Agricultural  Competition. 
161 
hereafter  ; but  at  present  the  new  manure  is  no  cheaper  in 
relation  to  its  efficiency  than  nitrate  of  soda  or  sulphate  of 
ammonia.  The  point  to  consider,  however,  is  this  : that 
agricultural  competition  cannot  be  made  more  severe  by  any 
discovery,  the  advantages  of  which  will  be  shared  by  farmers 
all  the  world  over,  or,  at  least,  that  if  there  were  any  difference 
in  the  incidence  of  the  advantages,  it  would  be  in  favour  of  the 
comparatively  advanced  farmers  of  such  countries  as  our  own. 
Apart  from  any  such  fresh  means  of  increasing  the  yield  of  a 
given  area  of  land,  both  the  extension  of  cultivation  and  the 
more  general  adoption  of  high  farming  in  new  countries  would 
involve  a moderately  high  level  of  prices,  so  that  neither  would 
render  more  severe  the  competition  which  farmers  in  old 
countries  have  to  meet. 
To  take  the  case  of  wheat,  it  is  certain  that  in  recent  years 
the  increased  production  in  the  world  has  lagged  behind  the 
increased  demand,  and  the  result  has  been  a higher  level  of 
prices  since  1906  than  that  of  the  eight  years  ended  at  that 
date.  There  is  some  evidence  to  indicate  that  the  advance  is 
having  the  effect  of  stimulating  a moderate  increase  in  the 
world’s  wheat  area ; but  then  this  is  absolutely  necessary  to 
supply  the  bread-eaters  of  the  world  with  their  principal 
food.  There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  a further  advance 
in  prices  will  be  necessary  to  bring  into  cultivation  the 
tracts  of  land,  remote  from  a port,  which  will  be  needed  for 
wheat-growing  before  many  years  have  passed  away. 
If  we  turn  to  live-stock  produced  to  supply  meat,  it  has 
already  been  shown  in  the  case  of  the  United  States  that  the 
closer  settlement  of  the  land  has  reduced  the  facilities  for 
breeding  and  rearing  cheap  cattle  and  sheep.  It  is  true  that 
more  meat  could  be  produced  on  well-cultivated  farms  than 
on  ranches,  but  only  at  a greater  expense  ; and  thus  we  come 
again  to  the  argument  that  a fairly  high  level  of  prices  will 
be  necessary  to  keep  the  supply  up  to  the  demands  of  a 
growing  population. 
Although  there  are  countries  in  South  America^  besides 
Argentina  in  which  there  are  great  opportunities  for  the 
increased  production  of  cattle,  it  will  take  many  years  to  level 
up  the  native  stock  to  the  quality  necessary  for  an  important 
beef  trade  with  Europe,  and  it  is  not  likely  that  the  progress 
will  more  than  keep  pace  with  the  demand,  even  allowing 
for  a steady  development  of  the  cattle  industry  in  Australia. 
The  undeveloped  resources  of  South  Africa  in  this  connec- 
tion are  extensive,  but  are  handicapped  at  present,  not  only 
by  the  slow  progress  of  improved  breeding,  but  also,  and 
more  seriously,  by  the  liability  of  the  herds  to  be  decimated 
by  diseases  peculiarly  fostered  by  the  climate. 
VOL.  70. 
M 
