248 



Increasing Basic Slag Supplies. 



[JUNE, 



^ Kingdom in 1909-13 was between 7,500,000 and 8,000,000 

 acres. About 2,000,000 acres were contributed by Scotland 

 and Ireland. As I am discussing the subject from the stand- 

 point of England and Wales only, we may assume that their 

 share in the 21,000,000 acres that would be called for if all 

 our cereals were home grown, would be between 17,000,000 

 and 18,000,000 acres. The actual contribution made by 

 England and Wales in the period 1909-13 was 5,800,000 acres. 

 Under the influence of high prices this area might be increased 

 to 6,250,000 acres, i.e., to 36 per cent, of the area required for 

 a full suppl}^ 



Having regard to the large proportion of our area under 

 permanent grass, and the demands which live stock fed on poor 

 grass land necessarily make on the products of arable land, it 

 is unlikely that even if corn prices remained at the present 

 high level and the shilling loaf were permanent, we would 

 have more than 6,500,000 acres under grain. 



Under the conditions which I have postulated for an arable 

 area of 15,000,000 acres, the limits of corn growing would be 

 wider. I have assumed the improvement of some 8,000,000 

 acres of pasture by 50 per cent. W^hat I meant to convey was 

 that 8,000,000 acres of grass could be made capable of carrying 

 50 per cent, more stock during the summer season^ and of 

 producing 50 per cent, more ha}^ But there would be a second 

 important result of such a change. An improved pasture has 

 a much longer grazing season than an unimproved ; the grass 

 comes earlier and lasts later ; thus, assuming the same numbers 

 of cattle and sheep to be kept through the summer on similar 

 areas of improved pasture that had previously been kept on, 

 12,000,000 acres of unimproved land, there would be a smaller 

 demand for winter keep in the one case than in the other. 



A second circumstance favouring wider variations in the area 

 reserved for corn growing with a total of 15,000,000 acres 

 arable land than with 11,000,000 should be pointed out. The 

 additional 4,000,000 acres would, for the most part, consist of the 

 heavier soils ; these are more expensive to till, and when supplies 

 of grain were abundant and prices low, a long rotation would, 

 and should, be adopted. I say " should," because it is just these 

 soils that, with the assistance of basic slag and white clover, might 

 very profitably be laid down to temporary leys. When supplies 

 were scarce and prices rose, this same land would stand a good 

 deal of intensive corn growing. Thus I estimate that while with 

 15,000,000 acres of arable land the probable area under grain 

 would vary from 7,500,000 to 8,500,000 acres, the upper limit. 



