This general troth nevertheless does not carry the inference often
extracted by politicians. That one or two farmers succeed in the midst of a bankrupt community does not necessarily mean that the rest might succeed if they were as able and energetic. A great many fields are incorrigible— not absolutely, but in reference to the means available to landowner and farmer. They are as bad as that wonderful farm called Poverty Bottom, which Professor Somerville restored to prosperity before the War ; and if these Poverty Bottoms (or more often Poverty Tops) that are found where- ever chalk comes near the surface or the clay is heavy, are ever to be restored to fertility it will be necessary to provide the capital that enabled the Professor to accomplish his tour de force. Prime Ministers should refuse to appoint anyone to the Ministry of Agriculture who has not read and digested the " Poverty Bottom " pamphlet.
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