Evening star., 1928-05-20

ing the meat supply OF the world. About
100000 square miles, he estimates,
will be available for the cool weather
crops, while nearly 100000 can be used
for the warm weather crops. Such as
cotton and rice. Nearly 3.OOO,OUO wiz
be suitable only for grazing. The IT,
O0O,0 square miles of desert In Africa,
Asia and Australia probably never Will
be good for anything but grazing. Even
at the best 1t will be poor grazing land,
enormous areas being required for herds
OF cattle, sheep, camels, etc., to secure
sustenance.
on the basis of the combined types,
DR.. Shan2 says. the world contains
about 100000 square miles of grazing
land, about 100000 square miles
capable of producing warm-weather
crops and slightly over IL ,000.0 900 square
miles capable of producing cool-weather
crops. Much Of the producing land
already is under cultivation. Colonists
are rapidly spreading over those sections
OF Africa and South America which
lie at the edges of the jungles and
which can be used profitably for the
production Of food under present con-
ditions.
Land Necessary to Life.
Now, how much land is necessary to
support a human life? 1t varies. of
course. with the intensity of cultivation
and the standard which the particular
human being considers necessary Also
a great deal depends on the character of
the land. Various figures were presented
at the World Population Congress in
Vienna. M. Maurel, a French physician.
presented figures to show that male
hot seasons In hot climates and about
also calories day in the Winter sea-
son in cold climates. In Java, it was
shown, natives tilling intensely fertile
land and subsisting only on rice were |
able to support life on half acre an
individual. Many Chinese and other
southern Asiatics had very little more
land.
Take, for instance, the soy bean
This produced far more food calories |
than beef per unit of land occupied |
The chances are that there will be very
little meat eating when the globe ap-
proaches its maximum of population. |
There is an unavoidable waste In
changing vegetation into beef and NUT |
ton, which viii be impossible when
every morSel of food the earth can
produce Is necessary to keep somebody
alive. But who wants to live on rice |
and soy beans?
Scientific agriculture, it was pointed |
out at the World Population Congress,
may still do a great deal, but the in
eyitable law of decreasing returns will |
apply itself there eventually. 1t viii
cost more for each increment of crop
per acre than the world can afford to |
pay. once certain point of productive
ness is reached.
Rest in False Security.
Thus far, 1t was pointed out by Prof |
E. M. East of Harvard University, the
thickly populated sections OF the world
where the populations buy food with |
the proceeds of industry, have been rest
Ing In a false sense OF security. Thus,
Western Europe eats much more than
she produces on her land. The surplus
has come from new countries, exploited
only within century, whose main busi-
ness Is producing and exporting food |
Such are the United States. Canada
Australia and Argentina But the pop
ulation OF the United States is doubling
every rs years and q balance between |
population and food resources rapidly
Is being reached. so that there will be
no more left TO export. Canada is q
fringe OF agricultural land lying along
the edge OF a great sub-Arctic waste |
and 1t viii not be long In reaching its
maximum production. Australia is a
fringe Of agricultural land surrounding
q vast desert which affords only medi-
ocre grazing. Argentina is due to follow
the footsteps of the United States, with |
the increasing population balancing the
Iood supply. So the great manufactur-
ing cities OF Western Europe are coming
close 70 the point where they must look
Tor another lease OF life to the unex-
plointed lands about the EQUATOR.
Europe itself. said Prof. j. Bourbon
or France. now has a population of
460.000,000 on i0.000,00 square kilo-
meters Of land, China 4OO. .0O0, 900 on
1000, 900 kilometers and India 800.
100000 on 3500.000 kilometers. The
rest OF the world has q population of
only about 700.000.000 on 100 0O0. 900
kilometers. Thus eight-tenths of the
land supports one-third OF the popula-
tion-but the area outside the big pop
dlation centers includes Il, TOO 900 square
kilometers around the Poles which can
support nobody.
Increase In United States.
The population Of the United States
now is only about IS per square mile,
but so years ago It was only 8. This
represents how the agricultural areas
outside the world population centers
are filling up and viii continue TO fill
uP ~ AOhk ao VIC piCacut A1I1cHSS il
population continues.
Another complication, it was pointed
out at the World Population Congress,
is that the natural fertility OF the land
may slowly be decreasing. Nobody
knows this for sure. and the problem Is
too complicated 10 be determined by
statistics, because agricultural methods
are changing so rapidly and vary so
greatly in different countries. Never
theleSs, said Prof. II. p. Fairchild, 1t is
highly probable that the man of 10000
years ago had better land for crop rails
ing, although he did not get so much
out Of It, because he didn't know how
TO make It produce. Perhaps the fer
tility OF the globe is running down. like
the spring of a clock. 1t can be re-
wound with fertilizer every year, but
all the time Is getting weaker and
weaker.
But In any event another century is
almost certain 10 show what Is now
lmpenetrable jungle land dotted with
farms and villages, and another two
centuries may see the race starting It's
last great struggle for more food and
wondering II there isn't some way TO
T. u