2110-4-3-10

[C.S. Orwin] [Refers to "The English Land" by John Buchan]

II, BRADMORE ROAD, OXFORD. TELEPHONE 212.

10 : March : 23

Dear Buchan, (if I may adopt this informal mode of address)

I have now read your article, and find nothing in it with which I do not agree most fully. I wish I could have written it myself.

To mention a detail or two, are you sure that 20 per cent of the land is now in the hands of occupying owners? I cannot find the acreage figures, but as regards persons I think the number is 10 per cent. But you may be quite right as to area. Then, on p.9., I rather think it would help the uninstructed reader if you could develop the statement as to the national importance of agriculture a little more. The whole case for the industry depends upon this,

2.

and I got the impression that you could state it, with advantages, at greater length, and with more precision. As to Road-rail transport, I suppose Belgium supplies a wonderful example of what it can do for agriculture and rural life, but we should need a drastic revision of our railway legislation before anything even remotely like it were possible in this country. In this matter we are at the stage when the motor-car had to be preceded by a man with a red flag!

I am greatly interested in your suggestion that the Ministry of Agriculture should carry out an exhaustive experiment in arable stockfarming. A few weeks ago, the Minister asked me what I thought could be done to maintain production and employment in agriculture, and I made exactly the same suggestion. He asked me

3.

to send him a memorandum upon the subject, which I did ( and now enclose a copy), but I have heard nothing more about it. I am sure it would be more worth while to spend a few thousands on an experiment in farming economics like this, which might revolutionise British agriculture over large areas, then to peddle them out amonst a dozen agricultural colleges for more or less pettifogging experiments with this or that mixture of chemicals, the results of which, however successful, will never bring about a farming revolution. I read that £100,000 is to be given to Cambridge for the investigation of animal diseases - a most useful thing, but if funds are limited, as they are, would not the money be better spent on a big economic investigation?

4.

I do not know where your article is to appear, but if it would not be inappropriate to it I am tempted to suggest that you might be willing to consider adding to it some comment on the allocation of research grants in this sense.

I wonder what you think of the Credit Committee's Report. I like the Long-term proposals, but I think the Short-term scheme rotten. The "Times" leader of a few days since more nearly voiced my views.

With very many thanks for letting me see your paper,

Yours very sincerely,

C.S. Orwin