TILLERS OF THE SOIL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20367, 23 September 1929, Page 5

TILLERS OF THE SOIL.

NEW ZEALAND FARMERS.

A PROSPEROUS CLASS.

ROOM FOR MANY MORE

There are eighty thousand farmers in New Zealand and most of them arc as prosperous as any class of people in tho world. Thoy may not have tho wealth of American millionaires; they may not win as great profits as certain traders and speculators, but averagely they have good and comfortable homes and lead healthy, interesting and useful lives, and t would benefit New Zealand enormously .1 their numbers could be doubled To add another eighty thousand farmers to ttie population of New Zealand is tA no means impossible. Ihc land is available; there aro millions of acres still unused; there are hundreds of farms which would be all the better if split into two, three or more holdings and such an addition to our producing popn lation need disturb no one nor cause any unbalancing of trade or commerce. On the contrary it would stimulate local manufactures; double or more than double tho work of artisans, labourers, shopkeepers, and all classes of' business and professional men. Besides this it »/ould doublo tho national income, greatly reduce rates and taxation, give greater returns on all public works and strengthen tho nation not only against external foes but against internal unrest and disturbance.

It is as remarkable as it is regrettable that during recent years there should have been such a persistent and wide spread antagonism to the extension of land settlement and land working. Farmers themselves, or at any rate, a certain proportion of them, have done much to oncourage this dangerous and disturbing spirit. They havo persisted in talkiny as if farming were the least profitable and least desirable of all occupations. We are far too familiar with the cry that the man who takes to the 'and lor a living must toil from daylight t3 «Ih>k without reward, and many people actually believe that the bulk of our dairy farmers spend most of their time between 4 a.m. and 8 p.m up to their waists in mud. Tales that Are Told.

Arguments are very common that the wheat grower averagely spends six or seven shillings in producing wheat which sells a little over five shillings a bushel, and producers of butter-fat complain that they only get about Is 4d per pound for on article which costs over 2s. Even fairly reasonable people believe that farm life means perpetual hardship, isolation and separation from all that makes life worth living. We have even in our educational authorities paid officials who publicly argue that there are just as many farmers in New Zealand as the country can carry and there are influential business and financial authorities who declare that it is unwise for them or for any one else to put money into tho working of land. It is difficult to understand how and why so many of these erroneous and injurious ideas have been so generally accepted and believed. Farming has been the chief industry of New Zealand through all its history and through all its history farmers havo lived and prospered. They have passed through hard times of course, when prices for certain products wero low, aud markets were limited, but through all the history of this country farmers havo generally paid their way. enjoyed most of the comforts of life, and what is more, havo steadily increased their capital and improved their holdings and their stock. It is simply absurd to speak in general terms of the hardships of a fanrei s lot. Some of tho most beautiful and wellequipped homes in New Zealand are farm houses, in fact it might bo stated in another way that tho most beautiful homes in New Zealand are found on farms and that a largo number of farmers live moro, cultured and pleasant lives than any other class of people. Another Eighty Thousand.

Although it would not be easy to establish another eighty thousand farmers with their families in New Zealand on the same j standard as those who already exist there is no great difficulty in settling eighty thousand families in such a way that each one would have the opportunity of living well and happily, and oi courso no one would expect such a great work to be done quickly, but a few hundreds or oven a few thousands of new farmers settled on the land each year would not be an extravagant accomplishment. No doubt the average size of the farm would have to be smaller than in the past, but even to-day tho average farmer is working less than half the area of his holding and with modern methods land to-day can be made to produce twice as much as it produced in' past years. Doubtless any great increase in our rural population would have to depend upon the small farm, in fact the tendency is in that direction even now, not so much because land is scarce as because it is found that success is more readily achieved on a small farm well worked than on a larger area only partly improved. But if all the eighty thousand now farmers contemplated had to be contont with small holding? they could still have better conditions in home and work than they could find _in any other occupation and. could win just as good if not better average return for their labour and skill. Some Charming Houses.

There are many very prosperous families on forty, fifty, sixty acre holdings and some very charming homes where parertts and children have all the comforts of civilisation and many of Us luxuries, that is where civilisation means true culture and not pretentious extravagance, and luxuries mean the best and not tho most expensive of things men and womon enjoy. In the past four decades farming has porhaps been too much commercialised and the land used too much for raising only things for sale, but it is possible to make a new type of farm where the owner first of all seeks to satisfy tho common needs of life m the way of food and does so by raising tho finest fruits and vegetables, the milk and butter and eggs and table poultry for bis own use and sells his surplus to buy things he cannot raise, or to pay the various domands which a complete civilisation compels. This does not m any way imply a return to tho primitivo conditions o, early pioneer dnys. but it certainly does mean getting more out of the land than is commonlv obtained to-day and nrob ably a wider distribution of labour among the family which might be for its good. There is no need, however, for new farmers to look f.>r n«w methods in order to livo; the growth of population in the world, tho general increase of industrialism will increase the markets for New Zealand's farm products at a faster rato than Bny increase we are likely to make through increased settlement, and so far as can be seen thero is no ovidonco yet to show that either tho Government or tho people of Now Zealand will do anything to greatly incroaso land settlement or farm production..