



Let us further examine this statement. 



Of the 16,000,000 acres under grass at the outbreak of war 

 there may have been 1,000,000 so good that no marked response 

 to manuring could be expected, and 3,000,000 on soils so dry 

 and arid that no scheme of manuring would prove profitable. 

 This would leave a balance of 12,000,000 acres susceptible of 

 profitable improvement. In view of the wide extent of our 

 clay soil and chalk pastures, and the extraordinary response 

 which most pastures and meadows on such soils make to the 

 application of basic slag, it seems to me to be reasonable to 

 assume that if 4,000,000 acres of these permanent pastures 

 were ploughed, the remaining 8,000,000 acres could produce 

 as much grass as is now being grown on the whole 12,000,000 

 acres. 



Value of Extra Tfliagre Land to the Nation. — The value to the 

 community of these 4,000,000 extra acres under the plough 

 would be much greater than at first might be supposed. The 

 full efi;ect is not apparent from the simple proportion, 11 : 15. 



Opponents of a plough policy usually start off with the 

 assumption that the corn-growing capacity of Britain in pro- 

 portion to her needs is so small, that any effort which might 

 be made to increase home supphes would have negligible 

 results. This assumption is far from being correct. 



I estimate that if the necessity arose, and aU the products of 

 the soil were carefully rationed and efficiently distributed, the 

 present population of the United Kingdom could be supplied with 

 breadstuffs from the produce of about 14,000,000 acres of com. 

 Towards this total England and Wales would be required to 

 contribute 10,000,000 acres. Xow, with 11,000,000 acres under 



