Now these forty farms which showed an average loss of
£1 an acre differed considerably. According to the analyst, who has twenty years' experience of such work, the propor- tionate loss was in all cases heaviest on the middle-sized farms. The very big farms lost less. The very small farms lost less. In the bigger the overhead charges were reduced. In the smaller the farmer did much of the work himself. The most fatal size—over this particular period and in the Eastern Counties—was about 300 acres. Such figures were further confirmed by an official of the best of all the co- operative associations in Britain ; and it gives some ground for hope that the accounts show an immense turnover for the society, and, what is more, a satisfactory profit. On this thenie those genial and energetic South African farmers who have been touring Britain unite in one strong criticism of British methods of business. They think that our farmers have grossly neglected the marketing side of their industry and that it is in large part their own fault that so much of the profits go to the distributor, rather than the producer.
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