17 APRIL 1947, Page 18

COUNTRY' LIFE him in Detroit, that he had worked at

his tractor long before he thought of the " tin Lizzy," which, of course, was the foundation of his fame and fortune. He showed something like excitement when I gave him some account of that wonderful little book Farms, Factories and Workshops, by Prince 1Cropotkin, and at once took a note of it. The many people who seem to think that the prosperity of agricul- ture lies in making it more extensive might still profitably study the views. A good deal, of course, is now out of date, but his main con- tentions hold and the details he amassed remain important. He wrote with enthusiasm of " the Valley of Glass " in Guernsey. Today, a large and rapidly increasing area, as in the Lea Valley, is covered with glass, either in the form of glass houses or of cloches. Success belongs not to machines, but to expert labour. None, I think, has acknow- ledged Ford's contribution in this country to new methods of cultivation and harvesting. Essex especially owes him a deal. He was always closely in touch with a group of our most progressive, inventive and intensive producers.