RATIONAL FARMING
Sta,—" All good farmers realise that they must maintain the productivity of their soil, in the same way as a manufacturer must maintain his plant." This extract from Mr. Walston's last sentence states-clearly the part of his view which I regard as dangerous. A man can be a successful farmer in the business sense without being a good farmer in Mr. Walston's sense, He need not maintain his plant, because, unlike the manufacturer, he can leave it derelict and move on to another plant, ready and waiting for him, and still make a handsome profit. Dust-bowls and lost soil in all the continents are evidence of what happens when P.M.H. is the guiding principle.
When I heard last week that American economic experts forecast eight to ten million unemployed in the U.S.A. by next June, I thought of Mr. Walston. Has he not fallen into the trap of supposing that we live in order to make money, rather than making money in order to live? He first requires maximum P.M.H. and then hopes to maintain fertility, when he should first require to maintain fertility and then aim for maximum
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