MD

192.7
1918

UC-NRLF

^

$B 23a 7b7

THE FARM

AND

THE NATION

JOHN PORTER, B.Sc. (Glas.), N.D.A., N.D.D.

. ^'^ ' 'hor of the *' Stock-feeders Companion^' A Big Stride
in" Agricultural Improvement," etc.

PRICE, U. Nett.

HEREFORD :

JAKEMAN AND CARVER, PRINTERS, HIGH TOWN.
191S

CONTENTS.

PAGE

Introduction . . . . ^

1

National Characteristics ....

4

Industrialised Agriculture . .

4

A Unique Opportunity ....

5

Foreign Competition . . . .

6

State Guidance Essential ....

8

Stimulating Production .....

9

Securil^ of Tenure .....

11

A National Loss .

12

Waste of Manure .....

12

Waste of Food ......

13

Waste of Energy

15

Waste di Time . . . .

15

Waste of Capital .....

17

Economical distribution .....

18

Distribution of Cheese

18

Diagrams showing economical Milk distribution

20

National System of Cheese Factories and Milk Depots

22

National System of Meat Collection and Distribution

23

National System of Fruit Preservation

23

National System of Granaries ....

23

County Food Exchanges . ^ ^ ,

24

State Support ^-^\ . VJ, l/t u : .

24

A Concluj^ifgJMQtta%-^'; - . .•-

25

APPENDICES.

Lop-sided Farming
Reform of British '' System '
Measures .

of Weights and

26
30

INTRODUCTION.

Agriculture is more or less in the melting pot ! The
present opportunities for development on more highly
organised, as well as on National lines, appear to be so unique
and to present such far reaching possibilities, that I have
ventured, somewhat reluctantly; to add yet a few more
pages to the printed matter of the day, in the hope that this
Booklet may prove acceptable and useful.

The possibility of starvation has forced this country
to seriously examine and ruthlessly overhaul existing methods
of producing and distributing food. This has revealed many
defects, and to my mind one very serious defect has been
the utter lack of co-ordination between the Farm and the
Nation, which accounts very largely for the title selected for
this Booklet.

It was difficult to find in pre-war legislation that the
State really regarded Home-Food production as of vital
importance to the existence of the Nation ; the Farmer
was neither asked nor required to produce those crops and
those classes of stock which would provide the maximum
amount of Food for the Nation.

A few years ago I visited Canada, United States, Den-
mark, Sweden and Germany, and I confess that the thing
which impressed me most from the Agricultural point of
view, was not the size of their crops, their methods of growing
them, or the quality of their Live Stock ; hut the highly
organised methods that were in some cases employed in dealing
with and distributing the produce of the farm. This, it appear-
ed to me, was the chief explanation why these countries had
been able to compete so successfully with the Home-Pro-
duct on our own markets.

420209

But lc-ry<^vl'j^ ati^atf^^f^al po^iti^n do we expect Agricul-
ture will occupy aft'e'r tHe wai* is over ? Shall we again see
a period of dismal agricultural depression, or shall we deter-
mine to establish a system which will successfully weather
the storms of a world competition in the coming years ?

It will be a thousand pities if we do not at the present
time look much further ahead than mere emergency
methods so as to bring stability to such a basal industry as
Agriculture as well as security to the Food Supply of the
Nation in the future.

John Porter.
Church Road,
TupsLEY, Hereford.
January, 1918.

THE FARM AND THE NATION.

It is passing strange that a terrible conflict, which has
brought this country to the very verge of starvation, should
have been necessary to convince us, that after all the farm
is, or ought to be, something more than an isolated and un-
organized unit in the production of essential foods for the
people of this country.

The State has permitted farmers in the past, to carry
on their business more or less unmolested, hence the mo«iey
returns to be derived from any system of farming, have
determined to a large extent, the particular system which
would be adopted ; and who could blame them, when busi-
ness men generally, were allowed to do the very same thing ?

Speaking generally, the Farmer's concern was not so
much to produce the maximum amount of Food for the
Nation, as to make a living ; although incidentally, he did
produce a considerable amount of food for the country.
The State had never demanded that the Farmer's main
function should be the production of essential Foods: but to
a limited extent, supply and demand in a world market,
did determine very roughly the stock a Farmer would keep
and the crops he would grow.

At the same time it does not follow that in a world
market the British Public would be prepared to pay a suffi-
cient price to encourage the Home production of all the prin-
cipal Food stuffs required : hence the difficulty in which we
found ourselves at the com.mencement of the war, due to
this country having relied to such a large extent on other
nations for essential foods like wheat.

NATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS.

Somehow or other the British Nation never seems to
trouble about a calamity which may come. It has gone,
so far as British Agriculture is concerned, largely on the
principle of " Laisser-faire." In effect it says : — ''We are a
very busy Nation : we have no time to worry about things
which may come. The Nation continues to be fed from some-
where, and that is enough for us. When calamities really
do come, we will soon set to work and deal with them. Until
that day comes we must ask you to be perfectly calm and
patient.''

There is no doubt that many brilliant pages have been
added to History, setting forth the way in which this nation
has overcome terrible difficulties in the past ; but indiffer-
ence to such a basal industry as Agriculture or Food-
Production, is alw.ays attended with very grave risks, which
Were never more appreciated than at the present time.

The recent developments of Submarine warfare have
torn away much of the protection afforded by our insularity,
and this on account of the State having neglected Agricul-
ture, has brought this Nation dangerously near to starvation.
Had it not been for the untiring efforts of the Board of
Agriculture through their War Agricultural Committees,
and later their Executive War Agricultural Committees,
to which the Board delegated considerable powers to enforce,
if need be, better cultivation and greater Food Production
on Farms, it is difficult to see how we should have pulled
through.

"INDUSTRIALISED AGRICULTURE."

The development of many highly organised Industries
in this Country by keen business men during the last century,
has certainly been phenomenal ; especially when one consi-
ders that their products have penetrated to the very ends of
the earth. The so called Industrial Classes of the present
day, have become more or less steeped in an *' industrial "
atmosphere, where the whole business has been so highly
organised as to run like clockwork.

These people have difficulty in really understanding
the enormous trouble a Farmer is put to by adverse weather
conditions, as well as the disappointment he has often to
face in the growing of Food crops. In fact, they are often
quite ignorant of the production side of a Farmer's business ;
but what they do know something about is the distribution
of marketable products, and how they should be done up and
put on the market, so as to secure the trade against all comers.
It is on this point more than any other that the " Industrial
Classes " have very little sympathy to offer to the present
methods of marketing Agricultural products by Farmers
When examined through Industrial spectacles, these keen
business men see Farm Produce placed on the market in
driblets, with no uniformity of size, or colour or quality.
They know perfectly well that markets cannot be held
against all comers on these lines, and who will deny that
they are not right in this respect ?

A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY.

Agriculture may and should become one of the m_ost
highly organised industries' in the Country. Its opportuni-
ties for organization are endless. In fact, the farm will
never occupy its proper place in the National Economy
until Home Food Production is looked upon as an integral
and essential part of the State Policy.

It is quite obvious that British Agriculture will never
hold its own among the Nations until the present system
has been modified or recast on '' Industrial " ?s well as on
National lines. Nothing less will save Agriculture from
depression after the War and nothing less will make the Food
supply of this Country secure against possible war condi-
tions in the future.

Under the present War conditions, many Foreign sup-
plies of Food are cut off, and in other cases they have
been considerably diminished, hence we are forced to rely
more and more on the production of as much Food as
possible at Home. It is very doubtful if we all reahse the
unique opportunities this country has, for recasting the whole
system of Food Production on '' Industrial '' and National
lines.

National necessity is a sufficient argument for such a
step, and when the new system has been inaugurated, the
benefits will be readily appreciated, for Agriculture will have
been transformed into one common e-ffort on the fart of the
country to provide itself with a sufficiency of Home grown
essential foods, and thus be able to meet any emergency
that may arise in the future with regard to the cutting off
of Foreign supplies.

FOREIGN COMPETITION.

For many years previous to the outbreak of the war,
Home grown Farm produce has not been able to compete
with Foreign supplies even in our own Country. We all
know that consumers in our Towns and Villages have wel-
comed Foreign Bacon, Butter, Eggs and Fruit and have in
many cases preferred them to the Home Product for very
obvious reasons.

True it is that some of our Farmers market the produce
of their own growing, in such a way and of such a quality,
as to compare favourably with that from any other Country ;
but it is the inabihty of Farmers in this country under the
existing organisation, to supply large quantities of many
essential Food Stuffs, of uniform quality and of a particular
grade and warranty that causes them to fall so lamentably
short of certain other Nations, even in holding and sup-
plying the markets of our ovm country.

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and show that we are far from producing what we require
for Home Consumption. Some of this is certainly due to
our failure to compete successfully with Foreign importations
of Food stuffs. Why should this Country be lagging behind
in this respect ?

It is because Agriculture has been allowed to go on, as
if Home Food production were not of vital importance to
the Nation. There has been practically no National Agri-
cultural Policy^ in this Country and we are now paying the
price.

The great thing whicii Professor Middleton appears
to emphasize in his valuable treatise called '' The Recent
Development of German Agriculture/' is that the German
Government has a National Agricultural Pohcy, which aims
at producing the maximum am.ount of essential Food stuffs
for its own Country : it has not allowed Agriculture to be
neglected ; but has fostered it and moulded it for the benefit
of the Nation, and this has no doubt enabled Germany to
hold out against the AUies for so long.

STATE GUIDANCE ESSENTIAL.

The Farmer can never feel that he is part of the common
organisation for safe-guarding the Food Supply of the
Country, unless the State makes it perfectly clear what
Food crops it is that they wish him to grow, and at the same
time encourage him to grow the crops or produce the Stock
required, by fixing prices for these commodities at figures
that will be fair and reasonable and which will give the Far-
mer confidence in carrying out the work.

Farmers have already demonstrated that they are wil-
ling and anxious to support a National Agricultural pro-
gramme, when the requirements have been made plain and
definite.

Lord Selbourne as President of the Board of Agriculture
asked the Farmers during 1915 (i.e., the year after the out-
break of war), to increase the number of cattle in the countrj^
and in England alone the response was clearly discernable
as will be seen in the following Agricultural Returns :

Cattle.

1914 .. 5,119,445

1915 .. 5,280,947

1916 . . 5,403,665

This means an increase of nearly 300,000 head in two
years in England.

In the early part of 1917, Mr. Prothero as the New
President of the Board of Agriculture appealed to the
Farmers to grow Potatoes and they have done it, as the
following figures for England and Wales show : —
Area Crop

1917 507,987 acres 3,339,995 tons

1916 427,948 „ 2,504,516 „

Increases 80,039 „ 835,479 „

Submarine warfare has made the importation of food
difficult, hence the present Government Policy is generally
speaking that British Farmers are asked to produce the
maximum amount of essential Food Crops for the Country.
Much of the food required will therefore be produced in this
Country for the duration of the war ; hut as to where it will
come from after the war is over, and what will then be the
position of British Agriculture, will depend very largely on
the lessons that this country has learned since the war began.
In the meantime however, the Food problem resolves itself
into two main heads, viz. : — Increased Food Production
and the Distribution of same to the consumer.

STIMULATING PRODUCTION.

Everyone will agree that the Board of Agriculture has
made great efforts to stimulate Food Production. They
have set up a new Food Production Department in London,
War Agricultural Committees in each County, and later on
their County Executive War Agricultural Committees,
to the latter of which they have delegated considerable
powers. They have provided these Committees with a
constant stream of information, suggestions. Reports, &c.,
in order that they may stimulate the production of essential

Food Crops in their respective Counties ; but even then,
the Food will not be forthcoming, if Farmers have to suffer
loss through carrying out the Government programme.

It would appear that the National Food supply can only
he secured and maintained, so long as the State requires the
Farmer to produce on reasonable terms those crops and those
classes of stock, which are essential to the existence of the Nation.
There is no fear whatever of over production as long as proper
means are taken to deal with the food after it has been pro-
duced.

Three common impediments which have been exercising
the minds of Farmers during the last few years, and which
have tended to discourage them from doing their utmost
for Food production are (1) The fixing of maximum prices
too low, (2) Insecurity of tenure, (3) Shortage of Labour.

Fixing Maximum Prices. — The power to fix maximum
prices for crops and stock is a great responsibility to place
in the hands of any man. If a maximuni price is made
too favourable it may lead to over-production of that parti-
lar kind of produce. If it is put too low, there may be
an acute shortage.

Such a shortage has already happened with Beef, due
to the original maximum price fixed for January, 1918,
being 60/- per live cwt. The effect has been that very few
cattle have been fed in stalls or cattle courts during this
winter. If a Farmxer had bought his store cattle last autumn
at 70/- to 80/- per live cwt., and fed them with cake, hay,
straw and roots in the usual way, he would have had an
adverse cash return on the tiansaction of anything up to
£5 per head. The reluctance of Farmers to feed cattle this
Winter will then be readily understood.

Maximum prices may often be fixed in such a way as to
have a moral effect on the producers and distributors con-
cerned. No loop-hole should be left for so-called smart
business. With a Farmer selling Fat Bullocks, the only
things that should count are the quantity and quality of actual
Meat and Offals produced. A system based on these lines
discourages immoral dealings or sharp practices, which is a
considerable advance over the pre-war temptations of
marketing.

Security of Tcmire.* — In order to grow maximum
crops, it is necessary to clean, manure and cultivate the
land well. It is sometimes requisite to put a lot of work
into the fences and water-courses round the arable land.
All these improvements mean expense. They may last
for several years, and if the tenant has to leave unexpectedly
on account of the farm having been sold, he may not be able
to realise the amount of money he has invested in improving
the land.

The experience of not a few Tenant Farmers has been
that a bad Farmer has usually been allowed to go on, more or
less, at the old rent, while the hard-working, progressive
tenant who has improved his land, has often to face the
alternative between an increase in Rent or a notice to quit.
Such a clog on the Food Production wheels ought not to be
possible : the moral and practical results are both very
bad indeed.

It is quite hopeless to build a healthy, vigorous scheme
of increased Food production on the shifting sands of insecu-
rity of Tenure.

The compensation for improvements made has so
often proved unsatisfactory to the outgoing Tenant, that
the only way to get the maximum amount of Food pro-
duced is (1) To have some check on Rent raising on the
Tenants improvements, and (2) To give ''good" Farmers
security of tenure, or failing that, the option of a two
years notice to quit instead of one. A good Land Purchase
Scheme would no doubt accelerate Food production wonder-
fully, as long as the Private money-lenders are either kept
out or controlled by the State.

Shortage of Labour. — The labour difficulty has
been very trying indeed, but Farmers like other folks show
themselves to be quite willing to put up with the inevitable.

On the other hand it has been difficult to convince many
men in authority that a skilled Farm Workman is exceed-
ingly hard to replace.

Many genuine attempts have now been made to supply
the Farmers with the best labour obtainable under existing
conditions.

* See also English Farming, Past and Present, by R. E. Prothero, pp. 399 & 401.

11

A NATIONAL LOSS!

It is one thing to stimulate the maximum production
of essential Food crops, but if the Nation is to receive full
benefit, it is, at the same time, absolutely necessary to
prevent waste in any shape or form. Some of the waste is
quite unpardonable and ought to be prevented, if British
Agriculture is to hold its own among the nations. The
loss to the Nation may actually be in food crops, or it may be
loss of manure which would assist in producing larger crops,
or it may possibly be through the lack of organization (e.g.,
local slaughter houses. Factories, &c.) to deal with all kinds
of meat and crops in the district in which they are produced,
thus causing a great waste of energy in " shipping ''"
commodities about from one market to another, before they
reach the consumer.

Anyhow for this purpose, it will he quite sufficient to refer
very briefly to a few cases of waste, which, if converted into
terms of " Hard Cash," would amount in the aggregate for
Great Britain to no less than millions of pounds each year.

WASTE OF MANURE.

In the manuring of Farm crops, the manurial consti-
tuent which is the most expensive to buy, and has usualty
the most marked effect on the growth of crops is that of
nitrogen. Millions of pounds are spent each year in the
United Kingdom on nitrogenous manures such as, nitrate of
soda, sulphate of ammonia, &c., in order to stimulate the
growth of crops ; yet, all the time, we are allowing very
considerable quantities of Nitrogen produced on the farm
to run to waste. The amount of loss experienced by the
leaching effects of rain on Farmyard Manure in heaps
or open yards on most farms is so considerable, that one often
wonders how the matter can apparently be taken so light
heartedly.

In the R.A.S.E. Journal for 1916, Dr. Russell gives-
particulars of an experiment carried out at Woking from
Nov. 1st, 1913 to May 20th, 1914, where Farmyard manure
was stored in two ways during this period, viz : one heap irt
a covered shed, and the other in the open. The former lost

12

8% of its nitrogen (about IJlbs, per ton) during storing
while the latter lost 33-5% (about 51bs. per ton).

Now what does this mean ? It means that in a very-
large proportion of the Farmyard manure made during the
Winter months in England, approximately one third of the
nitrogen is being lost by the leaching effects of rain : Let us
now deduct the loss of nitrogen which takes place with
careful storing and protection, viz. : one-twelfth, and even
then the preventable loss through leaving Farmyard manure
exposed to the leaching effects of rain amounts to approximately
one quarter of the nitrogen originally in the manure. Surely
this is a big loss to the Country in itself I

Another way in which nitrogen is lost to the Country
indirectly is through the majority of Farmers not making
full use of Leguminous crops, which collect and elaborate the
free nitrogen of the air. These plants store up nitrogen in
their roots, and elaborate nitrogen in their stems and leaves ;
hence the part above ground provides a nitrogenous food
for stock, while the sward has accumulated a considerable
amount of nitrogen, which becomes available for the suc-
ceeding cereal crops after the sward is ploughed under.

The growing of these crops more extensively therefore
offers possibilities of vast economies in the production of crops
and meat, yet few there he who really make full use of Nature's
wonderful provision. One of these Leguminous plants
viz. : wild white clover, has revolutionised the laying of
land down to pasture.* Without it, laying land down to
pasture is more or less a lottery : with it an ideal pasture
can be obtained from the very beginning. The Stock
carrying power is greatly increased and the sward when
ploughed up gives bumper crops.

WASTE OF FOOD.

It is very depressing to think of the loss of food, which
is caused directly and indirectly through what are called
'' Gluts " under the British system of marketing perishable
commodities like fruit and meat. Through lack of organi-

* See Author's " Big Stride in Agricultural Improvement." Hereford
Times. Price 6d.

13

sation and lack of facilities for conserving or placing in.
cold storage, these commodities ar€ simply dumped on
to our markets, with the result that the market becomes
" glutted '' and prices offered for them fall to a compara-
tively unattractive figure. The result is that it no longer
pays to produce the meat or to pick and market much
soft fruit. This in itself is a loss to the nation and further,
the very fact that it is available in excess of present require-
ments, means that economy in its use and consumption will
not be observed as it would be if these " Gluts " were pre-
vented. Hence the loss to the Nation is increased.

Food Gluts inevitably mean waste of food, which in
peace times is very imdesirahle and in wartime is quite indefen-
sible.

We cannot possibly hope to make our supply of Home
grown food carry us through till the succeeding harvest,
without a National system of cold storage, and on such a
scale as to accommodate several months supply. The same
thing applies th various methods of Food preservation
and 'conservation. v- ^. ..^ ^ ,\-

The loss of Grain and other foods to the Nation caused
through wood pigeons, rabbits, rats, mice, sparrows, &c.
must amount to very many thousands of pounds a year, if
not millions : but this is now more or less realised and the
numbers of most of these pests are being very considerably
reduced.

Another point demanding wide publicity in the
interests of the Nation, is the loss indirectly sustained by sow-
ing weak-strawed varieties of wheat. In the wheat variety
trials carried out by the Herefordshire County Council, the
general result has been that varieties which stood more or
less erect at cutting time gave higher yields, while varieties
which were laid at Harvest time gave lower yields than was
anticipated from the growing crops.

To put this statement into figures one would be fairly
safe in calculating the extra "cast'' on thrashing outthegrain
from good standing varieties, at a sack (4 bush.) per acre,
although this quantity may often be increased. The Wheat
acreage of England in 1915 and 1916 averaged about
2,000,000 acres, consequently any small increased yield

14

per acre, caused by sowing good standing and heavy crop-
ping varieties, would amount in the aggregate to a very
large figure for England alone.

There are many unenclosed patches of land and road-
sides in this Country where the herbage simply runs to waste
each year, and there would appear to be almost endless scope
for cottagers to keep a goat or two each in order to supply
themselves and their children with the requisite quantity of
milk.

WASTE OF ENERGY.

It almost staggers one to think of the unnecessary work
which has been allowed to go on from year to year in this
Country. Why should wheat for example he sent thirty, sixty,
or a hundred miles to he milled, and then hrought hack in
the form of flour, and milling offals, to almost the very spot
where it was grown ? Why should soft fruits he sent
on a long and wasteful journey to he made into jam, and then
hrought hack again for consumption in the same district?
Surely there is something wrong here I

This Country will never rise to its highest as long as
obvious v/aste of energy of this kind is permitted . Does
it not matter to the nation how much energy is wasted as
long as the person who handles it manages to get a living ?
Surely it does ! This waste of energy could be largely
overcome by the establishment of Factories and Storehouses
in roughly speaking each market district, where the raw
material from farms could be dealt with on the spot, and
only that food which was actually in excess of local require-
ments sent to other parts of the Country.

WASTE OF TIME.

It will surprise no one, if I refer to our system of weights
and measures under this head ; but the thing which does
surprise many is, how we should have clung to such an
illogical, cumbersome system for so long. The chief argu-
ments in its favour appear to be that (1) it is the system we
found when we entered the world and (2) it lends itself more
or less to the bartering system, where it is considered to be
necessary to meet one another half-way.

In the first place this long-drawn out, see-saw kind of
bargaining is, generally speaking, a terrible waste of time.
Britons, however, love to barter, consequently I will say no
more about this point ; but surely no one will gainsay that
our system of weights and measures is unnecessarily cumber-
some and unnecessarily difficult. It harasses us at school,
and occupies much valuable time which ought to be more
profitably spent in studying more useful subjects. Even
after our School days are over, it continues to harass and
confuse us for the rest of our lives. We ought not to require
a pen and paper to tell how many stones there are in , say,
1,657 lbs., nor should this process be necessary to tell how
much the same quantity of produce would come to at a
penny per lb. This could be ascertained quite easily and
accurately with a decimal system.

Further the Government has now become a gigantic
purchasing body, and for this reason among others, has to
fix prices for commodities it wishes to purchase. They had
therefore a unique opportunity of paving the way to a
reformed system, but so far they have not done so, because
Farmers are still required to sell wheat on the 631b. bushel,
while the Government offer them seed wheat on the basis of
a 601b. bushel.

This elusive term called bushel I It is no longer a measure
it is a weight, and yet after all it is not a weight, hut a variety
of -weights, which can be varied at will, within certain limits,
by so-called members of " The Trade," according as they are
buyers or sellers.

In very truth these men are most privileged mem-
bers of the State ! There must be some reason for this
variety of Bushel w^eights. Does it really pay " The Trade "
to have a difficult system of weights and measures, or is there
some other reason for so doing ?

Be this as it may, it will not be surprising if reform in
our system of weights and measures emanates from the
initiative of *' The Trade." This would only be History
repeating itself, seeing that Ihe estabhshment of the new
Government seed testing Station, has followed the bold step
of a well-known seed firm, who 35 years ago guaranteed the
purity and germination of their seeds. An almost analo-
gous case is the present simplified system of purchasing Basic

16

Slag, due to one large firm cutting away from the system
of stating the analysis in a roundabout way which few
people understood, and stating outright the percentage of
citric soluble Phosphate in their Basic Slag.

So may it be with the simplification of our system of
weights and measures. We shall no doubt, have one of our
big firms delighting the country, by making it known to their
customers, " That on account of their Staff consisting largely
of women-workers and men of low medical category, all grain
cake, meals or manure, as the case may he, will in future he sold
in hags weighing 100 lbs.. This will be found a much more
convenient weight to handle, and further it will be much easier
to check the weight of the consignment. What an enormous
advance this would be towards uniformity in place of the
"' hundred and one " weights in existence !

The chief* modifications then required to make a Decimal
system out of our existing system of measures and coinage,
would be to make our pint one-tenth of an Imperial gallon,
and our penny one-tenth of a shilling. These small modifi-
cations in our system could be made with practically no
inconvenience to anyone. Thousands of British Soldiers
are using the decimal system every day in France, and it is
more than likely they will not take quite so kindly to the
British system on their return.

WASTE OF CAPITAL.

Much capital is often frittered away on Farm Buildings,
since many of these appear to be put up on the principle
of maximum expense and minimum utility. A glaring
example is the common type of Piggery, where Pigs are
scorched in summer and starved in winter. The Pigs are
generally very dirty and the Piggery is of little use for any-
thing else. A small horse boxf is infinitely better and can
be used for many other purposes.

In all Farm Buildings, the emphasis needs to be laid
on utility and economy, otherwise the Landlord's capital is
wasted and the burden on the Tenant increased unnecessarily.
The modern hay barn is a good example of utility and
economy combined.

* See also Appendix, pages 30 and 31.

t See Mr. Bnice's Article in the 1917 Transactions of the Highland and

Agricultural Society, for a very good type of Figgery, pp. 93 and 95.

17

ECONOMICAL DISTRIBUTION.

The British method of distributing Farm Produce, to
the consumers has afforded ample scope for criticism ; but it
offers a splendid opportunity for the State to make what
would prove to be one of the greatest reforms in the history
of this country. We have allowed a state of affairs to exist
■ where essential foods are " shuttle- cocked '' about from one
person to another, to an alarming extent before they have
reached the consumer. Much of this transportation of food
w^as quite unnecessary, and simply had the effect of pushing
down the price paid to the Farmer, which means dis-
couraging Food Production, and raising the price charged
to the consumer, which means increasing the burden unneces-
sarily on the poorer classes.

// the Nation is to obtain the maximum amount of security
for its citizens in the shape of Home-grown food, it is absolutely
necessary to reduce the labour employed in distributing food to
the very minimum, so as to set as much labour as possible free
for the production of essential Foods, e.g. meat, grain, fruit, etc.,
from the land ; and it is only the countries which adopt this
principle that will be able to hold their own, in the long run,
among the nations of the earth.

This country is in a very advantageous position, seeing
it has one of the finest markets in the World at its very door.
Hence the chief thing remaining is to suggest a system or
organisation that will enable Farm Produce to be distributed
with the minimum amount of labour.

DISTRIBUTION OF CHEESE.

It is fortunate that the Board of Agiiculture should
already have given a lead — not a big one, but an exceedingly
useful one — -in instigating a scheme to demonslrdte the
advantages of collective cheese-making in various counties
in England. No doubt the primary object was to conserve
surplus milk and provide a valuable nitrogenous food which
could be stored till required ; but these demonstrations
have done a great deal more. Take for example the Welling-
ton Cheese-making Centre, carried out as a demonstration
by the Herefordshire Countv Council during the season of
1917.

18

The Board of Agriculture supplied the necessary cheese-
making utensils and the Agricultural Education Depart-
ment engaged a quahfied Instructress to take charge of the
Dairy, with the assistance of a local Committee of milk sup-
pliers. Twenty-seven Farmers agreed to spare the compara-
tively small quantities of surplus milk they had, for the school,
and arrangements were made to fetch it from their respective
farms, which were scattered over a district of fully 5 miles
radius.

In this way 236,159 lbs. of milk were converted into
cheese, which yielded when ripe 23,660 lbs. of prime quality
cheese. After deducting all expenses, save the hire of the
utensils loaned by the Board and the salary of the Instruc-
tress in charge, the suppliers received on an average 14d.
per gallon for the surplus summer milk. Even if interest on
the money, depreciation of plant and salary of cheesemaker
had been debited against the milk suppliers they would still
have got fully 13d. per gallon for the milk at the farm.

The disposal of these cheeses is important, seeing that they
were sold either direct to the consumer or the big retail grocers in
the county. The season's make, being of uniform quality,
soon sold out, and it is sufficient to add, that this demonstra-
tion has already led to the formation of a registered coopera-
tive society in this district.

Look for a moment at the other side. Had this
Demonstration not been made, the surplus milk would most
likely have been given to calves or made into butter. Even
if the Farmers had all decided to make cheeses, it would have
meant that 27 sets of apparatus would have been required,
and that no less than 27 persons would have been making
cheeses each day. Further there would have been at least
27 different qualities of cheese. The variation in quality
would not have made the cheeses acceptable to the larger
retail grocers in the county, and the individual Farmers
would only have been able to supply very small quantities
at a time. In addition there would have been 27 times as*
many folks spending time and money in marketing these
small lots of cheese.*

* c.^. English Fanning, Past and Present, by R. E. Prothero (President
of the Board of Agriculture), p. 391.

19

D

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o

H

H
O

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US

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H

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21

NATIONAL SYSTEM OF CHEESE FACTORIES.

The advantages of the District system of cheese-making
are therefore greatly in favour of the Farmer, and at the same
time they are overwhelmingly in favour of the nation. Why
should not cheese-making be run on National Lines, with a
Cheese Factory in every District where a reasonable quantity
of milk is being or could be produced ? Why should not
these Factories be able to purchase the surplus milk of the
district on Government fixed prices, provided they supply
the cheese made direct to local Retail Grocers till their actual
requirements are satisfied, and after that any surplus to be
sent only to other Factories in districts where they are quite
unable to supply local demands. In fact it would be quite
easy to have an office in the County Town to deal with the
surplus cheese at the District Factories in each County. A
National System of this kind would help the '' Small "
Farmer as well as the " Big,'' and what is so very impor-
tant, the cheese would be reaching the consumer, with the
minimum amount of time and labour being spent on its dis-
tribution. •

NATIONAL SYSTEM OF MILK DEPOTS.

It would be quite easy to combine Milk Depots and
Cheese Factories in one, as long as it were made compulsory
for all milk produced on Farms in excess of local requirements
to be sent to the nearest District Centre. The demand for
new milk would need to be met by the cheese factory and milk
Depot supplying retail milk sellers or other factories, where
there was a shortage, and only surplus milk being made
into cheese.

In large towns and probably most of the smaller towns
it would be necessary to have milk depots, so as to deal
direct with the retail shopkeepers in that town. These milk
depots would be supplied through the County organisation
set up to deal with the surplus at the District Factories.

22

NATIONAL SYSTEM FOR MEAT COLLECTION
AND DISTRIBUTION.

A National system for dealing with meat is an obvious
i^ecessity and the system outlined for distributing cheese
could easily be adopted for all kinds of meat, viz. : Beef,
Mutton and Bacon. This would entail the establishment
of District Slaughter-houses, to which all Farmers living in
the District would be required to deliver their fat cattle,
sheep and pigs. The Farmer would be paid on weight and
quality of Beef, Mutton or Bacon, as the case might be, and
this would encourage meat production.

A large chilhng room would be essential, with each
slaughter-house, so as to secure in some cases a more market-
able product, store the meat, and regulate the output.
The same method of distribution should be observed viz. :
all meat should be sold direct to local retail meat purveyors ;
any surplus to be sent to other Districts at different parts
of the Country.

The collection, grading and packing of eggs could easily
be added as a department with either the meat or the cheese-
making centre in each district.

NATIONAL SYSTEM OF FRUIT PRESERVATION.

There is probably no branch of Farming where there is
liable to be more waste of food than in growing such perish-
able commodities as fruit and vegetables. A market glut
may mean the loss of tons of valuable fruit to the nation,
which could have been prevented if only there had been
local facilities to deal with same in the most approved
manner. In each fruit growing district of sufficient size,
there should be a Preserving and Conserving Fact or}/, where
the fruit and vegetables could be dried, canned, bottled or
preserved as the case may be and supphed direct to retail
grocers in the same way as cheese.

NATIONAL SYSTEM OF GRANARIES.

Why shouldn't the system of district collection extend
to Grain which is such an essential Food crop ? Many Farmers
have no suitable facilities to store their wheat, barley, or oats
after thrashing them out. Rats and mice play havoc with the

33

grain at times, while Farmers are waiting for a suitable oppor-
tunity to market it. Would it not be very much better for
Farmers to take all their surplus grain to a rat-proof granary
in the district immediately it was thrashed ? So far as seed
wheat is concerned this could be supplied direct to seed mer-
chants, who would sell it direct to the Farmers. With regard
to grain for grinding into flour, &c., it should be possible to
put down plant to deal with same and thus avoid sending
away milling offals, which are required by the Farmers in
the districts where the grain was grown.

COUNTY FOOD EXCHANGES.

Where there are two or more District Food Factories
in a County, it would be necessary to have an organised
system of distributing any surplus of food in the County to
other Counties or possibly Countries. For this purpose each
District Factory would need to keep the county Food
Exchange informed of any surplus food there was available
at the Factory, so that arrangements could be made for its
transfer. Further these Exchanges v/ould be able to inform
the Government on very short notice as to the approximate
amount of food there v/as available in the County.

It should be noted that it is only the surplus foods at the
District Factories, that would be '* shipped " about and
this would prove an enormous saving of hitherto expended
energy. The surplus Food would be sent direct from the
District Factory to whatever other Factory the county Food
Exchange should decide. An arrangement could easily
be made between different County Exchanges for the sending
of certain urgently required foods, direct to retail salesmen
in another County.

STATE SUPPORT.

One of the first questions which would need to be
settled, is who would provide the necessary Buildings. If
it is to be a National system the State would need to take
the initiative or stand at the back of the Producers for the
first two, three or more years. Further it is difficult to see
how all the Food producers in any given District could be
induced to take all their surplus produce to the nearest
District storehouse or Factory unless there was either a
Government order compelling them to do so, or uniform
prices for the Country, which would have a similar effect.

24

To establish a National system, the quickest way would
undoubtedly be in the meantime for the State to take over
existing buildings where suitable, and build others where no
convenient buildings were available. Temporary buildings
could be substituted with modern buildings as fast as was
practicable. The suppliers of any one District Factory as a
body should be required at the end of one or two or three
years to take over the responsibility of running the Factory
under State Control. In the course of a few years we should
have an organisation for Food Production and Distribution
which would hold its own against the competition of the
world.

A CONCLUDING MOTTO.

The motto of the Royal Agricultural Society of
England is ''Practice with Science ": the one without the
other is incomplete. Reasoning on the same lines we
may say that the Home Food supply of this country can
only be made secure by " industrialising '' agriculture,
and our motto must ever be " The Farm and the Nation.''
The farm without any reference to the requirements of
the nation is a poor thing, which suffers depression and
poverty and squalour from time to tmie ; on the other
hand the nation that neglects its agriculture is running
tremendous risks. In a successful and thrifty nation, the
work of the farms must be organised for one common end
and that is the provision of a sufficient supply of essential
Foods for the Nation. In peace times there should be a
margin of safety for the Home Production of Food {e.g. The
Government may decide that this Country must produce at
least 60 per cent, of the grain required for Home consump-
tion), and this should be kept fairly high, so that the balance
could easily be made up whenever we were forced to rely
almost entirely on our own food resources.

An " Industriahsed " system of Agriculture would free
a large number of men for production of food on the land,
through the vast saving in distribution, and there is reason
to hope that this would make life on the land more attractive
with the result that the question of Rural depopulation would
cease to cause serious anxiety to the nation.

25

APPENDIX I.

LOP-SIDED FARMING.*

Since the commencement of the war farmers have been
overwhelmed with orders and advice as to how their business
should be carried on. At one time they are exhorted to
increase their flocks and herds ; then within a very short
time the order of things is reversed, and extensive powers
are given to County War Agricultural Executive Committees
in order to bring every possible acre under the plough, so as
to make the country, as far as possible, self-supporting
during the war. Surely no person who looks far enough
ahead, would disagree v/itlxthe object of attempting to make
this country more or less self-supporting. Tlie chief point
which one may legitimately criticise would be the means
and ways suggested of carrying out this beneficent pro-
gramme.

To my mind the ploughing up of many of the pastures
laid down or tumbled down in recent years will be one of the
greatest boons to British agriculture, inasmuch as these pas-
tures are not, at present, carr5/ing anything like the head
of stock which this land is capable of doing ; and, further,
because the land can produce, for a few years at least, good
cereal and other crops which are so vital to the food supply
of the country during the war. The great danger which lies
ahead in the carrying out of the Cultivation of Lands Order,
is to force farmers to adopt a lop-sided system of farming.
In fact many farmers are already suffering from the effects
of bringing cereal crops too closely together in the rotation
with the result that the land is becoming more or less ex-
hausted and much more foul than was the case before the
war.

* This article appeared in the Farmer and Stockbreeder of Oct. 1st, 1917.

26

STOCK AND CROPPING COMPLEMENTARY.

Practical farmers are apt to shudder at the idea of
seriously reducing their Hve stock, so as to be able to increase
their production of crops, because, generally speaking, it is
the farmers who keep the largest head of stock that produce
the largest crops. The one is complementary to the other,
and the balance and interdependence between stock and
crops needs to be constantly kept in mind, if the maximum
amount of food is to be produced in the country. The great
difficulty lies, not with the farmers who carry a large head
of stock on their farms, but with farmers who keep a small
head of stock, and, generally speaking, produce small crops.
Herein lies the crux of the whole problem. They may possi-
bly be short of capital, energy, education, or terribly afraid
if they improve their farm and grow bigger crops, that they
will very soon have to face the alternative between an in-
crease of rent or a notice to quit. Be that as it may, from the
point of view of maximum production, I cm sure we shall
be well advised to move slowly before adopting any lop-
sided systems or so-called emergency systems of farming.
Generally speaking, the only safe way in the long run — and
the end of the war is not 5;-et in sight — is to go steadily on
with a proper rotation of cropping, which alternates, except
in special cases, cereal crops with such crops as roots, pulse
crops, clover or temporary pasture.

With the increasing difficulty in securing artificial
manure, and the prospective shortage of farmyard manure,
due to the controlled prices for fat cattle, it is abundantly
clear that full use will need to be made of the natural ways
of increasing the fertility of the soil. One of the most fami-
liar ways of doing this is to grow at least one leguminous
crop during the rotation, such as clover, peas and beans.
A second method on easier working soils is to fold forage
crops off with sheep, and thus greatly enrich the soil for the
next cereal crop.

Another very valuable method, which in principle
combines the growing of leguminous crops and the folding of
stock in one, is to seed the land down to two or, better, three
years' temporary pasture instead of the one year lay, so as
to give the land a short rest and enable the sward to accumu-

27

late fertility. In this way one is able to get bumper crops
with a minimum expenditure on artificial manures, and if
good temporary pastures are secured with the aid of suitable
mixtures containing, say, half-pound genuine wild
WHITE CLOVER PER ACRE, the farm will carry a big stock,
and do them well with a comparatively small amount of cake.
Hence the great value of this system of lengthening the rota-
tion by leaving the land down to good temporary pasture for
two or three years, lies in the fact that the land produces
much bigger crops, and carries a much larger head of live
stock, with a minimum of expenditure on artificials and cake.
The system, therefore, fits in exactly with present war con-
ditions, inasmuch as the food is being produced on the most
economical lines.

INCREASING YIELD OF CEREALS.

An important thing to keep in mind, where this method
is adopted and allowed by the County War Agricultural
Executive Committee, is that all the pasture land which can
reasonably be ploughed should be brought into tillage, so
that the area under cereal crops each year is at least main-
tained. The increased production of cereals will, therefore,
be obtained by making each acre produce bigger crops than
would be possible under the system of " too close crop-
ping,'' v/hich has been so widely practised in recent years.
Further, from the landlord's point of view, their farms will
be in a m.uch less exhausted state at the end of the war,
and there appears to be no evidence to show that more food
will be produced under present circumstances. In fact,
the danger lies in the other direction.

In this way one has a steady, reliable method of food
production on farms, on the most economical lines, and what
is so important is that the farmer has two strings to his bow.
The guaranteed prices for cereals, grains, &c., may or may
not come to an end in a very few years, and if the former
should be the case, the farmer would be able to decide
whether or not to leave his land down to pasture for a more
extended period. If he used a suitable three years' mixture
containing genuine wild white clover, he would be able to
leave the pasture down permanently, whenever this was

28

considered advisable. He can also take a crop the first year,
which is as much as can be done where a one year's mixture
is used.

GRASS AND CHEAP FEEDING.

The policy of the Government appears to be that
feeders of stock will, in future, be very much restricted in
the amount of cake available for feeding purposes. The
present price of cake, even if it were available, is almost
prohibitive for feeding purposes, consequently farmers will
need to rely more and more on their pastures if meat produc-
tion is to continue. This is interesting from more than one
point of view. From some very moderate calculations I
have worked out, where all food is taken at consuming value,
the figures show that bullocks bought in autumn and fed in
yards or stalls during the winter months, cannot be expected
k) pay their way at present prices, unless they are bought as
stores at least 10s. 6d. per live cwt. less than the price which
can be realised when they are fat.

When, however, bullocks are fed during the summer and
autumn months on grass with an allowance of cake (say,
average of 3 to 4Ib. per head per day) the store cattle could be
bought in at about 2s. 6d. less per live cwt. than they would
realise v/hen sold fat. On pastures which are able to fatten
cattle during the grazing period without any cake, the stores
could be bought in at approximately 4s. 6d. per live cwt.
more than they will realise when fat.

These figures are certainly arresting, and will bear
investigation. They serve to show very markedly the value
of good pasture in cattle feeding. In fact, under the present
prices, it would appear difficult to feed cattle at a profit,
unless grass constitutes a substantial proportion of the
ration.

J. p.

29

APPENDIX II.

REFORM IN THE BRITISH SYSTEM OF
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.

The following is a summary of a Paper read at the
British Association Meetings at Portsmouth in 1911 : —

The British system is a very illogical and cumbersome
system. Elaborate calculations have often to be made
which would be much more easily and accurately done with
a decimal system. The metric system is a decimal system,
but the British people do not take kindly to it, largely
because it would involve the use of entirely different units of
weights and measures. Further, it would mean scrapping
existing weights and measures.

The British lb. as a unit of weight has much to recom-
mend it and should be retained, especially when it is also
the unit of weight for the British Empire as well as the
United States. A change in the unit here would mean the
scrapping of many weights.

The gallon is also a very useful measure which under
normal temperature and atmospheric pressure (62° F. and
30 mms. Barometric pressure) weighs 10 lbs., hence we have
already a decimal connection between weight and volume.

The reformed system may then be as follows : —

WEIGHTS

MEASURES

Pound =

*New Stone =

Cental or
New cwt. =

New Ton =

1 lb.
10 lbs.

100 lbs.
1,000 lbs.

New Pint Equal in Volume to lib of

Water.
Gallon Equal in Volume to 10 lbs.
water, as at present.

New Barrel = 100 pints or 10 galls.

New Pipe or

Puncheon = 1,000 pints or 100 galls.

* The lOlb. weight is already in use at some English Warehouses.
30

With the new weights, one would be able to say ac-
curately and without any special effort that 17,653 lbs. was
equal to 17 new tons, 6 centals, 5 new stones and 3 lbs.,
whereas with our present system it would take some little
time to work it out.

RELATION TO COINAGE.

Fortunately we have a decimal connection between
gold and shillings, seeing that 10/- are equal to half a sover-
eign. The half-sovereign should then be taken as the unit
for gold and called, say a " George.'' The shilling would re-
main the same, and the new penny made equal to one-tenth
of a shilling. The penny m.ay be sub-divided into 10 parts,
hence the proposed system of coinage would be : —

1 George = 10 Shillings = 100 New Pennies = 1,000 (Farthings ?)

A £5 note would then be equal to 10 Georges which gives
another decimal connection with existing bank notes.

APPLICATION OF REFORMED SYSTEM.

It will now be interesting to compare our present system
with the suggested Reformed system. Take for example
English wheat which may be sold at about 73/6 per 504 lbs.
(Jan. 1918). The prices per lb., stone, cwt. and ton would
then be as follows : —

PRESENT SYSTEM OF
WEIGHTS AND COINAGE.

REFORMED SYSTEM OF
WEIGHTS AND COINAGE.

£ s. d.

POUND (lib.) 0 0 If

STONE (14lbs.) 0 2 01-

CWT. (112lbs.) 0 16 4"^

TON (2,240ffis.)16 6 8

New

George.

s.

Penny

POUND

(lib.) 0

0

1.46

NEW STONE

(lOlbs.) 0

1

4.6

CENTAL

(lOOlbs.) 0

14

6

NEW TON

(lOOOlbs.) 14

6

0

The advantage of the decimal system is obvious, seeing
the prices per ton, cental, &c., can be seen at a glance as soon
as we know the price per lb. and vice versa.

31

NECESSARY CHANGES AMAZINGLY SMALL.

One would scarcely believe that the chief modifications
necessary to convert the British system of weights and
measures, as well as coinage into a decimal system, with all
the advantages of the Metric system and none of the dis-
advantages which its introduction would inevitable cause,
are that the penny should he made a little bigger dUh shilling)
mtd the pint a little smaller (/oth gallon) .

This is certainly a small price to pay for such a great
advantage. We all realise the difficulties of the old system.
We all hope for a better system, and as the desire for reform
is being constantly expressed, the dawn of legislation on the
subject may not be far distant.

J. p.

a

BY THE SAME AUTHOR.

L A BIG STRIDE IN AGRICULTURAL
IMPROVEMENT.

Second Edition. 2gth Thousand,

The Booklet explains how it is both possible and practi-
cal to increase the stock carrying and Grain Producing
capacity of Farms on economical lines.

Valuable information is givgn on the use of Wild White
Clover.

Foreword by Capt. Chas. Bathurst, M.P.

Agricultural Gazette. — The Booklet is destined to have
an immense influence on the future cultivation of grass
land.

Price, 6d. nett. Post Free Id.

IL THE STOCK FEEDERS' COMPANION.

A Text Book dealing with all questions connected with
Feeding Stuffs and the Feeding of Farm Live Stock.

Every effort has been made to make the Book useful
to the Practical Farmer. It also deals with Feeding sick
animals and is well illustrated.

A new system of making up rations devised by the
author, is included, which is the simplest, most practical and
most useful system yet devised.

PubHshed by Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh.
Price, 3s. 6d. Nett. Post Free 3s. lid.

To be obtained direct from Messrs. Jakeman & Carver,
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24Mar'58iitf

6Apr'63JE|
RECTD LD

MAR 23 1963

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