Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-07-25
FUTURE FOOD SUPPLY.
PRINCE KRAPOTKlN DiCUSSES THE
QUESTION At LENGTH.


Extracts from His Essay In The Nineteenth
Century-Must Great Britain starve?
Agriculture in Beleium-Eesults of
High Cultivation-The "Orchard.''
Great Britain nov buys from foreign coun-
tries one-half of the food she eats, and pays
for it in manufactures What will she do
when other nations decline to buy the pro-
duce Of her looms and millsa Must half her
people starvei This is the question Prince
klapotkin discusses:
is it possible that the soil Of the United
Kingdom, which at present yields food for
one-half of its inhabitants, could provide all
the necessary amount and variety OF food for
35 ,O0, 900 human beings, when it covers only
| 73, 900, 900 acres all told-fo.ests and rocks,
marshes and peat boys, cities, railways and
| fieldss The current opinion is that 1t by no
means can; and that opinion is so irveterate
| that we even see scientist, Ike Mr.. Huxley,
! who is always 50 cautious when dealing with
current opinions In science, indorse that
! opinion without sven taking the trouble of
verifying it 1t is accepted as an axiom.
And yet, as soon as We try to find out any
/
| not the slightest foundation, either in facts
or in judgment upon well known facts"
The prince thus compares the agriculture
| of Great Britain with that of Belgium:
Belgium also grows an average Of q $40
! bushels of wheat per aero, but her wheat
! area is relatively twice as large IS that Of the
| United Kingdom; it covers one-eleventh part
Of tho cultivated area, one-tweifth of tia
J Rail r
Yates on larger scale industrial plants, and
although she keeps the same amount of cattle
on the acre rs the United Kingdom, her ag-
gregete crops Of cereals are five times larger
with regard to the cultivated area, and seven
times larger with regard to the aggregate
territory. AS to those who will aot fail to
say that tho soil Of Belgium is certainly more
fertile than that of this country, let me
answer, in tie words of Laveleye, that only
one-haf, or less, of the territory offers natu-
raj conditions which are favorable for agri
culture; the other half consists Of graveily
soil, or sands, the natural sterility Of which
could be overpowered only by heavy manur-
ing With this soil and labor, Belgium
succeeds in supplying nearly all the food
of population Which Is denser than that Of
England and Wales, ana numbers 5l4 in
OF agricultural produce from Belgium be
taken into account, wo can say that Lavel-
eyes figures are sti1 good. and that only one
inhabitant out Of each twenty requires i'm
ported food But even if we double his fig
ures, we still find that the soil of Belgium
supplies with home grown food no less than
400 inhabitants per square mile.
~ might quote like examples from else
! x,l,o 10y ,ha--
even going as far rs China But the above
will be enough to caution the reader against
hasty conclusions as to the impossbility of
feeding S5,000, 900 people from $4,000, coo
acres They also will enable me to draw the
following conclusions: o. If the soil Of the
United Kingdom were cultivated only as it
was thirty years ago. "a. 000, 600 people, in
stead Of II, 0O0, 600, could live on home grown
food; and that culture. while giving occupa-
ton to at least 600 men, would give
nearly 5000, 0C0 wealthy home customers to
the British manufacturers O. II the l, $40, :
300 acres on which wheat was grown thirty
years ago-only these, and not more-were
cultivated as the fields are cultivated now in
England under tho allotment system, which
gives on the average forty bushels per acre,
tho United Kingdom would grow food for
2!,0o0, 900 inhabitants out Of 5000, 900. O.
If tho now cultivated area of the United
Kingdom S0,G30 square miles, were culti-
waited as the soil is cultivated on the average
In Belgium, the United Kingdom would
have food for s., 900. 600 inhabitants; and it
might export agricultural produce, without
ceasirg to manufacture, 80 as freely to sup
ply all the needs Of a wealthy population.
And finally ~, if the population of this coun-
try came to be doubled, all that would be re-
quired for producing the food for 20, 600 600
inhabitants would be to cultivate the soil as
it is cultivated in the best farms of this coun-
try, in Lombardy and in Flanders, and to
cultivate the meadows which at present lie
almost unproductive around big cities in the
same way as the neighborhood Of Paris is
cultivated by the Paris maraichers."
But Prince Krapotkin goes farther, and
shows how, as population increases in dem
sity, the command of man over the produc-
tive power of tho soil becomes proportion
ately greater. until it really seems impossible
tosset limit to it Here is his description Of
single pasrais, or orchard" near Paris:
"His orchard covers only 7-1e acres. The
outlay for the establishment, including q
steam engine for watering purposes, reached
81, 1853. Eight persons, NJ. Ponce included,
cultivate the orchard and carry the vegeta-
bles to the market, for which purpose enc
horse is Kept; when returning from Paris
they bring in manure. for which e1O0 is
spent every year. Another GlO0 is spent in
rent and taxes But how to enumerate all
that is gathered every year on this plot of
less than three acres, without filing two
pages or more with the most wonderful
fguresi One must read them in NJ Ponce's
work, 5ut here are tho chief items: More
than 1000 pounds of carrots, more than
10000 pounds Of onions, radishes and other
vegetables sold by weight. 5000 heads Of
cabbage, 5000 Of caul1ower, 5000 baskets Of
tomatoes, 5000 dozen of choice fruit, and
154, 900 heads of salad-in short, total Of
CSC, 900 pounds of vegetables. This soil is
made to such an amount that every year 2oe
cubic yards of loan have to be sold. The
gross income is estimated at es0o, which
pays the e10O Of rent and taxes and ESQ OF
working expenses. The Standard
The Story Of annie Laurie"
The famous song that is sung by al singers
Of the present day, am informed, is mys-
terry as to the author. l was raised on the
next farm to James Laurt> Annie Laurie'i
faehar | was 7,-rSoually ecGuaiutei with