[To TRH Ernroa or TER " SP ECTAT011.1
Sin,—Mr. Stephen Gwynn seeks to support his argument against "the pastoral system " by quoting the case of Colonel Everard, "the most capable farmer, probably, in County Meath," who " continues to break more land every year, and if any one disputes his assertion that it pays, offers to produce his accounts" (Spectator, January 23rd). By a singular over- sight, Mr. Gwynn omits to mention that Colonel Everard is the owner of the well-known tobacco plantation at Randals- town, near Navan, and that the breaking up of pasture-land to which be refers has been done in the interests of tobacco culture. The successful pursuit of this particular branch of husbandry in our climate upon a commercial scale demands land of exceptional quality, extraordinary technical skill, unremitting care, and large capital. The percentage of labour is far larger than that required for the cultivation of Lops, and the cost of the drying-sheds is prohibitive to the ordinary farmer. I visited the Randalstown estate in Sep- tember, 1905, and Colonel Everard then told me in plain terms that tobacco was the only crop for which it would pay to break up the old pasture-land. As an illustration of the desirability of destroying rich pasture in the interests of general farming, the reference to Colonel Everard is therefore
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