Reconstruction by Way of the Soil

by

G.T. Wrench
Faber and Faber Ltd 24 Russell Square London First published in Mcm l!i by Faber and Faber Limited 24 Russell Square London W.".# $rinted in Great %ritain by Latimer Trend & "o Ltd $lymouth 'll ri(hts reser!ed

This boo) by *r. Wrench enters a field !ery different from that of his Wheel of Life and challen(es +ud(ment and criticism of a different )ind. ,t is nothin( less than an outline history of the relation bet-een ci!ili.ation and the soil/ -hich means that it is not only a brief uni!ersal history of a(riculture but much more besides. 0o -or) of scholarship could be de!oted to a purpose more useful to man)ind at any time1 and at the present time none could fill a more ur(ent need. There is1 -e belie!e1 nothin( of the )ind in e istence2 and if there -ere it -ould be out of date1 since so !ast a quantity of ne- and important )no-led(e on the sub+ect has lately become a!ailable. *r. Wrench has the ad!anta(e of many years3 e perience of a(robiolo(ical affairs in this country and in ,ndia. 4e (i!es us here a series of brief histories and stri)in( e amples of the effects of ci!ili.ations upon their primary

biolo(ical resources. 4e first states the essential principles of sound a(ronomy2 then he (i!es e amples of their fulfilment or !iolation in "hina1 Mesopotamia1 the Roman 5mpire and in ,slamic Spain2 in 5n(land throu(h the centuries1 in 'frica since the comin( of the 5uropeans1 in 5(ypt and ,ndia and the *utch 5mpire1 in the %ritish *ominions and colonies1 in the 6.S.S.R. and in the 6.S.'. to7day. *r. Wrench3s plea for the reco(nition of natural la-s in the symbiosis of soil and ci!ili.ation is supported by impressi!e e!idence2 and his thesis is of the first importance1 not only to a(ronomists1 but to students of politics and to all -ho are concerned -ith the future of our dama(ed ci!ili.ation. To Lord 0orthbourne My friend is that one -hom , can associate -ith my choicest thou(ht. 77 Thoreau

Acknowledgements
,n the construction of this boo)1 , am indebted to many li!in( authors1 -hose -ords , ha!e quoted in my te t. 'mon(st them1 , feel , o-e an especial tribute and apolo(y to Mrs. 5lspeth 4u ley for the use , ha!e made of her boo) The Red Strangers1 a tribute in my immeasurable admiration for her e quisite story1 an apolo(y in that1 bein( in ,ndia1 , ha!e not been able personally to !isit her to e plain my enforced encroachment. ,n my faith in primary !alue of the soil , ha!e been (reatly stren(thened by the boo)s of t-o honoured friends1 the 5arl of $ortsmouth3s Alternative to Death and Lord 0orthbourne3s Look to the Land. The 5arl3s boo)1 published in #8491 has only recently reached me. With a (eneral outloo) closely similar to my o-n1 the author has somethin( -hich , do not possess1 namely1 an intimate1 personal )no-led(e of all that pertains to the soil of %ritain. 4is boo) constitutes the comprehensi!e (uide for -hich all -or)ers1 determined to (i!e a sane1 terrene basis to our national life1 ha!e been loo)in(. Lord 0orthbourne3s boo) -as published in #84:1 and it has been my frequent companion in the three years -hich , ha!e ta)en in the actual -ritin( of this boo). Lord 0orthbourne has also helped me in -ays surpassin( the usual

)indness of friendship. 4e has ta)en full char(e of the typescript of the boo) in 5n(land1 and1 by a careful study of the te t1 has assisted me -ith most acceptable criticisms. Lastly1 , desire to than) my friend1 *r. 4a+i ;assim1 for his (reat help in the compilation of the t-enty7first and t-enty7second chapters.

Contents
Table of Contents #. ,ntroductory 2. Rome 9. The Roman Foods 4. The Roman Family <. Roman Soil 5rosion =. Farmers and 0omads ,. The Land ,,. The 0omads ,,,. The Farmers ,>. 0omadic Mi(rations and Farmers ?. "ontrastin( $ictures @. %an)s for the Soil 8. 5conomics of the Soil #:. The 5n(lish $easant and '(ricultural Labourer ##. $rimiti!e Farmers #2. 0yasa #9. Tan(anyi)a #4. 35arth Thou 'rt3 #<. Sind and 5(ypt #=. Fra(mentation #?. 5ast and West ,ndies #@. German "olonies/ The Mandates #8. Russia1 South 'frica1 'ustralia Russia South 'frica 'ustralia 2:. The 6nited States of 'merica 2#. ' ;in(dom of '(ricultural 'rt in 5urope 22. 'n 4istorical Reconstruction The ,nitiation

The ,nstitution The 'chie!ement 29. Recapitulation 24. 'ction

Chapter 1 Introductory
,t -ill be clear to a reader1 -ho1 li)e a prospector samplin( a face of roc)1 runs his eye do-n the pa(e of "ontents of this boo)1 that its sub+ect is a (eneral one. ,t is1 indeed1 -idespread both in space and time1 yet in spite of its (enerality it cannot be said to be -idely reco(ni.ed2 so little so1 in fact1 that to not a fe- it -ill appear a ne- sub+ect. Men1 under the ad!anced differentiation of the present1 are apt to thin) of themsel!es as finished products1 as soldiers1 merchants1 sailors1 en(ineers1 la-yers and so on2 to speculate on -hat they1 one and all1 actually are1 seldom occupies many of them for more than a fe- casual bre!ities of time. 0e!ertheless1 no- that they are in!ol!ed in a supreme crisis1 no- that1 ho-e!er complete !ictory may be1 the future cannot be the replica of the past1 it is inconcei!able that men -ill not be forced to face fundamental questions1 such as1 in pre!ious times of habit and routine1 they -ere able to a!oid. They ha!e already come to learn that this a(e1 so distin(uished for its scientific pro(ress and its -idespread )no-led(e has1 in spite of these ad!anta(es1 completely failed in its promise of peace and prosperity. 5!en in such !ital social problems as feedin( and employment1 it has failed and failed si(nally. Men1 -ho ha!e no- been forced to e perience in their o-n persons1 and therefore to reflect upon these t-o problems1 are astounded that their settlement has been so definitely brou(ht about by -ar. Where peace failed1 -ar succeeded. The -ill of the people and the s)ill of or(ani.ation ha!e assured all of their share in the national food1 and those -ho do hard manual labour can rec)on on sufficient ener(y bein( (i!en to them by their allo-ance to accomplish their -or) -ithout the -eariness that results from a partial star!ation in essential foods. Why1 then1 is -ar so much +uster in these respects than peaceA What is lac)in( in times of peace1 that comes into bein( in times of -arA ,s it that under the supreme strain of -ar a(ainst a po-erful and ruthless enemy there arises in the homeland a peace1 (ood-ill1 and indeed a !eritable brotherhood of man1 -hich displaces the (reedy competition1 the co!ert hostility and the social barriers of peace that destroy the best qualities of

country1 blood and lan(ua(eA *oes our ci!ili.ation need -ar to ma)e a decency of human conduct pre!ailA Many ans-ers ha!e been (i!en to these and )indred questions1 but in order to loo) at them afresh1 it is proposed in this boo) to re!ie- conditions1 both historical and immediate1 -ith a !ision untarnished by the pride of the present1 the pride attached to that in -hich one3s e(o has its bein(. This is a hard sayin(1 for all are tarred -ith the same brush1 and none can claim impartiality e emptin( him from his herita(e and the pre+udice of circumstance. Bet1 if -e are to en+oy a better communal and indi!idual life after the -ar than before it1 the attempt has to be made -ith the probity it demands. To introduce the attempt is the ob+ect of this openin( chapter1 and to ma)e this be(innin( -e -ill try to loo) at men1 not as final products1 not as labourers1 merchants1 shopmen and the rest1 not as rich and poor1 sic) and healthy1 -ise and foolish1 but as they are1 all and each1 inseparably lin)ed to(ether in a common li)eness1 -hich -ill per!ade the chapters of this boo). This li)eness is that they are all feedin( animals1 (ettin(1 mostly and daily1 their life from the products of the soil. Li)e other forms of life1 !e(etable and animal1 men are dependent for their e istence upon the crust of the (lobular earth on -hich they li!e. Men1 ho-e!er1 possess a mar)ed peculiarity -hich distin(uishes them from other forms of earthly life. ,t is this 77 that they alone ha!e been able to ma)e themsel!es partners in the creati!e po-er of the soil. They alone are a(riculturists or farmers1 -hereby they assure themsel!es the constancy of their food1 clothin( and other primal necessities in place of ha!in( to trust to the (ifts of chance. They alone1 amidst terrene life1 ha!e acquired a quota of mastery in creation. ,n this ability to ta)e a part in the creation of their necessities1 men ha!e (ained somethin( more than a repetiti!e increase of their food. They ha!e (ained an understandin(1 dim thou(h it may be1 of a relation bet-een themsel!es and the po-ers -hich rule the uni!erse and that minute part of it on -hich they li!e. They reali.e that to be partners in creation1 they ha!e to submit themsel!es to the una!oidable autocracy of these po-ers2 they ha!e to be1 in their o-n lan(ua(e1 creatures of the "reator1 and as such1 ho-e!er headstron( and dominant they may be o!er -ea)er forms of life than theirs1 they are1 ne!ertheless1 li)e them limited by the la-s of their e istence. 6pon the basis of limitation1 they are ine!itably compelled to shape their indi!idual and social

li!es. Should they trans(ress1 they or their descendants are ine!itably punished. These rules and restrictions1 under -hich man)ind li!es1 are those of the nature of life and death. Life and death are the t-o essential conditions of terrene e istence2 they are the t-o different phases of this e istence. The li!in( ceases to be -hat is called li!in(1 but it is not lost to the cycle of e istence but remains -ithin it as a necessary part of it. ,n the condition -hich is called dead1 matter is commonly in the soil or -ill e!entually reach it. That -hich1 by its life1 has often had the po-er to lift itself from the crust of the earth1 no- returns to that crust. There it plays an essential part in promotin( further life. ,n a -ord1 there is no actual death as a permanent thin(. There is a suspension of life. *eath itself is but a phase of life1 in -hich the dead matter returns to the soil1 -here it is reformed into li!in( matter a(ain. There is nothing that has once taken life from the soil, that will not, by reaching the soil, again become living. The dead leaf1 that -e see lyin( on the path at our feet1 is not dead in the sense of bein( finished. Let it lie1 and1 throu(h the creati!e a(ency of the soil1 its substance -ill a(ain enter into a blade of (rass1 a flo-er1 an insect1 bird or animal and so return to the )in(dom of the li!in(. Life and death are1 therefore1 not separate entities1 but phases of each other. The li!in( has to respect the dead as a part of itself1 not finally dead but li!in(1 and this respect has been e pressed in the reli(ious mind of man by !arious forms of re!erence in -hich the innate eternity of life in its most hi(hly de!eloped form1 that of the human soul1 is reco(ni.ed. When man does not interfere and the soil is left to itself1 it does not fail. Throu(h it e!erythin( that has passed from a state of life is restored a(ain to a state of life2 nothin( fails or is lost. ,n the philosophy of modern science1 ho-e!er1 the seeds that lie scattered upon the (round and do not fructify are sti(mati.ed as failures1 but those that (ro- into plants are dubbed the fittest1 because they sur!i!e and e pand into plants. Bet the other seeds sur!i!e no less2 they re7enter cycles of life by other paths. Some e!en enter the !ery plants to -hich their fello-7seeds ha!e (i!en rise. So1 for e ample1 e!ery one of the countless seeds of the elm that bestre- the (round in early summer1 as -ell as the fittest sur!i!in( as elm plants1 are not failures in the symphony of nature. ,n a musical symphony1 each note1 e!en the lo-est and lo-liest1 fits. ,t is not a question of the fittest e cludin( or ma)in( superfluous the remainder. That is a -holly false outloo) upon the processes of terrene life. 5ach has its place -ithout -hich the -hole is incomplete. 5ach has its place in a creati!e cycle1 each passes from soil to plant and then1 in many cases1 to animal1 and1 after an interlude of death1 returns to the creati!e realm of soil.

This is the symphony of nature and creation to -hich men as terrene animals are ine!itably bound and yet not -holly bound. Thou(h they themsel!es are products of the soil1 yet throu(h the possession of their intellect1 they ha!e become co7creators and1 in their limited human sphere1 fashioned in the ima(e of the "reator. They can produce life other than their o-n. To do this in accord -ith the processes of creation1 they must themsel!es be continuous and limited in production2 they must act in harmony -ith the process as it e ists on earth apart from them. 4ere they ha!e to fit. They ha!e to act -ithin a process of balance. ,n it the li!in( as a -hole is balanced by the dead as a -hole. ,n the li!in( itself1 its chief forms1 !e(etable and animal1 balance each other. They are interdependent1 and are incomplete -ithout each other. ,n the e chan(e of !e(etable and animal life -ith the en!elopin( atmosphere1 a similar balance is effected. ,t has to be re(arded as a -hole of balanced parts and therefore parta)es1 in human phraseolo(y1 of the character of art. 0othin( in it is isolated1 e!erythin( belon(s to the pattern. From this art of fittin( -ithin the -hole1 certain consequences necessarily follo-. Wholeness or health 77 t-o -ords of a li)e ori(in and meanin( 77 is one consequence. This -holeness as a consequence has to be pro!ed. Thou(h it seems lo(ical enou(h1 yet little has been done to pro!e it in an a(e of unprecedented speed and disco!ery1 of immense pro(ress at a constantly e pandin( periphery1 -hich by distance has almost shut men3s ultimate terrenity from their !ision. We are to7day no lon(er -hole or healthy physically or mentally. ,n the careful -or) of the $ec)ham in!esti(ators it has been established that the !ast ma+ority of us are subnormal. We seem to ha!e bro)en a-ay from the (reat primary fact of our e istence1 namely1 that -e are first and foremost terrene animals1 and1 until -e re(ain that fact and put it into practice1 -e cannot e pect our social and indi!idual li!es to be -hole. Cur ci!ili.ation1 threatened -ith destruction as -e )no- it to be1 has to be healed 77 another -ord meanin( -hole 77 and to be healed it has to be o!erhauled and reconstructed in its relation to the soil that rovides it with the means of e!istence . This -as the tas) that in dim outline presented itself to the author -hen1 as a medical student1 he -as appalled by the cro-ded (atherin(s of the out7patient department of a lar(e London hospital. 3Why diseaseA What then is healthA3 -ere the questions that often !e ed him. To ans-er them he had not the opportunity1 nor the tenacity -hich truly (reat men ha!e in pursuin( an ob+ect that is to them a consumin( passion and for -hich they -ill for(o the pleasures of life1 and end 77 God )no-s ho- often 77 in destitution and despair. For that

heroic life he had not coura(e1 but the questions did not entirely lea!e him1 and it -as -hen he had leisure in -hich to retire for a space of years1 brou(ht to an end by the -ar1 that he -as able to (ather material for the ans-er to this first "uestion of correct terrene being/ 3,s there a relation of man to the soil -hich assures his healthA3 The ans-er came as a decided yes1 and in the instances he -as able to (ather1 he found that a (roup of men could acquire health if they (a!e to the soil1 from -hich they li!ed1 all the food and -ater it required1 and if they did not -ea)en it by e ceedin( the limits of the creati!e po-ers -hich nature had allotted to it. 4is chief lesson he (ained from a little1 shut7a-ay people called the 4un.a1 to -hom he -as attracted by -hat Sir Robert Mc"arrison1 -ho )ne- them -ell1 -rote of them/ 3They are lon( li!ed1 !i(orous in youth and a(e1 capable of (reat endurance and en+oy a remar)able freedom from disease in (eneral.3 4is further inquiries opened out a prospect of intense interest and e!en beauty such as their o-n mountain !alley1 amidst the !ast mountains of the ;ara)oram in 0orth7-est ,ndia1 possessed. 4e found that they pursued a close attention to the soil1 -hich stran(ely enou(h1 seemin(ly related them to a time of the (olden a(e of a(riculture. 's a stren(thenin( of this supposition1 he found that their present farmin( recalled to that most cultured of mountaineers1 the late Lord "on-ay1 the unsurpassed farmin( of pre7Spanish $eru1 the remnants of -hich he had seen and -hich caused another -ell7cultured e plorer of these (i(antic relics1 Mr. C. F. "oo) of the %ureau of $lant ,ndustry of the 6.S.'. *epartment of '(riculture1 to e claim/ 3'(riculture is not a lost art1 but must be rec)oned as one of those -hich reached a remar)able de!elopment in the remote past and after-ards declined.3 The (lo-in( pa(es of $rescott3s second chapter in the #on"uest of $eruseem to shine a(ain amidst this little people1 huddled bet-een the hi(hest con(ress of (reat mountains that uprises from our (lobe. The author found that this people meticulously preser!ed the rule of return2 they -ere1 indeed1 the source of the understandin( of the ultimate nature of the soil and man and of the -arp and -oof of life and death1 to -hich he has referred a fe- pa(es bac). 0othin( that once (ot life from the 4un.as3 soil -as e!er -asted but all1 from the least flec) of -ool1 the fallen leaf1 the bro)en nutshell1 to human refuse itself1 -as (athered and1 after suitable preparation1 returned to the soil for its food. 4e found that the 4un.as paid the same heed to -ater1 -hich1 by means of their principal aqueduct1 the %erber 77 itself famous far beyond the limit of their o-n small country 77 they brou(ht -ith its silt from

a (lacier snout to their terraced fields. Cf the %erber1 Lord "on-ay -rote/ 3The 'lps contain no Wasserleitung -hich for !olume and boldness of position can be compared to the 4un.a canal. ,t is a -onderful -or) for such a toolless people as the 4un.a)ats to ha!e accomplished1 and it must ha!e been done many centuries a(o and maintained e!er since1 for it is the life7blood of the !alley.3 4ere1 too1 they -ere li)e the people of $eru1 of -hose -ater7-ays1 stretchin( for hundreds of miles ath-art the slopes and precipices of mountains1 $rescott -rote/ 3That they should ha!e accomplished these difficult -or)s -ith such tools as they possessed is truly -onderful.3 The -ords 3many centuries a(o3 led the author to further inquiries. 4e found that $rofessor 0. ,. >a!ilo!1 of the ,nstitute of 'pplied %otany1 Lenin(rad1 had disco!ered that the area of -hich the 4un.a >alley forms a part 3is one of the most important primary -orld a(ricultural centres1 -here the di!ersity of a -hole series of plants ha!e ori(inated3. The people of ancient $eru1 accordin( to Mr. "oo)1 also produced a -onderful series of plants in the secluded !alleys of the 'ndes and so made them the most important ori(inatin( a(ricultural centre in 'merica. 4ere1 then1 -ithin the precincts of %ritish7super!ised ,ndia1 -as a people -ho brou(ht quite a mar!ellous messa(e from the remote past1 a past that +ustifies the tradition of the Golden '(e1 a past of perfect relations bet-een men and the soil. The 4un.as had created a symphony of nature. 's each note1 ho-e!er humble1 has its proper place in a symphony of %eetho!en1 so e!en the humblest fallen leaf1 each drop of -ater ha!e their place in the symphony of 4un.a. The author learnt from its e ample that the -or) of the 4un.a1 too1 -as an art in its ori(inal sense from aro1 to 3fit3. %e learnt that farming is an art and something infinitely wider than scientific agriculture. &t is a way of life itself . So much for health1 such health and the constant cheerfulness of -holeness1 -hich the 4un.a no- en+oy. There are many other e amples of this health still e tant on the (lobe1 all of them in places remote from our Western ci!ili.ation. To those -ho are attracted by this1 at present1 no!el meanin( of (enuine health1 the author unblushin(ly commends his little boo) of a hundred and forty7odd pa(es1 The Wheel of %ealth1 in -hich these e amples are also recorded. ,t is an essential sub+ect to understand for any -ho feel the need of a reconstruction by -ay of the soil. 0e!ertheless1 it cannot be (ainsaid that such small and remote e amples are scarcely li)ely to ha!e much effect on those upon -hom this reconstruction by -ay of the soil is no- ur(ed. ,t seems that one is doomed to stir one3s readers

by the ne(ati!e proof of the de!astation and sic)ness that the modern era has brou(ht to the soil and the feeders of its products1 rather than by isolated proofs of -holeness1 health1 cheerfulness and -ell7bein(. %efore1 ho-e!er1 enterin( upon the lon( path of ne(ati!e proof1 there presents itself a second positi!e element of construction1 -hich is complementary to the meticulous care of the soil. This is the form in -hich the men of that meticulous care ser!ed the soil. The form -as that of family farmin(. The family as a (roup is but a human complement of the soil itself1 both family and soil recreatin( life. The family is human continuity and the soil is !ital continuity. "ontinuity of the family necessitates marria(e as the mode of the bond of the -oman to the soil2 marria(e brin(in( sons and dau(hters to the ser!ice of the land. ,t is the land that (a!e its particular meanin( to the farmin( family2 it is its creati!e po-er that united itself -ith the creation of the farmers3 children. Marria(e1 the bearin( of children1 the apprenticeship of children1 the respect of children for their parents and their ancestors1 the care that is besto-ed by the elders on the present (eneration because it is to repeat itself in future (enerations1 all this -holeness of life finds its true si(nificance in continuous family o-nership or inherited ri(ht to the land. ,t is1 then1 the land as family property1 or in lesser and more dependent de(ree1 the craft as family property1 requirin( the -or) of the family for their continuity1 -hich primarily (i!es stability to men and -omen ma)in( a people. This ri(ht the people of ancient $eru possessed. Their self7(o!ernin( communities or ayullus1 settled in o-nership of limited areas of land1 e isted from remote antiquity. They -ere the basis of the autocratic state1 and they themsel!es constituted an a(rarian communism collecti!ely holdin( the land. The unitin( of the ayullus -as effected by the rulership of the principal ayullu or royal family community. %y far the ma+ority1 too1 of the 4un.a families 77 and the 4un.a are also an ancient people 77 are freeholders1 sub+ect in their unity to the rulership of the Mir. The (reatest of these peoples of family farmin( are our allies1 the "hinese. Their empire is by far the most stable and continuous in the -orld3s history and it -as ori(inally founded in the lon( distant past upon family property or ri(ht to the land. ,t -as to their re!ered sa(es that the "hinese ha!e al-ays attributed their Tsin( Tien system1 the system of the nine fields. ' square of land -as di!ided by dra-in( t-o lines across it from side to side and t-o up and do-n1 as in the nursery (ame of nou(hts and crosses. 0ine squares -ere thereby formed1 ei(ht outer and one central square. The ei(ht outer squares of land -ere allotted to

ei(ht families1 the centre square -as -or)ed co7operati!ely and its produce (i!en to the (o!ernment officials as a ta in )ind. This di!ision into nine squares -as symbolic of the principles of the sa(es. Where it could be1 it -as1 no doubt1 carried out. %ut it -as not ri(id. The soil is not so similar in character that it can be di!ided -ith such e actness. Cne square mi(ht be less readily culti!ated than another2 one family mi(ht be lar(er than another. So ad+ustments -ere made2 for e ample1 if one family had se!eral and another no sons1 one or more sons of the first mi(ht be adopted by the second family. 'daptations -ere made1 but the principal and standard measurements remained. ,t -as considered by the sa(es as the principle of choice for the reasons that it promoted co7operation1 close social relations1 mutual production1 easy e chan(e of commodities1 unified customs1 sa!in( of indi!idual e penses1 and it related the -or) and life of the families to the officials of the nation by the -or) -hich the combined families undertoo) on the central field. This central field could also be ad+usted -ithin limits2 it could be enlar(ed or diminished accordin( to the (eneral fortune of the pro!ince or nation. The nine squares -ithin a square symboli.ed a simple plannin( and basis of life1 -hich1 -ithout doubt1 as opposed to chan(e1 pro(ress and instability1 produced a stability no- inconcei!able to our Western minds trained in its opposites. We ha!e been accustomed to re(ard it as sta(nation. Since -e ha!e become confused and disillusioned -ith pro(ress and the disasters -hich it has brou(ht and -ith -hich it further threatens almost all man)ind includin( the "hinese people themsel!es1 -e ha!e come to thin) of them historically -ith more interest and appro!al1 but ne!ertheless as somethin( so distant and forei(n to us that their methods and history cannot really affect us. Bet1 if nature is limited1 if man cannot pass certain boundaries or e ceed certain controls -ithout enterin( upon (enerations of disaster and e!en human e tinction1 then some such stable system as that of the "hinese ta)es upon itself a !ery different aspect in the measure of human -isdom. ,t may be that it -ill then appear as a natural human system1 in scale and endurance the (reatest achie!ement in the partnership of intelli(ent man and nature upon the earth. ,t -as one that lon( a(o attained a certain finality1 a completion such as a (reat art -or)1 a (reat cathedral or temple reaches. The buildin( needs care1 lo!e and daily attendance and sometimes reno!ation1 but it cannot be made more beautiful. ,t reaches its e cellence and1 thou(h time may ma)e it more re!ered and lo!ed1 its !ery e cellence sho-s that it had1 from the !ery be(innin(1 a po-er of duration -ithin it. ' (reat art has this duration. ,t is not sub+ect to

frequent chan(e as is science. "han(es fail to impro!e it. Recastin( a symphony of %eetho!en -ould not ma)e it more but less beautiful1 but the de!otion -ith -hich it is played supports its beauty as human (enerations pass. ,t is in this sense that -e should1 , belie!e1 try to estimate and understand the Tsin( Tien system. ,t is a national thin( on a (reat scale that has ke t within the limits im osed by nature. Throu(h this system the "hinese sa(es produced and continued a producti!ity from the soil une celled else-here1 and1 from humanity1 a community of peasant7family farmers1 the lar(est in numbers1 the most s)ilful1 the most contented and the most peaceful amon(st the peoples of man)ind. The "hinese ha!e1 of course1 had their misfortunes and occasional catastrophes. They ha!e been beset by people -ithout any settled system such as they en+oyed. Lar(e lando-ners ha!e from -ithin sometimes destroyed the ri(hts of the peasants1 but the Tsin( Tien system has been the thread upon -hich has been threaded period after period of their lon( history. 3The -hole history of (o!ernment administration of a(riculture in "hina31 -rites *r. $in(7 4ua Lee1 in >olume 88 of the Studies in %istory of the "olumbia 6ni!ersity1 3coincides -ith the history of the Tsin( Tien system1 for it started -ith this system of land tenure. ,ts !icissitudes1 its crises and epochs -ere timed by the abolition or re7establishment of the system ... ,t is fortunate for the economic historian that the history of the Tsin( Tien system is coincident -ith "hina3s political history.3 Thus in the small body of the 4un.a and in the lar(e body of the "hinese1 much bro)en by the near past and present ha!oc1 -e ha!e rare sur!i!als1 instances of s)illed and continuous life -ithin the limits that are set by nature and the land2 a fittin( of s)illed man)ind into the life7cycle. The "hinese had not the stupendous secludin( mountain -all of the 4un.a1 but as far as men3s po-er could reach1 they made such a -all1 the Great Wall fortress1 stretchin( for #1<:: miles to shut out the Tartar. They had not the control of their -ater supplies from their sources as had the $eru!ians and the 4un.a2 the floods of their (reat ri!ers ha!e their ori(ins in hu(e ran(es of stripped hills mostly outside their control. Bet in spite of these foes of secured stability1 their system endured until it -as finally -orn do-n by the constant attrition of contact -ith the West. 'lthou(h it has been the West and its -ays that ha!e bro)en up this system of stability1 ne!ertheless sufficient of it is )no-n1 o-in( to the "hinese historical habit1 to see in it the supreme e ample of the Wisdom of the 5ast in contrast to the Science of the West. The Tsin( Tien has been the chief historical system of a human partnership -ith the soil. ,n it -as secured for century after century the comprehensi!e ran(e of both the

minuteness and (randeur of this partnership1 -hich has by no Western -riter been better e pressed than by the -ell7)no-n -ords of 4asbach in his unique%istory of the 'nglish Agricultural Labourer 1 #82:. 3Trifles31 he -rote1 3are the !ery ob+ects of the small culti!ator2 he has e!erythin( near him and under his eye1 ma)es use of e!ery small ad!anta(e1 culti!ates e!ery corner1 has the help of his -ife1 and brin(s up his children to be the most useful the country produces. Such men ser!e the land as it should be ser!ed1 ne!er stintin( themsel!es1 and as absorbed in their ser!ice as any priest in his reli(ion.3 6pon this basis stable ci!ili.ations of conser!ation ha!e been and can be built.

Chapter 2 Rome
Rome and its ci!ili.ation constitute the pro(enitors of the ci!ili.ed Western -orld2 consequently1 -ithout a )no-led(e of Rome3s relation to the soil1 it -ould not be possible for us to e tract from history the principles of reconstruction from the soil. We ha!e to study history1 because in no other -ay can -e tell -hat the Roman land -as li)e and ho- it loo)ed. 4istory re!eals that if1 by some ma(ic1 -e could transport oursel!es bac) to the days of the early Latin farmers1 -e should see a picture of a -ell7populated countryside -ith the land di!ided up into a number of small farms1 often not e ceedin( fi!e acres in e tent. 's each small farm had to support a family1 the farmin(1 -e should see1 -as intensi!e2 in other -ords1 each particle of soil -ould be in use1 so that the fields appeared quite cro-ded -ith a !ariety of crops. The -hole food of the family -ould come from the farm1 and not only the food of the family1 but that of some of its domestic animals. %y day -e should see the !arious members of the family hard at -or) upon the farm1 the males 77 and sometimes females 77 busy upon the land itself1 and the -omenfol) in the home and dairy. We should see also a lar(e number of !illa(es -ith a pleasant li(ht of prosperity shinin( upon them. Cther thin(s -ould also be there of (reat importance1 soon to be described1 some of -hich could be seen1 and some found under the earth. Then let us be allo-ed to loo) at the same land some fi!e centuries later. The picture is no- quite different. We should see but fe- !illa(es and fe- small farms1 and upon the farms -e should see -hat farmers call foul fields and e!en land that -as derelict. ,n place of the small farms -e should see mainly orchards1 !ineyards and dairy farms. ,t -ould1 indeed1 be quite clear to us that the main ob+ect of this different form of farmin( -as to supply fruit1 (rapes1

oli!es1 mil) and cheese to people -ho did not -or) upon the farms or in the !illa(es at all1 but -ho li!ed in the proud1 nei(hbourin( city that had nobecome the chief city of all ,taly and -as soon to become the capital of the Mediterranean -orld. We should also see that these estates -ere no lon(er -or)ed by Latin farmers1 but by quite a different sort of men1 clearly not ,talians1 and men lac)in( the buoyancy and freedom of the older farmers. We should1 indeed1 ha!e reason to rub our eyes1 for some of these men1 incredible thou(h it mi(ht seem to us1 -ould be shac)led -ith iron and some e!en chained to each other -hile they -or)ed. These -ere the sla!es1 some of -hom -ere stron(1 fierce men and some -ea) and depressed. These t-o pictures -e should see2 the first -ould be that of family farmin(1 the second that of capitalistic farmin(. Transportin( oursel!es to a yet later date1 -e should see a third picture. The land is no- s-ampy and derelict1 and its most si(nificant product s-arms of mosquitoes1 -hich caused the fe!ers that permitted only a fe- -retched men and cattle to scrape to(ether some sort of li!elihood and that !isited1 -ith lethal effect1 the inhabitants of the (reat but -anin( city itself. This -ould be the picture of debased soil fertility. 0o- let us see ho- history e plains these three pictures. Cf the farmin( of their ancestors in Latium the later Romans had no history. 0e!ertheless1 a stron( tradition e isted1 and that tradition placed both farmin( and farmers !ery hi(h. ,n the -ords of the elder "ato1 to call a man a (ood farmer -as in the past the best commendation1 the hi(hest praise. 0o- this praise in the pa(es of De Agricultura must ha!e been read a host of times -ithout more than a (eneral si(nificance or re(retful sentiment bein( attached to it. %ut modern disco!ery has sho-n that it had a !ery sound1 practical si(nificance. The hi(h esteem of the men of ancient Latium for (ood farmin( and the facts concomitant -ith it -ere not sentimental2 they ha!e been summed up under these -ords/ 3,t is impossible1 after sur!eyin( such elaborate underta)in(s1 to a!oid the conclusion that Latium in the si th century D%.".E -as culti!ated -ith an intensity that has seldom been equalled any-here.3 This is the statement of a modern authority. ,n short1 the tradition of the later Romans about the wonderful farming of their ancestors was not founded u on sentiment, but u on fact. %y the time of "ato and later -riters1 a (ood deal of sentiment had entered and a (ood deal of fact had slipped a-ay. These later Romans )ne- that their ancestors had been (reat farmers1 but they do not seem to ha!e )no-n the (reatest part of their -or). That has been re!ealed by

modern in!esti(ators and particularly by the e ca!ations of Monsieur M. R. L. la %lanchFre1 published in #@89 in ()moires r)sentes ar divers savants * l+Acad)mie des &nscri tions et ,elles Lettres . $rofessor Tenny Fran)1 the abo!e7quoted authority in An 'conomic %istory of Rome1 #82?1 summari.es this remar)able paper1 -hich can be itself read in the library of the %ritish Museum. The e ca!ations re!eal that Latium -as the home of a farmin( -hich it mi(ht -ell be said1 has seldom been equalled any-here. ,t -as a farmin( related to the (reat farmin( of ancient $eru1 the farmin( of 'sia Minor in its prolific days1 the farmin( in -hich $rofessor >a!ilo! researches1 the farmin( of the 4un.a1 the farmin( indeed of many or e!en all (reat countries of the -orld in a time -hen farmin( reached a hei(ht from -hich almost all of them later fell so steeply as to ha!e become obli!ious to it. $rofessor Tenny Fran) be(ins his boo) on the economic story of Rome -here it should be(in1 namely1 in the soil of Latium. Cn the one hand1 that soil -as sin(ularly rich1 rich as the loess soil of the "hinese and the allu!ial soil of the 5(yptians -ere rich. ,t had not their depth1 but it had the e ceptional contribution of the ash of some fifty craters1 -hich are -ithin t-enty miles of Rome. Cn the other hand1 it -as placed in a perilous situation if men -ere to ne(lect it. ,t -as a -ide band or plain1 the "ampa(na1 situated bet-een the sea and the steep 'lban and 'pennine mountains. 6pon these mountains rain at certain seasons fell hea!ily. When there -ere trees on the slopes1 then the rain in its fall -as bro)en by leaf1 t-i( and branch into a spray before reachin( the soil. Where the trees -ere cut do-n freely or -here the slopes -ere too steep for them to (ro-1 the storm7rain reached the earth to beat upon it and send muddy freshets s-eepin( do-n to the plain. The short ri!ers bet-een the mountains and the sea became torrents loaded -ith silt. Sometimes their mouths and the direct dischar(e of the -ater to the sea -ere bloc)ed and s-amps too) the place of -ell7drained land. Farmin( in this country1 therefore1 depended abo!e all on one (reat feature of farmin(1 proper draina(e. '(ainst hea!y rain fallin( upon precipitous hills1 men had to protect the soil if they -ere to be (reat farmers of it. The men of the Latium -ere (reat farmers and they accomplished astonishin( thin(s. Monsieur la %lanchFre1 e ca!ator in Latium1 re!ealed in part -hat the farmers did. 4e found an e tensi!e en(ineerin( system of -ater7control and draina(e1 numerous relics of drains1 tunnels and dams. 3%y di!ertin( the rain -aters from the erodin( mountain (ullies into under(round channels31 -rites $rofessor Fran)1 3the farmers not only chec)ed a lar(e part of the ordinary erosion of the hillside farms1 but also sa!ed the space usually sacrificed to the torrent7bed. ,t

-ould be difficult to find another place -here labour had been so la!ishly e pended to preser!e the arable soil from erosion.3 0otin( the finely trimmed poly(onal masonry of the dams1 lar(ely made of bloc)s -ei(hin( half a ton each1 the professor adds/ 3,t1 is impossible1 after sur!eyin( such elaborate underta)in(s1 to a!oid the conclusion that Latium in the si th century %.". -as culti!ated -ith an intensity that has seldom been equalled any-here.3 The men of Latium1 later to be )no-n after their capital city as Romans1 be(an their unequalled story -ith a tremendous, vital force1 that of an e ceptional and -ell7treasured soil. Cne can immediately reali.e the !i(orous and profound respect for farmers and farmin( -hich characteri.ed the Roman poets1 prose -riters and statesmen of much later a(es1 and their loo)in( bac)-ard to their ancestors as men of e ceptional fibre and character deri!ed from their farmin(. They loo)ed bac) to somethin( e ceptional in see)in( for the ori(in of the firm stren(th of Rome. These (reat farmers1 -ho protected their land from the torrential in!asions of the climate1 had also to protect it a(ainst the in!asions of human bein(s1 not nei(hbours merely1 but those -ho had come o!er the 'lps and 'pennines in search of land. The farmers then pro!ed themsel!es (reat -arriors. Farmer and -arrior contended -ithin them1 but as successes in -ar (re-1 so the -arrior factor transcended that of the farmer1 and the type of farmin( chan(ed. The number of small farmers1 able to )eep themsel!es and their families -ell on less than fi!e acres of intensi!e farmin(1 decreased. From the point of !ie- of the soil1 indeed1 the story of Latium1 Rome and its empire1 -as lar(ely a race bet-een -arriors (ainin( land by conquest and e ploitation1 and farmers losin( it by enforced1 inferior -ays of farmin( and by erosion. %ut amon(st the splendour of Rome3s achie!ements1 this basic quality of her story has hardly been percei!ed. The rebellin( soil -as there all the time1 and1 in the end1 it -as the rebellious soil that bro)e the stren(th of the -arrior. ,t is !ery understandable that1 if farmers -ere liable to be called up for national ser!ice as -arriors1 intensi!e1 personal farmin( suffered. The farms could not be )ept in (ood condition -hen many of the men1 -ho -or)ed upon them1 -ere a-ay at the -ars. This drain be(an -ith the -ars the Romans fou(ht in or about Latium1 but it only became critical at the time of the terrific stru((le of Rome a(ainst "artha(e and particularly as the result of the fifteen years of 4annibal3s -arfare -ithin ,taly itself. That led to an immense destruction1 not only of the farmer7 -arriors themsel!es1 but of -ater7channels1 draina(e1 farm buildin(s1 roads1

brid(es1 trees and other props of intensi!e farmin(. When the -ar -as o!er1 the (o!ernment of the !ictorious but e hausted Romans -as faced -ith the question of the reconstruction of the land. 0o- at the same time that this question became paramount in Roman ,taly1 it also became paramount in "hina. The "hinese 5mpire of that time -as situated in the middle part of the 4uan( 4o D)no-n to us as the Bello- Ri!erE basin and the (reat territories on either side of it. To protect his empire a(ainst the -arriors of the Tartars1 the famous "hinese 5mperor1 "hin "hi 4uan(ti1 resol!ed to build a hu(e1 fortified -all. To build it1 he had to procure !ast numbers of labourers and these he had to ta)e from the land. So he abolished the Tsin( Tien system and the inalienability of the land1 -hich -as the essential part of it1 turned the peasants from their holdin(s and sold the land to all able and -illin( to buy. ,n both the Roman dominion and that of "hin "hi 4uan(ti the land -as the chief source of -ealth. The rich men1 therefore1 readily bou(ht the land of the dispossessed peasant families. So1 after the second $unic War in ,taly and the buildin( of the Great Wall in "hina1 the rulers of ,taly and the rulers of "hina -ere faced -ith the same question1 a question the most momentous erha s of all "uestions in the final story of mankind u on the earth/ Shall the common form of farmin( be by o-ners of small holdin(s or shall it be that of lar(e estates o-ned by a small class of -ealthy menA The "hinese chose the former method. The (reat "hin "hi 4uan(ti li!ed out his day1 but immediately after his stron( hand had been remo!ed by death1 re!olt bro)e out1 his son -as slain and the 4an *ynasty D2:2 %.".7'.*. 22:E brou(ht -ith it the lon( stru((le bet-een the imperial ministers1 -ho aimed at the restoration of the Tsin( Tien system of small family holders1 and the nearistocracy of lar(e lando-ners of "hin "hi 4uan(ti. The stru((le -as lon( and bitter1 but in the end1 sa!e for some lar(e estates -hich the land itself dictated as needful1 the Tsin( Tien system -as restored. This restored also the Wisdom of the 5ast1 for the direct relation of the (reat ma+ority of "hinese sub+ects to the creati!e soil -as the ultimate basis of the Wisdom of the 5ast. ,n ,taly the same stru((le occurred. ,t -as also prolon(ed and bitter1 but al-ays1 if slo-ly1 success turned a-ay from small family o-nership. ,n the peace that follo-ed the conflict -ith 4annibal1 the Roman statesmen stro!e to turn the current bac) to the traditional -ays of their forefathers1 but

Rome3s conquests and the (reat influ of forei(n sla!es to -or) the land in the place of the dispossessed peasants1 in addition to the in+ury to the soil -rou(ht by the -ar1 -ei(hed hea!ily in fa!our of the -ealthy classes. To all the land -as the chief source of -ealth. There -ere1 at that time1 no lar(e manufacturin( to-ns1 and little commerce1 for1 in the -ords of $rofessor Tenny Fran)1 3the ancient -orld has no record of any state of importance so unconcerned about its commerce as -as the Roman Republic3. Cn the other hand1 in fa!our of the small lando-ners1 -as the firmly rooted belief that those -ho -or)ed upon the land -ere also the finest -arriors and the chief stren(th of Rome3s military po-er. The (reat Roman -riters -ere fully a-are of this. "ato the "ensor D2947#48 %.".E staunchly maintained that it -as the farmers and tillers of the soil -ho made the best citi.ens and bra!est soldiers. >arro D##=72? %.".E !oiced the same con!iction that country life in its form of peasant7farmin( -as the chief stren(th of the State. "icero eulo(i.ed the farmer7citi.ens1 -ho left the plou(h to sa!e the State1 and used his unequalled art to protect -or)in( farmers1 -hose e tinction -as threatened by the (ro-th of -ealthy proprietors. >ir(il used the persuasion of poetry to e alt the culture of the land by the hands -hich possessed it. 4orace1 li)e the (reater poet1 proclaimed the older type of farmin( as the best. "olumella1 at the time of the 5mperors "laudius and 0ero D'.*. 4#7=@E1 declaimed a(ainst the po!erty of the land1 -hich resulted from handin( its culti!ation o!er 3to the unreasonin( mana(ement of i(norant and uns)ilful sla!es3. $liny1 the 5lder1 -ho -rote about the same time as "olumella1 championed those -ho -or)ed their o-n land a(ainst the o-ners of the latifundia or (reat estates1 -ho abandoned the -or) upon the land to sla!es and for their o-n part only li!ed in their country houses -hen they could entertain house parties of their friends. 4o- -as it1 he as)ed1 there -as so (reat a fertility of the soil in the past that se!en -ugera Da little o!er four acresE -ere held to be sufficient for a farmer and his familyA 4is ans-er -as that in those days the lands -ere tilled by the hands of (enerals and soldiers. 3Whether31 he questioned1 3it -as that they tended the seed -ith the same care that they had displayed in the conduct of -ars and manifested the same dili(ent attention to their fields that they had done in the arran(ement of their camp1 or -hether it is that under the hand of honest men e!erythin( prospers the better by bein( attended to -ith scrupulous e actnessA3 The conception lasted up to the time of >e(etius1 in the fourth century1 -ho bitterly re(retted the abandonment of the ancestral -ays1 -hen he sa- the poor quality of the military recruits. The (reat Roman -riters of the latter part of the Republic and the early part of the 5mpire1 then1 had a passion and a hope for the reconstruction of the family

o-nership of the land not only because the farmers -ere the healthiest1 most honest1 and most dili(ent members of the State1 as -ell as its best farmers1 but because in times of dan(er they made the best soldiers. The military leaders of the late republic -ere equally con!inced of the !alue in character and physique of the farmin( class. When the supply of farmer7 -arriors failed1 there seemed to be only one alternati!e and that -as to start -ith -arriors and1 as a re-ard for their ser!ices1 to (i!e them land to farm. Marius -as the first to (i!e the t-ist from farmer7-arriors to -arrior7farmers. 4e o!erthre- the tradition that only the propertied classes -ere -orthy to fi(ht for their country1 enlisted the proletariat1 especially those -ho -ere li!in( on the land1 and re-arded their ser!ices -ith a (ift of land. Sla!es -ere ne!er enlisted. Their (rie!ances -ere too (reat and their numbers too many for any Roman to dare or e!en dream of such a dan(erous e periment. When the chan(e to empire brou(ht its lon( years of peace1 its (ood (o!ernment1 its roads1 its reliable ci!il ser!ants1 its self7(o!ernin( city states ser!ed by an unequalled .eal on the part of public7minded citi.ens1 its (reater humanity to-ards sla!es1 and such prosperity that1 of the best part of these first t-o centuries Dfrom the death of *omitian in '.*. 8= to the ascension of "ommodus in '.*. #@:E1 Gibbon could -rite1 3,f a man -ere called to fi the period in the history of the -orld durin( -hich the condition of the human race -as most happy and prosperous1 he could -ithout hesitation name3 that bet-een these t-o dates1 e!en then1 the emperors1 almost -ithout e ception1 stro!e to re!i!e the small family holdin(s. 'u(ustus and his successors planted colonists on the land2 0er!a spent millions in purchasin( land for small farmers2 (enerous la-s dealt -ith the food of the a(ricultural classes2 !eterans -ere (i!en free allotments2 and $ertina allo-ed squatters to occupy unculti!ated fields e!en upon imperial estates1 and to possess full o-nership if they brou(ht them into culti!ation. 0e!ertheless1 in spite of these desperate endea!ours to reconstruct personal farmin(1 the po-er of money pre!ailed. The small farmin( class continuously and literally lost (round and the -ealthy class as continuously (ained it. ,n the place of the (enerous la-s of the first t-o centuries of the empire1 there came the restricti!e la-s of the last t-o centuries. '(ricultural sla!es -ere bound to the land. 4ea!y impositions and innumerable duties or litur(ies -ere loaded upon the lar(e class of curiales1 or members of the senates of the city7states and lar(e !illa(es. This class of curialesincluded the lando-ners. 's the demands of re!enue became more e actin(1 membership of the curiae -as made hereditary. The curiales1 harassed by innumerable officials1 duties that could

not be fulfilled1 po!erty -hich -ithheld money from the land and forced them more and more to e ploit their deterioratin( soils1 sou(ht by e!ery means to escape from their ruinous property and its duties. 3Many of them31 -rote 'bbott and Gohnson in (unici al Administration in the Roman 'm ire1 #82=1 3abandoned their property and fled. Cthers sou(ht to enter some !ocation -hich -ould (i!e them e emption from municipal char(es. The emperors stro!e to chec) this mo!ement by bindin( the curiales to their place of ori(in1 and by forbiddin( them to enter any of the pri!ile(ed professions.3 These measures failin(1 la-s -ere then passed under -hich all the property of the curiae1 -hose members mana(ed to escape1 -as made liable for the accustomed dues1 the burden then fallin( on the less fortunate o-ners. Failure in payment led to the confiscation of property and its transference to the imperial estates -hich rapidly increased in all parts of the empire1 and the tenants of -hich -ere e empted from municipal liabilities. Some also fell to the o-ners of the (reat latifundia1 -ho -ere stron( enou(h to resist the demands of the ta 7(atherer or to hand on the burden of ta ation to their tenants1 -ho had ori(inally sou(ht their patrona(e as the only -ay of escape. The coloni or !oluntary tenants -ere also bound to the soil and in the fourth century -ere reduced almost 3to the le!el of a(ricultural sla!es3. 3The only class in the municipalities not affected by imperial le(islation -as the proletariat. The practice of Rome in maintainin( this parasitic element by pri!ate charity -as unfortunately -idely copied1 and imposed a serious char(e on the ci!ic bud(et. 0ot only that but the (lamour of ancient urban life attracted labour from the farms and other industries -here a bare li!in( -as (ained by arduous toil. ,n the city one could be fed at the e pense of the State1 and -hen the ca itatio lebeia3 Da ta imposed by *iocletian on the -or)in( po-er of a man in (ood healthE 3-as remo!ed from the residents of the to-ns1 -e cannot -onder that the urban mo!ement -ent on apace3 D'bbott and GohnsonE. 'll this do-n-ard career -as both accompanied and caused by the continuous depletion of soil7fertility. To this ,taly1 the imperial mother7country1 -as the most e posed1 and upon her soil the story of its effect -as most mournfully unfolded. ,n the early days of Rome se!en -ugera D47#H4 acresE -ere found sufficient for a family1 and this -as the ori(inal assi(nment (i!en to the coloni as tenants of the state. Gracchus found it ad!isable to increase the assi(nments to thirty -ugera. The fall in fertility due to the -ar a(ainst 4annibal forced upon much ,talian land the necessity of lar(e ranches de!oted to the raisin( and feedin( of domestic animals or to orchards1 and this necessity +ustified economically the brutality of the 35nclosures3 of that time1 under -hich land that had pre!iously (ro-n (ood crops of (rain -as ta)en from e!icted

small farmers by the -ealthy classes and culti!ated as ranches. This1 in its turn1 confirmed the dependence of the masses upon imported corn. "aesar1 as an e!idence of the soil3s further depletion1 raised the assi(nments to si ty -ugera1 and "olumella1 -ritin( about '.*. =:1 asserted that a fourfold return of (rain -as un)no-n on ,talian farms. Finally1 in the third and fourth centuries the debasement of the soil completed itself. Much of Latium1 once the parent of the sturdy stren(th of the Latin fathers1 became a pestilential s-amp. $ro!inces1 -hich had once been the nati!e land of formidable le(ions1 -ere almost bereft of the human species. Flourishin( to-ns d-indled to !illa(es and disappeared. The proletariat of Rome ceased to e ist. The capitalists of the -estern capital did not a-ait the complete de(radation of ,taly. They transferred their capital at the call of "onstantine the Great D'.*. 2@@799?E to a ne- capital city on the shores of the %osphorus1 a city situated mid-ay bet-een the rich -heat lands that rin(ed the %lac) Sea and the ine haustible fertility brou(ht annually in the 0ile flood. 'bandoned ,taly fell to Cdoacer in '.*. 4?=. 0o- this story -ill be found to be frau(ht -ith meanin( to those con!ersant -ith or1 by a perusal of these pa(es1 about to become con!ersant -ith the past story of a(riculture in 5n(land and the present state of a(riculture throu(hout the %ritish 5mpire and other countries of Western ci!ili.ation. 'mon(st other thin(s1 they -ill also see the perilous si(nificance of the attempt of the 0a.is to conquer the -orld and bind sub+ect peoples to sla!ery upon the land. This sub+ection of the land1 a(ainst -hich so many of the (reat Romans !ainly stro!e1 ad!anced steadily and irresistibly as an ine!itability of a ci!ili.ation -hich !alued the soil as a commodity producin( money1 not as the !ery creator of the life and health of man.

Chapter 3 The Roman Foods

,n the pre!ious chapter1 -e ha!e not pro!ed the point that it -as the intensi!e personal a(riculture in a fa!ourable soil and climate1 -hich (a!e to the early Romans their physiolo(ical !i(our and !irile character. We ha!e not pro!ed it for it is not susceptible of proof as a separate entity. ,t can only be brou(ht for-ard as an e ample of the reasonable supposition that the quality of the food and the animal that eats it must be inter-o!en. 'll1 therefore1 that -e ha!e been able to do has been to brin( for-ard certain facts bearin( upon early Latium -hich to some readers -ill at least lin) up -ith the tradition of the e ceptional

character of its inhabitants. Let us no- re!ie-1 as far as -e are able1 the foods themsel!es from -hich this physiolo(y deri!ed. 't the be(innin( -e are forced to reali.e that in history (enerally it is difficult to find out about the quality and character of the food of a people1 and to this the early Romans afford no e ception. *r. ;. 4int.e1 ho-e!er1 has in his in!aluable .eogra hie und .eschichte der 'rn/hrung collected such )no-led(e as persistent scholarship can re!eal. What 4int.e is able to tell us about the foods of the early Romans is not copious1 but ne!ertheless it is fully in accordance -ith that of some of the most !irile people at present upon the earth. ,t has already been sho-n -hat care -as (i!en to its culti!ation. That is of primary importance. Cne may presume that -ith such s)illed and laborious culti!ation1 the soil1 itself of e cellent natural (ifts1 rendered healthy and -ell7(ro-in( !e(etable and animal food. There is no contemporary information1 says 4int.e1 about the foods of early Latium2 there are only the traditions1 supported by the influences of modern research1 of -hat it had been. Cf (rains1 there -as barley1 -heat DemmerE and millet. There -ere no mills1 but the (rains -ere crushed in a mortar and the hus) remo!ed. The (rain -as then made into a porrid(e and eaten -ith salt. The (rains -ere often li(htly roasted so as to ma)e the remo!al of the hus) easier. Later came the hand mill and the (rain -as crushed bet-een t-o millstones. The student of nutrition and dietetics -ill at once note that only the hus) -as remo!ed. The porrid(e -as thus -holemeal porrid(e and1 if flat ca)es of bread -ere made1 they too -ere -holemeal. This traditional porrid(e1 4int.e surmises1 -as the staple food of the early Romans1 -ho ate ali)e as there -as little or no food distinction of the classes at that time. Then came !e(etables and fruit. There -ere cattle1 but flesh -as seldom eaten1 e cept on the days of reli(ious festi!als. The animals -ere )ept for -or) upon the farm1 for the pro!ision of manure1 and for mil) and cheese. Mil) and cheese -ere an important part of the food.

The (rape -as culti!ated in ,taly in pre7Roman times1 but in ancient Latium it seems to ha!e been un)no-n. ,ts culture1 ho-e!er1 reached Latium at some early date and the inhabitants then dran) -ine. Whether they dran) -ine made from other +uices1 as -as the later habit of the Romans1 is not )no-n. %arley beer1 the drin) of northern peoples1 ne!er found fa!our in the land of the (rape. The food of the early Latin farmers -as1 therefore1 the lacto7!e(etarian1 -hich has -on such hi(h praise from Sir Robert Mc"arrison and other distin(uished modern nutritionists1 as the food of many of the healthiest and stron(est peoples of the present day. ,f a healthy soil can be (ranted to these people1 then they had in their food all the necessary elements of physiolo(ical e cellence. The lacto7!e(etarian diet is not the only healthy -hole diet. There are other such diets1 that of the $olar 5s)imos for e ample in -hich -hole carcass feedin( plays almost but not quite as prominent a part as it does in that of the beasts of prey. %ut the lacto7!e(etarian diet of -holemeal (rains1 fruits1 !e(etables1 mil) and its products1 as Mc"arrison has sho-n1 is the basis of the e cellent health and physique of the 4un.a1 the $athans and the Si)hs of 0orth7 -estern ,ndia and1 -ith a more precarious supply of (rain and !e(etables1 of the 'rabs and %a((aras. What proportion mil) and its products added to the !e(etables and fruit foods of the early Romans is not of course )no-n. Their !alue -as1 one -ould thin)1 firmly established in the tradition of people1 some of -hose ancestors came from central and eastern central 5urope. ,t -as certainly a tradition handed do-n to and maintained from the early days of the republic. The latifundia or lar(e estates of the later republic lar(ely speciali.ed in mil) and mil) products1 as -ell as -ines and oli!es1 and left the (ro-in( of corn in lar(e de(ree to the pro!inces. They raised co-s1 sheep1 (oats1 horses and asses1 and the mil) and cheeses of the mil)s of all these animals -ere consumed -ith the inner )no-led(e1 -hich "ossinius1 in >arro3s -or)1 displays. "ossinius discusses the qualities and differences of these products as connoisseurs discuss those of -ine. 0othin( perhaps sho-s more !i!idly the immense (ap that e ists bet-een the sophisticated to-n diets of to7day and that of early and middle republican Rome than this serious de!otion to mil) and its products. ,t is in this lacto7!e(etarian character that the early Roman diet allies itself1 as has been said1 to that of many of the finest people of the present day. ,t is in their intensi!e culti!ation of the land as indi!idual farmer7families that they resembled the "hinese1 ;oreans and pre7modern Gapanese. ,t is in their traditional re!erence for the nutritional qualities of mil) and its products1

ho-e!er1 that they differ from these far7eastern peoples1 -hose land supports so numerous a population that there is not sufficient for the support of a lar(e number of domesticated animals as -ell. ,t is in the combination of the t-o1 intensi!e culti!ation and the culture of dairy products1 that the Roman diet most resembled that of the 4un.a people of the -estern 4imalayas -ho are probably unsurpassed in physique and health by any other people of the present times. Moreo!er1 -hether by tradition or not cannot be said1 but certainly in mid7 and later republican times1 and therefore possibly in the early Roman period1 a (reat quantity of different fruits -ere culti!ated in ,taly1 so that 4int.e1 at one passa(e1 yieldin( perhaps to hyperbole1 declares1 that 3at >arro3s time all ,taly resembled a fruit (arden3. ,n this (enerous pro!ision of fruit1 the diet resembled that of the present7day 4un.a1 -ho eat (reat quantities of fresh and sun7dried fruits. ,t also has allied to it the (reat quantities of dates1 -hich those other people of superb physique1 the 'rabs of 'rabia1 eat. 's re(ards early Roman a(riculture1 the intensity of -hich has already been indicated1 Fran) praises its practical efficiency. $rofessor Whitney1 in his (reat -or) Soil and #ivili0ation D#82=E1 -rites of the Roman )no-led(e of certain principles and practices1 such as their reco(nition of the different types of soil and the crops suitable for them2 their reco(nition of the need of local )no-led(e of the soil and its preser!ation by successi!e (enerations of families culti!atin( the soil1 -here they themsel!es -ere born and bred2 their use of le(umes -hich allied them to the prolon(ed a(ricultural history of the "hinese1 as also in their a!oidance of any -aste upon the farm1 all animal and !e(etable refuse bein( returned to the soil as manure1 and other technical features of a(ricultural practice upon -hich a competent student of practical a(riculture li)e Whitney is qualified to -rite and to -hose boo) , refer the interested reader. There is therefore1 , thin)1 quite sufficient e!idence to presume that the Romans and their nei(hbours belon(ed to those people -ho by lon( adaptation to a repetiti!e1 -ell7culti!ated1 sound diet1 seem to ha!e acquired an absolute harmony -ith their food1 and1 as a sequential necessity1 -ere themsel!es a people of e ceptional physique and health. The foundations of their -estern -orld dominion included their foods and a(riculture. The chan(e in both came -ith the spread of that dominion. The chan(e amon(st the a(ricultural ,talians -as much slo-er in its in(ress than it -as amon(st the rapidly increasin( urban populations. The rural people -ere necessarily affected by the chan(es recorded in the pre!ious chapter1 but

their foods -ere still locally produced1 mil) and its products1 (rains1 !e(etables1 fruit1 oil1 -ine and occasional meat. ,t -as upon the metropolis and other ma+or urban centres that the chief effect of the chan(e fell. The bread or porrid(e of the lo-er classes -as no- prepared1 not from local (rains1 but from (rain imported across the seas from 5(ypt and northern 'frica. 3The sustenance of the Roman people is day by day bein( tossed about at the caprice of -a!e and storm31 -ere the -ords of the 5mperor Tiberius to the Senate. %ut that is almost all that can be said -ith accuracy about the urban lo-er classes and their food. 4int.e laments that 3unfortunately as concerns the life of the smaller fol)1 comprisin( the mass of the population1 -e can learn practically nothin( from the -riters of the time3. ,t is a !ery different story as re(ards the -ealthier classes of the later republican and early imperial Rome. Their brea)a-ay from the simplicity of their (reat ancestors to lu ury -ere frequent themes of the -riters of the time. The -ealthy Romans -ere indul(ent of their appetites. Taste and the temptations of delicate dishes replaced the satisfaction of robust appetites. *inner DcenaE1 be(innin( about 9 p.m.1 became a cult. ,ndi!idually and socially it occupied by its time alone1 -hich -as three or more hours1 a considerable part of the day. 4int.e (i!es a list of the foods in their !ariety -hich reached the table at the time of the empire/ mil)1 cheese1 honey1 -ine1 -heat1 barley1 millet1 beans1 lentils1 peas1 cabba(e and other leafy !e(etables1 tubers1 beets1 turnips1 radish1 salad1 onion1 cucumber1 celery1 mushrooms1 truffles1 dill1 mint1 (arlic1 coriander1 mustard1 pepper1 cardamon1 oli!es1 (rapes1 apples1 oran(es1 lemons1 dates1 pears1 plums1 cherries1 fi(s1 quinces1 apricots1 peaches1 almonds1 -alnuts1 ha.elnuts1 fruit7-ines of apple1 pear1 pome(ranate1 mulberry and other +uices1 mutton1 (oat1 pi(1 deer1 boar1 chamois1 antelope1 hare1 spiced meats1 smo)ed meats1 hams1 (oose1 chic)en1 ortolan1 buntin(1 starlin(1 thrush1 do!e1 peacoc)1 flamin(o1 (uineafo-l1 fish1 mussels1 crabs1 lobsters and oysters. %eef -as not much eaten1 the bulloc) bein( )ept for labour and the co- for mil). There -as1 therefore1 a complete chan(e from the ancestral lacto7!e(etarian diet to one dra-n from all parts of the a!ailable -orld by the fame and -ealth of Rome. The ne- diet had -hat has been termed the !irtue of !ariety. Whether the incenti!e of !ariety or the adaptation of familiarity is better for indi!idual men cannot be ans-ered. 's far as , )no-1 the question is one of those -hich has had little attention paid to it.

Cne can only repeat facts. This !ery !aried diet is essentially one of -ealthy urban or urbani.ed classes1 and it entails (radations do-n-ards to the masses of the urban population. ,mmediately belo- the upper class -hich (ets the pic) of the food1 there is a (rade -hich (ets the foods that are in e cess of those required by the rich or those sli(htly spoilt for the fastidious palates of the -ealthy. So the diet passes do-n-ards1 contracts1 and chan(es to that of the lo-er classes1 -ho1 in the case of Rome1 depended for their staple food on distant countries. ,t is most important1 ho-e!er1 here to reali.e that the defects due to poor food are acquired defects and therefore they are not1 in the commonly accepted !ieof modern science1 inheritable or inherited defects. 'ny poor Roman1 -ho by -isdom or fortune1 recei!ed a (ood diet from conception on-ards1 -ould shothe better physique and health -hich that diet ensured. 's to the rich1 their !aried diet +udiciously used clearly (a!e opportunity for health and fine bodily quality1 for the rich mostly had estates and other means of access to (ood mil)1 cheese1 oil1 fruit1 !e(etables and corn. The rural population1 li)e the -ealthy1 had access to fresh food. The (ro-in( of -heat in ,taly did not come to an end. 3,n 0ero3s day13 -rites Fran)1 35(ypt sent about fi!e million bushels of -heat to Rome annually -hile 'frica sent about t-ice as much. That -ould suffice for the capital alone1 and re!eals -hy cereal7 culture could be ne(lected in the !icinity of the city. %ut the rest of ,taly had a population of about fifteen millions and they -ould require more than #<: million bushels a year ... We must conclude therefore that -heat -as !ery e tensi!ely and successfully raised durin( the first century.3 The foods of Rome of the period of dominion may then be summed up broadly as four. Firstly1 there -ere the small farm home7produced foods to the ,talian countrymen. These approached most closely of the four (roups to the traditional foods of their ancestry. To -hat de(ree they did so it is impossible to relate1 for as Mr. 4. Stuart Gones says in #om anion to Roman %istory1 #8#21 thou(h 3there is (ood e!idence in the literature and inscriptions of the early 5mpire that the small holdin( -as far from e tinct in '.*. #:: and later1 -e )no- so little of its -or)in( that -e can only describe the fundus of the capitalistic lando-ner as "ato and >arro picture it.3 Secondly1 there -ere the home7produced foods of the sla!e7-or)ed latifundia.

6nder the late republic the condition of the sla!es -as -retched in the e treme. 6nder the empire their lot -as (radually ameliorated. Their foods -ere presumably not the equal of the first (roup. Moreo!er1 the speciali.ation of the estate limited the number of foods compared to that produced on the (eneral farm. Thirdly1 there -as the !aried diet of the -ealthy classes comprised of fresh foods from their o-n or nei(hbourin( farms and estates1 fish from the seas and ri!ers1 and lu ury foods imported from abroad. Lastly1 there -as the food of the lo-er urban classes. Cf this Mr. F. 4. Marshall1 in Sir Gohn Sandys3 A #om anion to Latin Studies1 #82#1 -rites/ a )ind of porrid(e of -heat1 li)e that eaten in early republican times 3e!en in imperial times continued to be eaten by the classes ... -ith (reen !e(etables1 seldom meat3. The (rain -as still consumed as a -holemeal (rain. 's to its quality1 there is no means of comparin( it -ith the -heat or emmer and other (rains of early Latium. %ut its -holemeal character -as certainly preser!ed. This is about the only fact of importance one can (ather from -hat is )no-n of the food of the urban lo-er classes. Cne )no-s little or nothin( about their access to dairy foods. 's already quoted1 4int.e states that 3unfortunately as concerns the life of the smaller fol)1 comprisin( the mass of the population1 -e can learn practically nothin( from the -riters of the time3. Summin( up one may assert that compared to the foods produced by the farmers of early Latium1 that of the first (roup approached1 but o-in( to the increasin( difficulties of the farmers1 cannot ha!e reached that of the early period. The food of the second class of the a(ricultural sla!es -as certainly inferior. The food of the third class1 the -ealthy1 is less comparable. ,t is not possible to state1 but it is possible to ima(ine that it produced a (reater !ariety of human qualities. That it also brou(ht -ith it the deterioration of o!er7lu urious and o!er7(ross feedin( is certain. 0e!ertheless1 the daily life of its eaters1 their (ymnastics1 (ames1 and bathin( pro!es the persistence of the ideal of bodily health and physique. The food of the fourth class1 the poorer urban class1 -as certainly inferior. With the de(eneration of ,talian a(riculture1 there came a de(eneration of foods

and their quality1 and a de(eneration of the eaters of these foods. To -hate!er other causes the decline and fall of the Western 5mpire -as due1 this of its foods -as assuredly amon(st the primary ones. ,t su((ests that no empire can endure -ith its centre in the motherland1 if the a(riculture of the motherland deteriorates. The process is naturally a slo- one and as such -as not mentally impressed upon the Romans as a people1 thou(h reali.ed by many of its thou(htful and prominent men.

Chapter 4 The Roman Fam ly

The human (roup1 by -hich the farmin( of early Latium -as carried out1 -as the family. ' sla!e of that time -as one of the family and too) his part in the (eneral -or) and domestic life -ithout de(radation. The human family and the culti!ated soil -ere indissolubly connected2 the family -as pled(ed and -edded to the soil. The !ery type of marria(e1 that of mono(amy1 -as dictated by the soil. The farm pro!ided the family (roup -ith food1 clothin(1 shelter1 fuel and an o!erflo- of produce for e chan(e for (oods produced by others. ,t (a!e security to the children and old people1 and the security -as continuous so lon( as the soil -as -ell7husbanded. The peculiar )no-led(e of the family and of their ancestry -as that of their farm and all that affected it. To the family its land -ith its particularities -as as li!in( and particular as -ere their o-n particularities. The creation of children to continue the family -as1 as it -ere1 an aspect or relation of the creati!e quality of the soil. The blended intimacy -as an intimacy formed -ithin the mystery of the recurrent creation of both. The farmin( family -as ine!itably reli(ious2 it -as so near in its life to the abundant life in -hich it -as itself the a(ent of creation2 in death it -as so near to the ine!itability of the resurrection of that -hich is apparently dead but -hich1 mi ed -ith the soil1 a(ain +oins the re(ions of life. 5!ery schoolboy1 recallin( his Roman history1 carries in his mind the (rim fi(ure of the ater familias1 the head of a Roman family1 -ho preser!ed the form of the family and punished any member of it -ho endan(ered its corporati!e e istence1 and did not in e treme cases hesitate to inflict death upon his o-n flesh and blood.

Crdinarily1 one may presume1 as member of a family he -as not (rim1 but the fact that he had those traditional po-ers sho-ed that the family -as culti!ated -ith as (reat an intensity as the land2 and his summonin( of the family at the a-a)enin( of day to the -orship of the household (ods sho-ed that that1 -hich man ultimately does not reach but -hich by intimacy he can approach1 -as a deeper interpretation of the common life upon the farm. The family -as the lar(e or +oint family1 -hich is the form of family particularly correlated -ith the intensi!e hereditary culti!ation of small farms. ,t -as the lar(e or +oint family consistin( of the father and mother1 their sons and (randsons -ith their -i!es and children1 and their unmarried dau(hters. The men -or)ed upon the land and for the State1 the -omen -or)ed for the family. Cutside the family -oman had no reco(ni.ed place. She inherited her portion of the family land1 but that -as for her security and not to (i!e her indi!idual scope for a(ricultural s)ill or toil. She -as the mother and the house-ife. %ut in the relation of her children to the State and family1 she -as subordinate to the ater familias. ,t -as he -ho had an absolute le(al ri(ht to decide -hether a child born to him or in his family should be reared or not. ,t -as he -ho ordained the death of a defecti!e child or one threatenin( the family unit by o!er7population. 3The ma im -as not su((ested by indifference to the possession of a family13 is Mommsen3s comment. 3Cn the contrary1 the con!iction that the foundin( of a house and the be(ettin( of children -ere a moral necessity and a public duty had a deep and earnest hold of the Roman mind.3 %ut the family had to be stron( in its indi!idual units and in itself as a unit of the State. ,t had to be stron( because the proper ser!ice of the soil demanded physiolo(ical stren(th1 and the stron( State1 the State that could successfully defend itself a(ainst in!aders and a((ressi!e nei(hbours1 had to be compounded of stron( family units. The family -as1 indeed1 the !ery essence of the State. 3Cf all Roman institutions marria(e -as the most sacred13 -rote Mr. Romaine $atterson in The 1emesis of 1ations1 #8:?. 3The family altar1 transmitted from one (eneration to another and holdin( a fire -hich had been lit by ancestors -ho had been dead for centuries1 -as the central and most impressi!e fact in the life of a Roman bur(ess.3 The economy -hich -as attached to this sanctity of the family has been called a 3natural economy3. 'fter the $unic Wars1 there arose as its ri!al and supplementer a 3money economy3. The ne- rich1 in the main1 -ere ne- men1 the 5quites. The older landed aristocracy1 as -as to be seen later in other

nations1 -ere not a match for the ne- men. ,t -as the 5quites -ho made and controlled the money economy in its !arious forms. They farmed rents1 ta es1 customs1 e cise and other duties. They controlled the import of food1 the sla!e trade1 and the creation and circulation of money. The most certain path to -ealth -as the profession of ban)in(. Cnly e ceptional cle!erness or luc) in speculation built up -ealth more rapidly than did ban)in(1 and this !ery speculation -as supported by the ban)ers. 'lmost all1 -ho laid claim to credit1 fell into the ban)ers3 debt. The successful politicians depended upon the bac)in( (i!en to them by the ban)ers. "apital1 labour and competition1 under the money economy1 became commonplaces1 thou(h un)no-n under natural economy. ,n the (ro-in( ascendancy of money economy1 the ban)ers necessarily became indispensable1 and e!entually the -hole State became an e hibition of their indispensability. 5!erythin( hun( from them as the staples of the State. $roperty concentrated. The tribune1 $hilippas1 quoted by "icero1 stated that there -ere only 21::: property and lando-ners in the -hole "ommon-ealth. The effect upon the family and marria(e -as profound2 they both be(an to lose their meanin(1 and indeed did lose the (reater part of their meanin(. 's the sacredness of marria(e and the family fell1 it is in the -omen of the upper class 77 the class -hich1 as in the case of food1 practically monopoli.ed the pens of the (reat Roman -riters from -hich -e (et our information 77 that the chan(e of !alues is most !i!idly illustrated. The Roman matrons no- became fi(ures of tradition. The ob+ect of the fashionable ladies -as the reverse of that of the displaced domina or mistress of the home and family. Their desire -as to a!oid by all possible means the appearance of bein( matronly. To conceal all appearances of ad!ancin( years1 to loo) youn(1 attracti!e and ripe for ad!enture1 that -as1 in particular the ob+ect of the society -omen. Their culture -as beauty culture1 their scarcely concealed con!ention -as to occupy themsel!es -ith lo!e affairs -ithout fruition. 's1 perhaps1 a form of re!en(e for the secret desolation of their -ifehood and motherhood1 they -asted the imperial resources -ith la!ish prodi(ality. Fashion and beauty cost so much that thousands of sla!es throu(hout the empire -ere necessary to support them. The passion for personal freedom1 in the sense of untrammelled desire1 di!ided them from the fe- children -hich they had. The youn(er fol)1 on their part1 freed themsel!es from the shac)les of parental authority. The ater familias !anished into the past -ith the domina. The family elders1 once honoured as the store7house of e perience and -isdom and lin)s -ith the past1 -ere unre!erenced and made to feel the uselessness of old a(e.

, cannot better substantiate the accuracy of the picture of the upper class Roman -omen than quote Theodor Mommsen3s account in his %istory of Rome. 4e is describin( the time -hen society had first erected itself to a (reat hei(ht of lu ury upon the -ealth that accrued from the e ploitation of Rome3s -idespread pro!inces and the (reat number of sla!es1 -hich filled the place in the Roman -orld that machines -ere to fill in the ,ndustrial 5ra. 'mon(st society1 he -rote/ 3Morality and family life -ere treated as antiquated thin(s amon(st the ran)s of society. To be poor -as not merely the saddest dis(race and the -orst crime1 but the only dis(race and the only crime.3 The effect upon society -omen1 he described in these -ords/ 3Liaisons in the first houses had become so frequent1 that only a scandal alto(ether e ceptional could ma)e them the sub+ect of special tal)2 a +udicial interference seemed no- almost ridiculous. 'n unparalleled scandal1 such as $ublius "lodius produced in =# %.". at the -omen3s festi!al in the house of the $ontife Ma imus1 althou(h a thousand times -orse than the occurrences -hich fifty years before had led to a series of capital sentences1 passed almost -ithout in!esti(ation and -holly -ithout punishment. The -aterin(7place season 77 in 'pril1 -hen business -as suspended and the -orld of quality con(re(ated in %aiae and $uteoli 77 deri!ed its chief charm from the relations licit and illicit -hich1 alon( -ith music and son( and ele(ant brea)fasts on board or on shore1 enli!ened the (ondola !oya(es. There the ladies held absolute s-ay2 but they -ere by no means content -ith this domain -hich ri(htfully belon(ed to them2 but also acted as politicians1 appeared in party conferences and too) part -ith their money and their intri(ues in the -ild coterie7proceedin(s of the time.3 3"elibacy and childlessness became common1 especially amon(st the upper classes13 and it -as held to be the duty of 3a citi.en to )eep (reat -ealth to(ether and therefore not to be(et too many children3. "hildlessness1 indeed1 had further ad!anta(es. Men and -omen -ho had children -ere debarred from the +oys of society and -ere omitted from in!itations to social (atherin(s. 4ence Seneca D< %.". 7 '.*. =<E1 himself a man of (reat -ealth1 -hose stran(e attachment to Stoic philosophy led him1 -ith his collea(ue %urrus1 to the -ise and humane (o!ernment of the first fi!e years of 0ero3s rei(n1 did not thin) it ill1 in a manner that -ould ha!e outra(ed the farmer7Romans1 to console a mother -ho had lost her only son by pointin( out that she -ould no- be free to en+oy the pleasures and presti(e of society. 0othin( could better than this con!ey the (ulf that formed bet-een the position of the -omen of 3natural economy3 and the dominant -omen of 3money economy3. %ut it is +uster to re(ard this (reat chan(e as an e ample of relati!ity

than to condemn it on the (rounds of morality. The conduct of the first -omen -as relati!e to the pre7eminence of the soil1 that of the second to the pre7 eminence of money. The first economy -as preser!ati!e of life and the soil1 the second -as destructi!e. 4o- destructi!e it -as -ill be seen in the ne t chapter.

Chapter ! Roman "o l #ros on

The best summary of this aspect of Roman history -hich , ha!e read is that of $rofessor Sim)ho!itch1 in an essay published in the $olitical Science 2uarterly of the "olumbia 6ni!ersity1 #8#=1 under the title of 3Rome3s Fall Reconsidered3. Sim)ho!itch be(an -ith quotations from Roman -riters1 $liny1 4orace1 >arro1 "olumella and others1 -ho -ere fully a-are of Rome3s pro(ressi!e de(radation at the roots. The process -as a slo-1 pro(ressi!e e haustion of soil fertility. ,t -as not due to lac) of )no-led(e of (ood farmin(1 for1 3nothin( could be more startlin( than the Roman )no-led(e of rational and intensi!e a(riculture3. 0or1 , thin)1 could it be said to be due to debt1 for debt did not be(in its de!astatin( career until the fertility of the soil became impo!erished. *ebt -as not necessary as lon( as the farmin( families -ere able to (i!e their time to intensi!e culti!ation. The spread of the de(radation of the soil -as centrifu(al from Latium itself out-ards. >arro noted abandoned fields in Latium1 and t-o centuries later "olumella1 about '.*. =:1 referred to all Latium as a country -here the people -ould ha!e died of star!ation1 but for their share of Rome3s imported corn. The Roman armies mo!ed out-ards from Latium demandin( land2 !ictory (a!e more land to the farmers2 e cessi!e demands a(ain brou(ht e haustion of fertility2 a(ain the armies mo!ed out-ards. 3$ro!ince after pro!ince -as turned by Rome into a desert13 -rote Sim)ho!itch1 3for Rome3s e actions naturally compelled (reater e ploitation of the conquered soil and its more rapid e haustion. $ro!ince after pro!ince -as conquered by Rome to feed the (ro-in( proletariat -ith its corn and to enrich the prosperous -ith its loot. The de!astation of -ar abroad and at home helped the process alon(. The only e ception to the rule of spoliation and e haustion -as 5(ypt1 because of the o!erflo- of the 0ile. For this reason 5(ypt played a unique role in the empire. ,t -as the emperor3s personal possession1 and neither senators nor )ni(hts could !isit it -ithout special permission1 for e!en a small force1 as

Tacitus stated1 mi(ht Ibloc) up the plentiful corn country and reduce all ,taly to submissionI.3 Latium1 "ampania1 Sardinia1 Sicily1 Spain1 0orthern 'frica1 as Roman (ranaries1 -ere successi!ely reduced to e haustion. 'bandoned land in Latium and "ampania turned into s-amps1 in 0orthern 'frica into desert. The forest7 clad hills -ere denuded. 3The decline of the Roman 5mpire is a story of deforestation1 soil e haustion and erosion13 -rote Mr. G. >. Gac)s in The Ra e of the 'arth. 3From Spain to $alestine there are no forests left on the Mediterranean littoral1 the re(ion is pronouncedly arid instead of ha!in( the mild humid character of forest7clad land1 and most of its former bounteously rich top7soil is lyin( at the bottom of the sea.3 The same fate at a later date fell upon 'sia Minor1 the decline of the 5astern repeatin( that of the Western 5mpire in its soil7aspects. Sir William Ramsay1 in The 1ational .eogra hical (aga0ine of 0o!ember1 #8221 -rote one of those articles -hich almost sta((er one -ith the super7eminence of the treatment of the soil in the story of man)ind. The $ro!ince of 'sia 3in Roman times -as hi(hly populated and therefore hi(hly culti!ated ... ,t is difficult to (i!e by statistics any conception of the (reat -ealth and the numerous population of 'sia Minor in the Roman period. ,n the sin(le pro!ince of I'siaI1 to use the Roman name for the -estern part of the peninsula1 -hich -as the richest and most hi(hly educated of the -hole country1 there -ere 29: cities -hich each struc) its o-n special coina(e1 under its o-n name and its o-n ma(istrates1 each proud of its indi!iduality and character as a self7(o!ernin( unit in the (reat 5mpire.3 Sir William carried out a careful e ploration of some of the areas of hi(h culti!ation1 -hich he re(arded as the necessary basis of this -ealthy pro!ince. What he found -as -hat is found else-here1 namely1 hills denuded of forest and s-ept by hea!y seasonal rains1 and -hat he further found -as the relics of the e tensi!e terraced en(ineerin( by -hich the nourishin( -ater had once been conser!ed and distributed/ 3,n older time31 he -rote1 3the numerous terraces -ould ha!e detained the -ater from point to point up the mountain side1 pre!entin( it from e!er acquirin( a sufficient !olume to s-eep do-n in a destroyin( flood.3 '(ainst this fertile land came in!aders. First came the least destructi!e1 the 'rabs1 least destructi!e because they obser!ed in -ar the sanctity of trees. The 'rabs could under the rules of -ar destroy the crops and produce of the enemy1 but only e ceptionally the tree1 -hich conser!ed the soil. 3,t -as left to the "rusaders under the command of German1 0orman and Fran)ish nobles and bishops1 to inau(urate the era of total destruction of a

country by cuttin( do-n the trees ... These bro)e the stren(th of an or(ani.ed society by reducin( a (reat part of the country from the a(ricultural to the nomadic sta(e. The supply of food diminished accordin(ly1 and -ith the -anin( of the food7supply the population necessarily decreased. 3' decreasin( population31 continued this masterly account1 3in its turn -as unable to supply the labour necessary to maintain the old standard of -ater en(ineerin(1 on -hich prosperity rested. Gradually industries lan(uished and died in the to-ns as -ell as the a(riculture in the country. The Sultans did -hat they could. 0either the Sel+u) Tur)s nor the Cttoman Tur)s -ere actuated by fanaticism. They -ished to preser!e the old social system so far as it -as consistent -ith the dominance of a conquerin( caste2 but they could not maintain the education -hich -as necessary in the old Roman system ... Thus the -hole basis of prosperity -as -rec)ed1 not by intention1 but by steady decay. ' number of causes co7operated and each cause intensified the others. "an the prosperity of this derelict land be restoredA3

Chapter $ Farmers and %omads

I. The Land

$hysical maps1 sho-in( the different ele!ations of land1 ha!e al-ays had an irresistible attraction for me1 and none is more attracti!e than that of the !ast continent of 'sia -ith its 5uropean appenda(e1 pushed out li)e a ton(ue bet-een the Mediterranean and 0orthern Seas. What a hu(e play(round of history this map presentsJ There has been nothin( li)e it in the other continents of the -orld1 'frica 'ustralia and the 'mericas. They are1 e ceptin( 5(ypt1 almost -ithout history1 compared to the 5urasiatic "ontinent. The map -hich , possess has fi!e colours to denote different hei(hts1 dar) (reen to sho- land belo- sea7le!el1 li(ht (reen from sea7le!el to <:: feet1 yello- <:: to 21::: feet1 li(ht bro-n 21::: to <1::: feet1 and dar) bro-n o!er <1::: feet. 'sia be(ins -ith the beaches of the 'rctic Ccean. Then comes a !ast li(ht (reen band or belt -ith a fe- yello- areas -ithin it. ,t stretches ri(ht across 'sia and 5urope. ,n 'sia it is the Siberian $lain2 in 5urope the Great Lo-land $lain.

5 cept for an e treme northern band of 'rctic !e(etation1 called tundra1 this li(ht (reen belt is forest land -ith (reat ri!ers passin( throu(h it to the 'rctic Ccean. ,t is %elt 0o. #. ,t has played !ery little part in 'siatic history. Bello-7tinted is the land bet-een this (reen belt and the mountains to the south of it. ,t has less rainfall than the (reen land north of it1 and is sub+ect to seasons of aridity. ,t is (rass land1 the land of the Steppes. This is %elt 0o. 2. ,t has played a (reat part in 'siatic history. %elon(in( to %elt 0o. 2 as Steppe land1 there is a patch of li(ht (reen near the "aspian Sea. ,t is a part of the ;ir(hi. Steppes and it passes directly to the Steppes of south7eastern 5uropean Russia2 -hen north of the "aspian1 it is actually tinted dar) (reen or belo- sea7le!el. This is the "aspian Tract1 throu(h -hich so many hordes of 'siatics passed into 5urope in prehistoric and historic times. The third belt be(ins -ith li(ht bro-n almost from the northeastern tip of 'sia. ,t then sho-s a dar) bro-n series of mountain ran(es. From east to -est these are1 the lon( thin line of the Bablonoi Mountains1 the much (reater mass of the Sayan and 'ltai Mountains1 and the lofty Tianshan1 -hich ends at the se!entieth lon(itude in the $amir or Roof of the World. %elt 0o. 4 is a li(ht bro-n belt bet-een %elts 9 and <. ,t includes Mon(olia1 the Gobi *esert and Tur)estan. ,t comes to an end at the $amir. Mon(olia is Steppe country and its inhabitants ha!e played a lar(e part in history1 not only of 'sia but also of eastern 5urope. The name Mon(ol1 or Tartar of the "hinese historians1 ho-e!er1 has become attached to other peoples of the Steppes as -ell as to the people of Mon(olia. The filth belt constitutes the lar(est mass of ele!ated land in the -orld. ,n the east it rises almost abruptly abo!e the li(ht (reen of the lo-land of "hina1 and then forms the most e tensi!e ele!ation1 that of Tibet1 ##1::: feet and o!er1 -hich is inhabited by man. Tibet3s southern border is formed by the hi(hest mountains of the -orld1 the ran(e of the 4imalaya. The 4imalaya pass on -est-ards1 formin( the northern barrier of ,ndia and +oin the lofty Tianshan of the third belt in the $amir. From the $amir the con+oint Tianshan and 4imalaya continue -est-ards as the 4indu ;ush Ran(e2 thence reachin( across northern 'f(hanistan and $ersia to arri!e at 'rarat in the east of 'sia Minor. Ran(es of lesser hei(ht pass from the 4indu ;ush south-ards to form the eastern border of 'f(hanistan and then

pass -est and north7-est to the east of the $ersian Gulf as the mountains of -est $ersia and so reach 'rarat. They1 and the northern ran(es1 enclose a smaller and much lo-er plateau than that of Tibet1 the ,ranian $lateau. Finally from 'rarat1 mountains continue -est-ards in 'sia Minor1 and appear in 5urope as the %al)ans1 the 'lps and the $yrenees. %elt 0o. = is the land of the Farmers. For our purpose it is the li(ht (reen land about the (reat ri!ers1 the 4uan( 4o or Bello- Ri!er and Ban(tse ;ian( of "hina1 the %rahmaputra1 Gan(es1 and ,ndus of ,ndia1 the 5uphrates and Ti(ris of ,ra). Such1 in brief1 is the physical map of 'sia. ,ts fascination lies in the fact that one can read from it some of the !ast pro(eny of history upon the hu(e sta(e of the continent of 'sia.
II. The Nomads

The 0omads are the inhabitants of %elt 21 the Steppe country. They are defined in Annandale+s #oncise 'nglish Dictionary as 3those people -hose chief occupation consists of feedin( their floc)s1 and -ho shift their residence accordin( to the state of the pasture3. The 0omads1 accordin( to this definition1 present a picture to the mind3s eye of -anderin( shepherds and peaceful pastoralists passin( from pasture to pasture to the sound of tin)lin( co- bells. They -ould erect their tents of o hide at ne- pastures and en+oy the comfort of a home and restin( place1 until their e perienced eyes told them that the pasture -as insufficient for their cattle and it -as time to mo!e on. $robably in the earliest historical times1 the 0omads had horses. The horse is an 'siatic animal and the only -ild horse no- )no-n is found in Western Mon(olia1 as a natural deni.en of its dry1 open steppes. "ertainly the 0omads had horses before 2::: %.".1 for horses appeared in %abylonia at that time and t-o centuries or so later the 4y)sos1 -ho conquered 5(ypt1 introduced horses into that country. So -e can add the horse to a company of 0omads. %ut the horse -as to them a noble animal and -as ridden only. ,t -as not used as a beast of burden as it is to7day2 it -as the o en -ho dre- the hea!y -a(ons of the 0omads -hen they tre))ed. The horse -as lo!ed for its speed. ,t -as the s-iftest animal of the steppes and it -as this -hich made it lo!ed by the 0omads.

The picture of the 0omads is a pleasant one and their life -as peaceful and pleasant as lon( as the pasture -as (ood. %ut1 -hen the rain -as scanty and the pasture poor1 they -ere in trouble1 Then they had to mo!e frequently and1 sometimes1 faced by the loss of their cattle by star!ation and themsel!es feelin( the pinch of hun(er1 they -ould mo!e quic)ly and their -arriors1 mounted on their lo!ed steeds and armed -ith bo-s and arro-s1 -ould flin( themsel!es upon peaceful people1 either more fortunate pastoralists li)e themsel!es or farmers1 slay many and ta)e possession of their land. With their incredible s-iftness on the march and an unprecedented speed of encirclin( attac)1 -ith their deadly accuracy of arro-s shot from the saddle1 -ith their horrific cries to terrori.e their slo-7mo!in( !ictims1 they must ha!e seemed li)e a horde of -in(ed insects1 -hose stin( -as death1 and -hose capture and destruction -ere impossible. The cause of this disturbin( loss of food -as at one time belie!ed to be an increasin( dryness of the climate in historical times. This hypothesis -as propounded by $rince ;ropot)in in an article in the Royal .eogra hical 3ournal of #8:4 in -hich he stated that it -as quite certain that %elt 0o. 4 -as more populated than it is no-2 it -as quite certain1 for e ample1 that -ithin historical times 5astern Tur)estan and the ad+acent part of Mon(olia 3-ere not deserts as they are no-. They had a numerous population1 ad!anced in ci!ili.ation1 -hich stood in li!ely intercourse -ith different parts of 'sia3. Many of them -ere successful farmers dependent on irri(ation from ri!ers flo-in( from their enclosin( mountains. This1 Sir 'urel Stein1 in his monumental -or) The Desert #ities of #athay1 #8#21 has con!incin(ly pro!ed beyond further discussion. ;ropot)in continued/ 3'll this is no- (one1 and it must ha!e been the rapid desiccation of this re(ion -hich compelled its inhabitants to rush do-n to the Gun(arian Gate3 DGun(aria -as a name of Western Mon(oliaE 3to the lo-lands of %al)ash and the Cbi.3 Mr. 4untin(don 5lls-orth s)ilfully de!eloped this hypothesis in The $ulse of Asia. The hypothesis (a!e rise to !ery -idespread in!esti(ation1 -ith the result that1 thou(h fluctuations of climate undoubtedly occurred1 as sho-n1 for e ample1 by the rise and fall of the le!el of the "aspian Sea1 ne!ertheless a continuous decline in humidity in historical times could not be accepted. *ri!es throu(h the Gun(arian Gate -ere1 ho-e!er1 accepted. 'nother reason had to be found. &t was found in the articular character of the treatment of the soil by the 1omads. The first statement of this other reason1 -hich , ha!e been able to find1 is that

by Monsieur Rorit in the Royal Geo(raphical Gournal of #@?:. Rorit -rote/ 3The na)edness of 'rabia and the !ast tracts of 'sia in the north and -est1 the sterility1 -hich e tends o!er $ersia1 cannot be traced to any other cause than the pastoral habits of the inhabitants. The people inhabitin( them are locusts2 they destroy all -oodland and !e(etation1 modifyin( e!en the climate 77 -hence the necessity of mi(rations. 4ad the in!asions of the barbarians any other causeA ' study of the question in this sense -ould perhaps (i!e us the )ey to the (reat mi(rations of man)ind.3 Monsieur Rorit3s reason is pun(ently e pressed1 but it is no- accepted. ,t could not -ell be other-ise1 for1 to confirm it1 the same process is (oin( on in many parts of the -orld under our eyes today. ,n the countries in -hich 0omads fed their floc)s and herds and (retemporary crops of (rain1 there -as1 as is usual in uninterfered -ith nature1 a balance bet-een animal and !e(etable life. 'nimals feed upon the land and manure it1 but they do not ra!a(e it. When human pastoralists entered these countries1 there entered -ith them an alto(ether ne- dan(er1 namely a form of terrene animals so ad!anta(ed by their upri(ht position1 their hands and their lar(e brains1 that they ha!e the capacity to override the natural law of balance. They could breed more animals than the land could permanently support2 they could brea) up the natural life7cycle of a district by usin( all that the soil produced1 and then1 -hen e haustion of the soil came1 mo!e on to another district. With -eapons for(ed from the iron of the 'ltai Mountains1 these 0omads could cut do-n trees and shrubs and1 -ith their ability to create fire from flint or friction1 they could burn as -ell as cut do-n. The ash of the burnt trees and shrubs (a!e the manure of their substance to the land and enabled the 0omads to (ro- (ood temporary crops for a number of seasons. They1 in short1 as men1 had po-er2 and ower in this sense may be defined as the ability to e!ceed the limitations set by nature. 0ature follo-ed the rule of return1 and the 0omads1 unli)e the true farmers1 failed to follo- the1 rule of return. ,ndirectly1 by cuttin( do-n trees and shrubs for fuel and for ash1 they made the soil drier. Rain fell and -as by nature bro)en into a fine spray by trees1 shrubs and thic) (rass and -as thus e!enly and -idely spread in the topsoil. The topsoil1 sheltered from sun and rain1 stored the -ater. %y slo- e!aporation from the !e(etation1 the -ater -as returned to the air. %ut -here e cess of cattle fed upon the land and -here trees and shrubs -ere -idely burnt1 the soil -as e posed1 dried and po-dered1 and then blo-n a-ay by the -inds or -ashed a-ay by the rain. So a district of desert -as formed1 -hich forced the 0omads to mo!e on. 0ature then returned

and in many cases restored the ra!a(e. %ut if the destruction of fertility had been too (reat or if the half7reco!ered soil -as a(ain used for crops and (ra.in(1 permanent deterioration -as the result. The 0omads1 then1 li!ed a life of ill7balance by not follo-in( the rule of return1 -hich is the only stable rule of living. They -ere1 therefore1 forced to li!e a life of chance. They depended on the seasons and1 as the seasons !aried1 they themsel!es -ere necessarily s eculative. ,n this character1 indeed1 they -ere li)e to other )inds of speculators1 many prominent at the present time. Speculators disre(ard the rule of return. They stri!e to (ain -ithout (i!in(2 they disre(ard future (enerations2 they are indifferent to the sufferin(s of others1 pro!ided they themsel!es can escape sufferin(. Bet e!entually there is no escape from the effects of these actions1 because ultimately their !alues are destructi!e and not conser!ati!e. 's lon( as the 0omads failed to use settled a(riculture and limit their cattle7 breedin(1 life -as sometimes (enerous to them1 sometimes e!en7handed1 sometimes1 at seasons of drou(ht1 harsh. 't times of harshness1 mounted on their horses they or(ani.ed -ide7s-eepin( hunts of -ild animals for their food. ,f further pressed1 they -ere forced to mo!e on and this sometimes entailed ma)in( raids into the lands of their nei(hbours1 -ho1 in their turn mi(ht raid or +oin -ith them in raidin(. Then1 -ith increasin( numbers1 they mi(ht successfully1 ma)e themsel!es masters of the land of settled farmers and the food and -ealth1 -hich they had not the -it to (et by their o-n s)ill and toil. 4ence they praised -ar1 not as a means of defence in the -ay in -hich a sturdy peasantry has so often successfully defended itself and its soil1 but as a means to mastery and -ealth. To them life -as not only a stru((le for e istence1 but a -ill to po-er o!er their enemies1 an assertion of the ri(ht of the better7armed and of the more sa!a(e nature o!er -hat they re(arded as possible1 and if possible le(itimate1 prey. They terrori.ed -hen they attac)ed1 and1 -hen they conquered1 they -ere successful o-in( to the speed of their attac)1 the terror they aroused1 and the human slau(hter they effected. 'll these characters of theirs ultimately1 therefore1 arose from their attitude to the soil. The soil was something to be e! loited and even lundered for their gain . This attitude -as in the sharpest possible contrast to the tenet of the %abylonians1 that the soil belon(ed to their (od1 or to the sanctity -ith -hich the soil -as endo-ed by the follo-ers of Koroaster. These faiths of the holiness or wholeness of the soil were, as we shall see, faiths of the farmers 2 the !ery -ord culti!ate is deri!ed from the Latin !erb colere1 of the t-o7fold meanin( of tillin( and -orship. Bet the 0omads -ere not by any means al-ays -ild horsemen1 as -hen they

presented themsel!es to their enemies1 the farmers. They had -ithin them the (entler character of humanity. $rofessor ;eane1 in (an, $ast and $resent1 said of the Tartars or Mon(ols of Mon(olia/ 3They are all bra!e1 -arli)e1 e!en fierce1 and capable of (reat atrocities1 thou(h not normally cruel.3 The in!ention of the (un has no- robbed them of their po-er and1 in consequence1 they ha!e 3almost e!ery-here under(one a mar)ed chan(e from a rude and ferocious to a milder and more humane disposition.3 The 0omads ha!e been the great human desert4makers1 and the deserts of the Gobi1 the Lop 0or1 the Ta)lama)an1 the Re(istan1 the Great Salt *esert1 the Syrian *esert1 and e!en the 'rabian *esert and the Sahara of 'frica are due to their treatment of the soil. 0or is this desert7ma)in( by men at an end. ,t is (oin( on at the present1 as future chapters -ill sho-1 in 0orth and South 'merica1 in Russia1 in 'sia1 in 0orth and South 'frica1 in 'ustralia1 and e!en in the islands of 0e- Kealand and the West ,ndies1 -ith a speed that outstrips that of the 'siatic 0omads1 so much so that it may e!en be said that man1 in this proud scientific era1 has paid for his all7too7s-ift ad!ance by the loss of terrene capital1 of the fertility of the soil. 4e has become the (reat transferrer of this capital to other fields than those of the soil1 and1 by his destruction of the soil1 has foredoomed himself to God )no-s -hat impendin( calamities1 e ceedin( those brou(ht about by the 'siatic 0omads1 unless he calls a halt. &t is this fact which gives this dissertation on the 1omadic character its resent significance.
III. The Farmers

%elt 0o. = of 'sia is the belt of the Farmers. From the mountains of %elt 0o. < (reat ri!ers run south-ards into the $ersian Gulf1 the ,ndian Ccean and the $acific Ccean1 and alon( these ri!ers the Farmers built up their ci!ili.ations. The first ci!ili.ation -e shall ta)e -ill be the one that is belie!ed to be the oldest of them -ith the doubtful e ception of that of "hina. ,t is that of ,raq. This ci!ili.ation -as1 ar e!cellence1 the ci!ili.ation of irri(ated farmin(. The ri!ers upon -hich it built itself -ere three1 the 5uphrates1 the Ti(ris and the ;arun. 'll three ri!ers1 throu(hout its duration1 dischar(ed their -aters separately into the head of the $ersian Gulf. To7day the ;arun +oins the Ti(ris1 and the 5uphrates and Ti(ris ha!e one +oint mouth #4: miles to the south of -here the three mouths then met the sea. The first ri!er of the three to form a basis of ci!ili.ation -as the shortest and

the most eastern1 the ;arun1 -ith its important tributary1 the 'b7i7*i.. These t-o ri!ers ran throu(h flat allu!ial country before they reached the sea. Their courses in the flat land -ere brief compared to those of the 5uphrates and the Ti(ris1 their ma+or len(ths bein( amidst the mountains1 throu(h -hich they dashed do-n. 5lam1 as -as the name of this country1 therefore1 resembled Latium1 ha!in( a plain near the sea1 and a (reat capital1 Susa1 situated on the plain -ithin thirty miles of the hills. The ci!ili.ation of the farmers and hillsmen of 5lam preceded that of the Latins by some three thousand years. 5lam sho-ed much of the tenacity of Rome1 for mostly it )ept its independence and played a considerable part in the ri!erine ci!ili.ation of ,raq for a period of some 21::: years. The ri!erine ci!ili.ation -as further de!eloped by Sumer1 '))ad1 and %abylonia1 -ith their "ity7States -atered by the slu((ish 5uphrates. The Ti(ris -as s-ifter and more steeply ban)ed and1 therefore1 less used. The '))adians and %abylonians -ere men of the Semitic Race. The Sumerians -ere of doubtful ori(in. They -ere belie!ed to ha!e preceded the Semites1 and to ha!e been the in!entors1 about 9<:: %.".1 of the cuneiform -ritin( later adopted by the Semites and found upon the ba)ed clay tablets1 the e ca!ation and decipherin( of -hich ha!e enabled scholars to e tract from the sites of the "ity7States the history of this artistic1 flourishin(1 po-erful and !ery ancient ci!ili.ation of irri(ated farmin(. The "ity7States consisted of the cities and the pastures of the cattle1 to(ether surrounded by -alls1 and of the farmed land outside the -alls. The life of the land depended solely on irri(ation and it -as the ambition of (ood rulers of the "ity7States to cut out a ne- canal and clean out the old ones. The early history of the tablets records such -or)1 the buildin( of temples and the -ars carried out by the cities a(ainst each other1 -ars to establish su.erainty1 but not in any -ay to in+ure the farmin( of the soil1 upon -hich all depended for their e istence. 5!entually %abylon became paramount. %abylon3s first dynasty is (i!en as be(innin( about 24:: %.". %abylon -as conquered by the $ersians under "yrus in <9@ %.". Lastly in the accumulated centuries of this ri!erine ci!ili.ation came the 'ssyrians1 also a Semitic people1 appearin( in the thirteenth century. They inhabited the land of the middle reaches of the Ti(ris. From the le!el of 4it on the 5uphrates1 a little to the north of the modern %a(dad on the Ti(ris1 the land for <<: miles to the $ersian Gulf is purely allu!ial1 -ith all the ad!anta(es of allu!ial soil1 such as lo-er 5(ypt en+oys

from the 0ile1 %en(al from the Gan(es and the %rahmaputra1 and the "hinese in the lo-er reaches of the 4uan( 4o and Ban(tse ;ian(. 'bo!e 4it there is a reef of hard roc) from -hich to the north the land continues to be roc)y. For this reason the 'ssyrians1 -ith their capital at ;alaat Shir(at on the Ti(ris about 2:: miles to the north of %abylon1 -ere not so fa!oured as the southern allu!ial peoples1 and therefore e hibited -hat Sir $ercy Sy)es1 in his %istory of $ersia1 calls a predatory character. Their initial stren(th1 says Sy)es1 lay in the formidable fi(htin( quality of a free a(ricultural class. When this class became e hausted1 the 'ssyrian rulers mo!ed their capital to 0ine!eh on the opposite ban) to the modern Mosul1 near -here the Ti(ris enters ,raq from the mountains of the south7eastern corner of 'sia Minor. This (a!e them the control and use of sturdy hillsmen as mercenaries. The 'ssyrians1 as northerners1 became masters of the southerners of %abylonia in ?4< %.". and remained so until =:= %.".1 the brief period of about a century and a half -hich is so constant in the case of inferior conquerors. ,n =:= %.". the Medes1 -ith the assistance of the re!oltin( %abylonians1 sac)ed 0ine!eh. So (reat had been the cruelty and barbarity of the northerners compared to the southerners of %abylon1 that Sy)es declares/ 'ssyria 3shone only as a (reat predatory po-er1 and -hen she fell1 passed a-ay into utter and -ell7merited obli!ion3. 'ssyria3s predatory character introduces us to the 'ryans1 for the Medes -ere 'ryans1 li!in( in the !alleys of the Ka(ros Mountains1 and the ad+acent ,ranian plateau in the north7-est of $ersia. The 'ryans entered the north of $ersia about 24:: %.". and the Medes about 2::: %.". They -ere steppe d-ellers1 as their lan(ua(e1 in its omission to spea) of forests and mountains1 discloses. They came as 0omads -ith floc)s and herds1 mo!in( their habitation from place to place -ith the help of lar(e -a(ons. The Medes1 at the time of 'ssyria3s ascendancy1 -ere sub+ect to predatory raids by the armed 'ssyrian forces2 and the results of these raids sho- the Medes as a more settled people than -ere their nomadic ancestors. 3From the frequency -ith -hich these e peditions raided the ,ranian plateau31 -rites Sy)es 77 the plateau that is to7day so desolate 77 3and from the number of to-ns they destroyed1 it -as then a distinctly fertile and -ell7populated country. The inference is confirmed by the number of prisoners and the thousands of horses1 cattle and sheep that -ere captured.3 Thus in one raid in ?44 %.". 3the success of the campai(n may be estimated from the fact that =:1<:: prisoners and enormous herds of o en1 sheep1 mules and dromedaries -ere led bac) in triumph to "alah31 near 0ine!eh.

These afflictions brou(ht about a desire for !en(eance in the Medes. They -ere sturdy hillsmen and une celled horsemen. 6nder "ya ares1 their (reat leader1 they circled round the 'ssyrian soldiers +ust beyond the ran(e of their -eapons1 and poured a ceaseless sho-er of arro-s into their midst. With the help of the %abylonians1 they destroyed the 'ssyrian 5mpire in :o= %.". The $ersians entered eastern $ersia from the steppes to the north of ;horasan in -hat is no- Russian Tur)estan and1 tra!ersin( the south7eastern $ersian pro!ince of ;erman1 reached Fars1 -ith the $ersian Gulf as its -estern limit and 5lam and the Medes to the north. 't this time a notable e!ent happened1 -hich illustrates the soil character of the Medes and $ersians. They both adopted the reli(ion of Koroaster1 -ho -as born 3about ==: %.". or perhaps a fe- (enerations earlier3 DSy)esE1 and therefore some half a century or more before the destruction of the 'ssyrians. Koroaster raised the use of the soil to the first place in the three chief tenets of his reli(ion. 4is first tenet -as/ 3 That agriculture and cattle4breeding are the noble callings .3 34e -ho so-s the (round -ith care and dili(ence31 he announced1 3acquires a (reater stoc) of reli(ious merit than he -ould (ain by the repetition of ten thousand prayers.3 ' further illustration of the character of these farmin( and pastoral peoples in the hi(hland of Western $ersia is sho-n by the remar)able fact that "ya ares and his Medes did not ta)e possession of the -onderful ri!erine ci!ili.ations of ,raq after the sac) of 0ine!eh. They -ere content to hand it o!er to their allies1 the %abylonians1 -ho then erected the brief but brilliant Tenth *ynasty. "ya ares1 ho-e!er1 did not cease from his conquests1 but confined them to the uplands of $ersia1 'rmenia1 the upper reaches of the Ti(ris and -estern "appadocia. Cne of the (reatest of 'ryan leaders1 the $ersian1 "yrus1 defeated the son of "ya ares by ta)in( 5cbatana1 the modern 4amadan1 and the capital of the Medes1 in <<: %.". "yrus became the first )in( of all $ersia and proceeded to ma)e himself master of the most e tensi!e empire the -orld had then seen. From <:: %.". to '.*. =:: $ersia must ha!e denoted an area more than half the si.e of 5urope. The Medes -ere not made the sub+ects of "yrus1 but his brethren in reli(ion and status. 4e o!erthre- "roesus in <4= %.". and became master of the Gree) colonies in 'sia Minor. 4e too) %abylon in <9@ %.". So the early $ersian conquests1 it seems1 -ere not based on the stren(th in food of ,raq. %y becomin( the master of ,raq1 "yrus brou(ht the independence of its ri!erine ci!ili.ations to an end.

0o-1 this lon( story of the ri!erine ci!ili.ations1 endurin( as it did for thirty centuries and only surpassed by the forty centuries of "hina1 illustrates the e!traordinary stability of a civili0ation founded u on the soil as its first rinci le. The "ity7States of %abylonia re(arded1the land as sacred. 5ach state had its (od and1 -rites Mr. ". 4. W. Gohns1 in Ancient ,abylonia1 #8#91 3the (od -as the o-ner of all the city land1 its belu1 or ILordI.3 The priests acted as his a(ents. Sy)es terms it 3a feudal1 ecclesiastical system31 but the fact remains that the soil was regarded as sacred. This sanctity -as re!i!ed by the follo-ers of Mohammed1 -hen they became masters of ,raq. ' second notable fact of the thirty centuries of the ci!ili.ation founded on farmin( -as its freedom from destruction by the 1omads. Cnly once1 in Sy)es3s record1 did 0omads threaten its independence. That -as the in!asion of ,raq by the Semitic 'ramaean hordes from 'rabia. They apparently too) the -hole of 'ssyria1 and brou(ht the 5i(hth *ynasty of %abylonia to its end. They -ere e!entually subdued by the 'ssyrians. With this e ception and a brief raid by Scythians1 sent a(ainst the Medes by the failin( 'ssyrians1 the factor of the invasions and con"uests of 5armers by 1omads1 -hich played so lar(e a part in history1 did not (reatly affect the stren(th of the or(ani.ed societies of the Farmers. ,t is to its !ast effects on history that -e must no- turn.
IV. Nomadic Migrations and Farmers

The first (reat mi(rations of the 0omads occurred bet-een 2<:: and 2::: %.". *urin( that time 'ryans1 as -e ha!e seen1 reached the ,ranian $lateau. ,t -as the time of the First and Second *ynasties of %abylon1 and apparently had no effect upon the hi(hly or(ani.ed ri!erine ci!ili.ations. The second mi(ratory period -as about #<:: %.". ,t -as the time of the o!erthro- of the early Minoan ci!ili.ation of "rete by the *orians1 the conquest of 5(ypt by the 4y)sos and the disturbances of the first dynasty of "hina1 the Shan(1 #?<:7##22 %.".1 by the Mon(olian1 4iun(7-u. The third mi(ratory period -as about #2:: % ". ,t -as the time of the in!asion of Greece by the *orians and their destruction of the later Minoan ci!ili.ation1 and the end of the Shan( *ynasty of "hina brou(ht about by the 4iun(7-u. 0either of these t-o periods of nomadic mi(ration affected the ri!erine ci!ili.ation of %abylonia. The ;assites1 -ho formed the Third *ynasty of %abylonia D#?::7##?: %.".E and came from the Ka(ros Mountains thou(h ori(inally1 perhaps1 nomadic 'ryans1 -ere not at this time nomadic1 but a

settled people li)e those of 5lam1 their southern nei(hbour amidst the hills. The fourth mi(ratory period -itnessed the !irtual fall of the "ho- *ynasty in "hina in =<8 %.". The same mo!ement brou(ht the Sesuna(a to ,ndia in =2: %.". They established the Ma(adha ;in(dom in the central and eastern Gan(etic $lain. $ossibly contemporaneous mo!ements in 5urope -ere those of the "elts into the middle !alley of the *anube1 and from there at a later date into France1 Spain and 0orthern ,taly. The remar)able fact1 then1 about these four (reat mi(ratory periods of the 0omads is that they had little or no effect upon the first and perhaps (reatest 'siatic farmin( ci!ili.ation1 thou(h they -ere so destructi!e to other lands and peoples. The $ersians -ho succeeded the %abylonians1 in <9@ %.".1 -ere no less stron(. They -ere Koroastrians and Koroaster tau(ht the hi(h si(nificance of farmin(. From the time of "yrus and for a lon( period later1 $ersia offered an almost in!incible obstacle to these mo!ements of the 0omads of 'sia1 di!ertin( them to ,ndia to the south and north-ards to "entral Tur)estan and 5urope. $ersia fell to 'le ander of Macedon and after his death the Seleucids rei(ned. They -ere replaced by their pupils the $arthians of ;horasan1 li)e the $ersians an ,ranian people1 the -ords of 'rya and ,ran ha!in( the same deri!ation. The $arthians1 in their turn1 (a!e -ay to the $ersian Sassanian *ynasty1 and the Sassanians to a people -ho rapidly became (reat farmers1 the 'rabs of ,slam. The1 si(nificance of this barrier7po-er of Farmers a(ainst 0omads is !ery (reat indeed. ,t be(an -ith %abylon3s first dynasty1 nearly 24:: %.".1 and it endured until the o!erthro- of the 'rabs by the nomadic Mon(ols in '.*. #2<@1 a total of some four thousand years. The ne t (reat farmin( people of 'sia -ere the "hinese1 and they can also claim a history of four thousand years. $rofessor F. 4. ;in(1 -ho quite recently -rote his famous boo) on their a(riculture1 called it truly 5armers of 5orty #enturies. The first location of the "hinese -as alon( the 4uan( 4o or BelloRi!er1 -hich arises in the hi(hlands of Tibet1 as does their second (reat ri!er1 the Ban(tse ;ian(. They settled upon the lands alon( the 4uan( 4o after it ma)es its ri(ht7an(led bend from east to south in the fortieth latitude. The 0omads1 -ho so frequently threatened this other-ise peaceful people -ere called by them the Tartars1 and by us the Mon(ols and their country Mon(olia. The "hinese are historically7minded. They be(in their history -ith the 5mperor Fuhi D2@<272?9@ %.".E1 -ho is said to ha!e founded the lar(e or patriarchal family system. ,n the rei(n of the 5mperor 4uan(7ti D2?:4 or 248# %.".E1 the northern Mon(ols recei!e their first mention under the name of 4un7yu. The date of the first definite dynasty1 the Shan(1 is (i!en as #?==7##22 %.". ,n their

time1 "hinese history -as mainly one of peace1 but to-ards the end of their period1 the Mon(ols1 )no-n no- as 4iun(7-u1 appeared1 and it is said that it -as -ith their help that the Shan( *ynasty -as o!erthro-n by its successor1 the "ho- D##227=<8 %.".E. The "ho- and the Shan( *ynasties to(ether rei(ned for a thousand years. ,n this len(th of time1 they resembled the %abylonians. When the "ho- *ynasty came to an end1 a (eneral unity ended -ith it. >arious states1 especially the border states1 asserted their independence and fou(ht to(ether for su.erainty. ,t -as in the period of "ontendin( States1 as the "hinese historians call it that1 from <<# to 4?8 %.".1 the most famous of the "hinese1 "onfucius1 li!ed. 'nother !ery famous "hinaman chan(ed the comple ion of the "ontendin( States. 4e -as the 5mperor "hin "hi 4uan(7ti1 -ho ruled from 24872#: %.". This 5mperor united the "hinese1 and to shut off the in!asions of their troublesome nei(hbours1 the Mon(ols1 he built perhaps the most prodi(ious Ma(inot Line man)ind has e!er -itnessed. This immense fortified Great Wall stretched from the sea to the north of $e)in for #1<:: miles. 0or did the 5mperor3s ener(y e haust itself in this brobdin(na(ian underta)in(. 4e dro!e the Mon(ols out of ,nner Mon(olia1 on the borders of "hina1 into Cuter Mon(olia1 and the 5arly 4an *ynasty D2:= %.". to '.*. 29E continued the a((ression. Then occurred one of those remar)able shuntin(7train mo!ements -hich the "hinese in an a((ressi!e imperial mood ori(inated. The dri!en Mon(ols and Tur)i7Mon(ols retreated -est-ards1 forcin( other peoples before them. Some of these peoples1 continuin( -est-ards1 conquered the Gree) ;in(dom of %actria7So(diana bet-een the 4indu ;ush and the Sea of 'ral2 others turned south and e!entually passed throu(h the %olan $ass and in!aded the land of Fi!e Ri!ers1 the $un+ab. The 5arly 4ans anne ed Mon(olia and 5astern Tur)estan1 and %actria and So(diana -ere compelled to ac)no-led(e their supremacy. 'ny further conquest -as then stopped by the barrier of or(ani.ed $ersia. The 4ans1 early and late D'.*. 29729:E1 brin( us to the Mon(ol or 0omadic mo!ements of our o-n era. ' (reat Mon(ol mo!ement brou(ht about the do-nfall of the Western Tsin *ynasty in "hina in '.*. 4#8. The Gupta *ynasty in ,ndia -as o!ercome by the White 4uns in '.*. 4<:. These White 4uns also for many years harassed the $ersians1 but -ere e!entually destroyed by the po-er of the Sassanian *ynasty. The date of the mo!ement under 'ttila the 4un1 -ho reached Rome1 is (i!en as '.*. 44<74<91 and caused the Sla!s to push the Teutons into %ritain1 France1 'ustria and Lombardy.

The "hinese1 under the short Suy *ynasty D'.*. <8:7=#@E1 and the Tan( *ynasty D'.*. =#@78:?E1 in its early period1 launched an imperial recoil mo!ement and by '.*. =4: had a(ain conquered 5astern Tur)estan and e tended their influence as far as $ersia and the "aspian. The 'rabs in $ersia chec)ed their threat to $ersia about '.*. =<:. ' further Mon(ol mo!ement brou(ht the Tan( *ynasty to an end in '.*. 8:? and sent the Tur)i7Mon(ol Gha.ni *ynasty into 0orth7-estern ,ndia. The Ma(yars entered 5urope and di!ided the Sla!s into northern and southern Sla!s. The !ast Mon(ol and Tur)i7Mon(ol mo!ements under Gen(hi. ;han and his successors occupied the thirteenth century. "hina -as conquered. 0orthern ,ndia -as conquered. The 'rab po-er -as bro)en in '.*. #2<@. 'ssaults -ere made on the %y.antine 5mpire1 and southern Russia -as conquered and occupied. The latter half of the fourteenth century -itnessed the peculiarly personal achie!ements of the (reatest of 'siatic conquerors1 Tamerlane D'.*. #99<7 #4:<E1 the Tur). 0o ruler of the time -as able to oppose his supreme (enius -ith success. 4e -as not destructi!e and murderous as -ere Gen(hi. ;han and his successors1 but supplanted the established rulers by conquest. 4e -as1 -rote Sy)es1 3profoundly sa(acious1 (enerous1 e perienced and perse!erin( ... ,n The &nstitutes it is laid do-n that e!ery soldier surrenderin( should be treated -ith honour and re(ard1 a rule -hich1 in stri)in( contrast -ith the customs pre!ailin( at the period1 is remar)able for its humane spirit.3 's a consequence no mar)ed chan(e occurred in the habitation of peoples. The last t-o Mon(ol mo!ements -ere conquests and chan(es of dynasty -ithout any (eneral effect. The first -as the Mo(hul conquest of most of ,ndia D')bar1 '.*. #<<=7 #=:<E2 the second that of the Manchu conquest of "hina in '.*. #=44. Such1 in outline1 -as the historical effect of the 0omads of 'sia. ' full account of these mo!ements1 the history caused by them1 and the numerous dynasties founded by them in 'sia and in 5urope1 mostly to endure only about a century and a half1 -ill be found in my #auses of $eace and War D4einemann1 #82=E. 4ere let us close the physical atlas1 and this lon( chapter1 -hich it is hoped -ill con!ince readers of a dependence of much -ar and history upon men3s attitude

to the soil. 't present it is a sub+ect mostly i(nored by the historians1 but , hope that soon some (reat modern scholar -ill deal -ith the sub+ect more adequately than , ha!e been able to do. $erhaps it -ill (i!e rise to a (reater )no-led(e of the causes of de!astatin( -ars and their pre!ention. $erhaps it -ill sho- that home7farmin( establishes in each nation a class stron( in its desire for peace1 and that1 as in the past the 0omads -ere the chief enemies of peace1 so the nomadic type is still pre!alent and po-erful1 and still sees in -ar the means of its ad!anta(e. The social elimination of these ad!anta(es and a true !aluation of the soil may then pro!e po-erful factors in the maintenance of peace.

Chapter & Contrast ng ' ctures

,n order to (et a clear idea of the modern !aluation of the soil and its effects1 it is -ell to be(in -ith the opposite of the una!oidable s)etchiness of a trans7 continental sur!ey1 such as that of the last chapter1 and to concentrate upon self7contained e amples on a small scale. Small islands offer themsel!es at once as the opposite to (reat continents. %y nature they are self7contained. Their inhabitants (et food from the sea1 a source -ith -hich they are unable to interfere as they can -ith the soil. Sea7food1 therefore1 has the natural quality of -holeness. 4ealth1 therefore1 should be found in such islands. ,t is ne!er !ain to as) health from nature1 and small islands still preser!e to a lar(e e tent this (ift1 or certainly did until trade inter!ened. The health of the fe- inhabitants of that most isolated island1 Tristan da "unha1 -as described by a medical !isitor in the ,ritish (edical 3ournal1 March #89@1 as 3!astly superior to that of the ci!ili.ed -orld3. Similar health distin(uished the inhabitants of the once isolated ,celand and the Faroe ,slands. The health of uninterfered7-ith South Sea islanders affords further e amples. This -hole health is shared by all forms of life and is preser!ed -hilst the island is a self7contained life7cycle and the rule of return is follo-ed automatically. %ut1 -hen trade enters and brea)s the rule of return1 then a deterioration of life sets in. This has happened in the Fal)land ,slands in the South 'tlantic. There are many islands1 but only t-o of any si.e. They run parallel to each other and are some #:: miles lon(. These islands came into the hands of the %ritish o!er a century a(o. %lea) and almost treeless1 they ne!ertheless possessed !e(etation upon -hich sheep and cattle could feed. So these animals -ere imported and bred for the %ritish mar)et. The !enture -as a success1 but in course of time there came e!idence that the -ay in -hich the

trade -as conducted -as inimical to the life7creatin( soil of the islands. Sir Gohn Crr1 in (inerals in $asture1 described -hat this -as/ 3Munro reports that in the Fal)land ,slands sheep ha!e been reared and e ported for forty years -ithout any return to the soil to replace the minerals remo!ed. *urin( the last t-enty years it has become increasin(ly difficult to rear lambs. The other animals are also deterioratin(.3 The sequence or story is a !ery simple one.. There are these t-o islands1 -hich ha!e their o-n life7cycle. They became %ritish and %ritons imported sheep and other domestic animals to the islands. These animals -ere not predatory. They belon(ed to the (ra.in( animals1 -hich all o!er the -orld feed on (rass and other herba(e and do the soil no harm. $resumably1 then1 they could ha!e been added to and supported in the Fal)land life7cycle -ithout doin( it any harm1 if1 as +ust part of that cycle1 they (ra.ed and at the same time returned to the soil a(ain -hat they too) from it in life and finally after death. The story does not1 ho-e!er1 run this (ood and happy -ay2 it1 li)e so many primiti!e stories of life1 has its demon. ,n this case the demon quite probably li!es in Li!erpool1 and he sho-s his demoniac quality in buyin( the Fal)land sheep1 ha!in( them shipped to %ritain for the %ritons to eat their flesh and spin their -ool. 4e is not a demon of commission but of omission. This is -hat he and his li)e effect in the -ords of Sir Gohn Crr/ 3The process of depletion and the resultin( deterioration -hich sho-s itself in decreased rate of (ro-th and production1 and in e treme cases by the appearance of disease1 is proceedin( on all pastures from -hich the mil)1 carcasses and other animal products are ta)en off -ithout a correspondin( replacement bein( made.3 ,n %ritain itself domestic animals are reared and then sent off to industrial areas -ithout replacement. 3,n our o-n country this process of depletion has been (oin( on for many years1 especially in hill pastures1 and it is probable that the reco(ni.ed decrease in the !alue of hill pastures in certain areas1 o-in( to the increase in the diseases and mortality of sheep1 is associated -ith the (radual process of the impo!erishment of the pasture and its soil.3 The sheep -ant to (et their full share in the life7cycle1 but they cannot. The minerals are not there1 for they left the life7cycle -hen the sheep3s ancestors -ere deported to industrial areas. $recisely the same has happened in the Fal)land ,slands in the distant South 'tlantic2 and in both places it happens for the same reason1 that the men1 -ho o-n both1 put money before life. This is )no-n -ith the half7con!iction and half7)no-led(e1 -hich are part of the famous facility for compromise of the tradin( race -hich o-ns them. ,n certain (ra.in( areas1 a form of return is (i!en1 -hich a(ain forms a trade. The

pastoralists or their employers buy the chief minerals1 -hich the soil loses1 from other men -ho mine and e ca!ate them1 and these imported minerals are put into the depleted soil. ,t is somethin( to the (ain of the soil for the time bein( and maybe this is bein( done to the Fal)lands. , ha!e no information on the sub+ect1 but it is possible that phosphates from the South Sea island of 0auru e!entually reach the soil of the Fal)lands. Such a return -ould occur1 and does occur in a (reat number of places1 not as a following out of the rule of return, but from an almost absolute necessity because the rule has not been followed. Were it follo-ed1 there -ould be no need of any reconstruction of the treatment of the Fal)land ,slands1 nor to state ho- it -ould ha!e to be carried out as a reconstruction based on the soil. The herds )ept by the %ritish in the Fal)land ,slands constitute the bi((est animal feeders upon the herba(e. The herba(e dra-s its minerals from the soil1 and these minerals pass into the bodies of the cattle. When those bodies1 either ali!e or as carcasses1 are ta)en out of the islands1 then so much of the minerals of the soil as they contain are ta)en out of the islands. They arri!e in %ritain and there these minerals enter into the bodies of the %ritish1 -ho eat the meat of the animals. The %ritish are1 in brief1 eatin( up the soil of the Fal)land ,slands. To fulfil the rule of return1 -hen ships ta)e the animals to Li!erpool or London1 ships should ta)e bac) their equi!alent in food for the Fal)land ,slands to $ort Stanley. This is no more impossible than it is for iron to float upon the -ater and form the ships in -hich the food tra!els. ,t is only a question of !alues. ,f the condition of the soil were the valuer 1 this -ould be done. ,f health -ere the !aluer it -ould be done. ,f the economy of health and quality -ere the !aluer1 it -ould be done. ,t is not done1 because under present !alues1 a number of people actually profit from the ill health of a far (reater number1 their methods of business bein( inseparably in!ol!ed in the brea)in( of life7cycles and consequent ill health and its social complications. The buyer buys the products of the small islands1 but he (i!es bac) only somethin( abstract1 namely money2 he has no duty to (i!e bac) anythin( more than his money. Further1 the o-ners of the Fal)land products e chan(e them for money and they also ha!e no duty to life in the form of the rule of return. They may be forced to buy some sort of manure for the land1 but they do this under pressure of the land3s depreciation. %ut as lon( as they can sell the minerals or stored fertility of the Fal)lands to %ritain for money1 they do so -ithout any pric)s of conscience as re(ards the effect of their deeds upon the quality of life. ,t is1 in short1 an astonishin( anomaly that they -ho ship this life to %ritain1 in doin( so1 each time actually commit murder on a certain quality of life in the Fal)lands. They become ultimately as dan(erous to the pastureland as the pastoralists of the last chapter1

and1 indeed1 bein( more po-erful in means than they1 correspondin(ly more dan(erous. What could be ensured if the rule of return -ere follo-edA This can be ans-ered by a consideration of a contrastin( picture to the Fal)lands1 a yet smaller microcosm than the islands1 actually a dairy farm. The one , propose to re!ie- suits my purpose -ell because it -as a deliberate reconstruction based lar(ely on the rule of return. The farm of #=< acres only is situated -ithin a hundred miles of the southern shore of the %altic Sea1 in a land of heath and pine-oods and an unfa!ourable climate of hea!y -ind and lo- rainfall. ,ts story starts -ith failure. ,n spite of importin( sound cattle and feedin( stuffs from outside at considerable e pense1 the farm fell1 -here sic) farms and industries do fall1 namely1 into the hands of a ban). %ut the ban) failed to ma)e it flourish and e!entually it came into the hands of a farmer -ho belie!ed that to (et a sound and healthy farm it must be a self7contained unit -ithin the countryside itself. The beasts had to (et their health from the soil on -hich they li!ed and not from outside1 and they had to (i!e bac) -hat they too) from it. 4e proposed1 as it -ere1 to put a circle round it and that circle -as to be a ma(ic circle. ,ts ma(ic -as to be the abori(inal stren(th of the soil. ' self7contained -orld of plants1 animals and insects -as to be brou(ht into bein( and the balance that nature produces allo-ed to (i!e its -holeness or health. The faith of the farmer -as that only -hen the cattle bind their -hole nature -ith the soil that nourishes them can they and the soil unitedly reach their full stren(th. 5!erythin( -as planned as a -hole1 but for the purposes of description the parts -ill be ta)en separately. Firstly comes the soil1 ,ts chief needs -ere -ater1 protection a(ainst -ind1 and food. Water depended upon the annual rainfall and this -as some thirteen to se!enteen inches yearly. More rain could not be (ot1 but shelter helped to pre!ent e!aporation1 as sho-n in the -oods and heaths1 -hich -ere the uninterfered7-ith !e(etati!e co!er of the land. So the (ro-in( of trees and hed(es -ith their double use of protectin( soil by their abo!e7 (round (ro-th and connectin( soil and subsoil by their belo-7(round (ro-th. Trees also (a!e a homeland to birds1 and hed(es to flo-ers1 hed(eho(s1 li.ards1 hens1 hares and a !aried -orld of insects1 all of -hich -ere neither encoura(ed nor suppressed1 but allo-ed by the )no-led(e that in free instinct each form of life see)s its sustenance from and (i!es its quota to the -hole1 -hich in natural balance is health. Then came the culti!ated plants and these -ere chosen for the food of the

animals1 a smaller part for the humans and a lar(er part for the domestic animals. The plants for the animals -ere so chosen that food from the soil -as a!ailable all the year round. Where special protection for finer foodstuffs -as necessary1 a terraced (arden -as de!ised for their (ro-th. When use had been made of the edible part of these plants1 the rest -as rotted into manure by a process of compostin( -ith the dun( of the animals and so returned to the soil. 0othin( -ent off the farm e cept the mil) and the occasional sale of a youn( animal in later years1 -hen their !i(our became celebrated. We can no- form a picture of -hat this farm became. ,t became1 in its ha!in( as far as possible a settin( in the ori(inal nature of the land1 an abori(inal farm. %ut added to this -as the s)ill and )no-led(e of specially trained men. ,t -as a farm -hich deliberately reintroduced the methods of nature in unculti!ated lands so as to re(ain nature3s health and stren(th. ,t -as a declaration that it is never vain to ask nature to give health to the work of those who know what health is. The results -ere termed miraculous. The healin( brou(ht about certainly ma)es one thin) that the miracle is not in nature bein( able to create health1 but that so fe- -esterners )no- it. 4ere are the conditions before and after the miracle. When the dairy farm -as started on the ne- lines1 the herd of cattle suffered from conta(ious abortion1 and -ere stron(ly tuberculous. ' number of the animals had to be destroyed o-in( to tuberculosis1 and it -as e!en debated -hether it -ould not be better to destroy the -hole herd to (et rid of tuberculosis1 conta(ious abortion and other diseases once and for all1 and buy a ne- herd. %ut the faith that -or)s miracles -as present. Cut of the sandy floor came a fount of animal health. The one7time sic) herd acquired a ne- health. The ne- methods required understandin(1 hard and sacrificin( -or). %ut the result -as that on this ne- shut7off and self7contained farm the soil re!ealed its surprisin( (ifts. The youn( plants too) upon themsel!es a ne- bein(. They no- -ere healthy and reproduced abundantly. The seeds that they bore -ere seeds -hich the sandy soil -elcomed2 they -ere +ust the ri(ht seeds bein( in the same cycle as the soil itself. The plants loo)ed -ell and the fodder stra- preser!ed its beautiful (olden colour. The plants (ro-n for human use yielded foods notably rich in taste. The animals in their qualities accompanied the plants. They became healthy and fertile instead of sic) and infertile. The co-s (a!e more abundant mil) and the youn( co-s born on the farm doubled the output of the past mil)ers. The mil) itself -as rich in taste and acquired a special mar)et amon(st in!alids1 -ho en+oyed its taste and e perienced its nourishment.

$articularly noticeable1 because of the eternal charm that belon(s to healthy youth1 -ere the (eneration that -ere born into this life7cycle on the farm. 't birth the cal!es at once spran( up and sho-ed a li!ely temperament. They (restron( limbs and (lossy coats. Rather surprisin(ly they contradicted the dictum that soils poor in chal) produce poor bones. These cal!es built notably stron( bones upon their chal)7poor soil. That other -eird fact1 -hich in itself seems to parta)e of the miraculous1 that rays from the sun upon the s)in of beasts assist po-erfully in the use of chal)1 came into its full operation so that such chal) as the soil had -as economically e cellent chal). 5!ery particle of it fell into its ri(ht place in the cycle1 and1 as an out-ard and !isible si(n of it1 o-ners of nei(hbourin( farms came to inspect the cal!es1 felt their stron( limbs1 admired their !i!acity and deli(ht in life and readily bou(ht them -hen for sale to increase the stren(th of their o-n herds accordin( to the accustomed manner1 -hich the farm itself had been able to abandon. So -e ha!e these t-o contrastin( pictures1 the picture of the Fal)land ,slands1 -here the cattle sho-ed such mar)ed deterioration and -here they -ere difficult to rear1 and that of the sic) farm -hich became a fount of animal health. The similarity of health and -holeness of the farm is unmista)able. 4ealth is a positi!e quality and , do not )no- ho- else it can be obtained or maintained e cept by -holeness in the cycle of life. 0utrition diets1 !itamins1 protecti!e foods are not -holes. They are only selections of one factor of a cycle1 the factor of human food. ,f they are (i!en the claim to produce health1 -hich is a -hole1 it is a claim -hich -ill lead men1 or mislead men1 to further disappointment. 4ealth is no- bein( particularly pursued by a nutritional a!enue as -ell as by the anti7microbic sanitation a!enue. %ut -hen the -hole is the aim1 the fra(mentations -hich are sou(ht by these a!enues1 the specific microbes1 the antiseptics1 the sera1 the !accines1 the (reat chemical remedies -hich no- compel the admiration of all1 the !itamins1 the minerals of food1 the protecti!e foods1 the hormones 77 all become unessentials1 bein( absorbed by the positi!e -hole1 in -hich e!en the microbic -orld loses its ne(ati!e and dan(erous character and becomes positi!e and beneficial. 0e(ati!es !anish and positi!es ta)e their place. The -orld1 as fashioned by men1 under(oes an enormous simplification. The scores of diseases of men and the animals and !e(etables they farm constitute an immense mass of ne(ati!es1 the elimination of -hich -ould alter the !ery aspect of life. 't present -e are pushed to a host of disco!eries1 in!entions1 and health1 and e!en life7destroyin( creations1 because the simple contrastin( pictures1 -hich fi(ure in this chapter1 ha!e not been seen at all by the !ast ma+ority and not seen -ith li!ely !ision by the fe-. We shall no- re!ie- further happenin(s in the -ide -orld brou(ht about by the alienation of men3s minds from the creati!e po-er of the soil.

Chapter ( )anks for the "o l

The traders of 5n(land ta)e li!in( matter in the form of cattle from the soil of the Fal)land ,slands1 pay money for it to the Fal)land farmers1 but pay nothin( at all to the li!in( soil itself. The reason for this is that there are no ban)s in %ritain for the soil of the 5mpire1 thou(h there are plenty of them for the farmers of the 5mpire. What the soil needs as payment for its share in the production and feedin( of the cattle is not1 of course1 money. ,t does not -ant symbols of reality6 it needs reality itself. 6nless it has this reality1 it becomes less and less able to carry out its part of the partnership bet-een it and the Fal)land farmers. So it must ha!e a payment in its o-n currency1 that of soil7food7substances1 and not in the currency of men. ,t is true that the currency in -hich the farmers are paid could be turned into one factor of soil7food by means of a further tradin( transaction. The farmers1 for e ample1 could -ith the help of their ban)s buy phosphates from the island of 0auru in the $acific Ccean and (i!e it to the Fal)land soil to ma)e up for the phosphates that -ere ta)en out of it in the bodies of the e ported cattle. %ut this transaction1 bein( carried out by traders3 money7ban)s1 -ould not pre!ent the final loss of the phosphates of the Fal)land3 soil. These phosphates -ould1 in the absence of ban)s for the soil in %ritain1 +ust (o do-n the drain2 in other -ords1 they -ould first be eaten as a part of beef or mutton by some people in %ritain1 made use of by them1 be passed by them as e creta into the draina(e system and1 throu(h it1 e!entually reach some part of %ritain3s 'tlantic (irdle. So1 from the -orld of terrene men1 these phosphates -ould be dispersed into the !ast1 dar) -orld of the -aters of the sea. With ban)s for the soil in %ritain1 ho-e!er1 the story -ould be !ery different. 0ot only the phosphates1 but all the life substances of the Fal)land soil -ould be collected by the ban)s for the soil and paid bac) to it1 +ust as the farmers3 ban)s collect the money due to the farmers and pay it bac) to them. The ban)s for the soil -ould1 in brief1 follo- the rule of return. They -ould do for the Fal)lands1 -hat they -ould also do for all e portin( countries1 the products of -hose li!in( soils -ere imported into %ritain. They -ould collect all forms of imported soil substances after use1 ma)e them into soil7food and return them to the e portin( countries. Thus the balance of life1 -hich is far more important ultimately than is the balance of trade1 -ould be preser!ed. 's it is1 in this a(e

of commercial !alues1 nothin( at all is done2 the benefits of trade are split off from life itself as a -hole1 and1 quite unconsciously1 the traders become the enemies of that life. They actually destroy that upon -hich their o-n !ery -ealth depends. They impo!erish the soils and in the end -ill so de(rade them that trade -ill come to an end. 5!en the soil of the hu(e cattle estates of the 'r(entine1 -hich send far more animal food than the little Fal)lands to %ritain1 is )no-n to be deterioratin(. ,t is1 then1 -here traders and other business men are most concentrated that the need of ban)s for the soil is most ur(ent2 it is there that the -asta(e of the currency of life substances is most colossal2 it is there that the )no-led(e of this -asta(e is so mea(re as almost to be entirely absent. %ritain1 as an importin( country in particular1 ta)es lar(e quantities of ra- material for food1 clothin( and manufacture from forei(n soils. The to-ns of many other countries do li)e-ise. The result is that e port trade in terms of the life7cycles1 entails a (reat transfer of the elements of life from one country to another -ithout return1 or1 in other -ords1 a slo- bleedin( of the e portin( countries. The importin( countries are seen as leeches or other blood7suc)in( parasites harboured1 all too -illin(ly1 by the e portin( countries. With !ast territories the e portin( countries -ill en+oy a lon( spell of prosperity founded upon a primal hi(h fertility of the soil1 but the end is ine!itable1 a loss of the -holeness of its life7cycles1 partial or complete spoilin( of the land1 erosion1 flood1 s-amp1 e!en barren hills and desert1 de(enerate plant and animal life1 human depopulation and po!erty1 disease1 and other sequels of the loss of soil fertility. ,n reconstruction1 this loss of the fertility of the soil1 due to the -ron(ful !alues of commercial dominance1 can only be met by ban)s for the soil. ,t is not a question only of -hether life can be healthily carried on -ithout them1 but of whether it can be carried on at all. ,n #@8= $rofessor Shaler of 4ar!ard (a!e a !ery clear and ominous reply to this question of questions/1 3,f man)ind31 he said1 3cannot desi(n and enforce -ays of dealin( -ith the earth -hich -ill preser!e the sources of life1 -e must loo) for-ard to a time 77 remote it may be1 but clearly discernible 77 -hen our )ind1 ha!in( -asted its (reat inheritance1 -ill fade from the earth because of the ruin it has accomplished.3 That is the startlin( fact1 -ith -hich the ne(lect of ban)s for the soil faces the peoples of the era of pro(ress. The Fal)land ,slands are !ery small and !ery distant. Their loss to the modern -orld -ould ma)e little difference. They do but present an infinitesimal part of a -asta(e that is (oin( on on a truly enormous scale. Cf this -asta(e1 let us no- ta)e one of its chief e amples1 that of the -asta(e of human se-a(e.

5!eryone )no-s that manure can be turned into food by the soil1 and in nature is returned to the soil. Bet the -aste of potential manure is prodi(ious. The dictionary definition of -aste is 3resemblin( a desert3. Bet -hat is called -aste does not resemble1 but is the opposite of the desert. The desert is out of life. ,t is modern -ater7carria(e sanitation that ta)es the elements essential to human life and puts them out of life1 and then calls them -aste. ' !ast picture of this -aste is (i!en by $rofessor F. 4. ;in( in his classic1 5armers of 5orty #enturies/ 3Cn the basis of the data of Wolff1 ;ellner and "arpenter1 or of 4all1 the people of the 6nited States and 5urope are pourin( into the sea1 la)es or ri!ers1 and into the under(round -aters1 from <1?8419:: to #21:::1::: pounds of nitro(en1 #1@@#18:: to 41#<#1::: pounds of potassium1 and ???12:: to 91:<?1=:: pounds of phosphorus per million of adult population annually1 and this -aste -e esteem one of the (reatest achie!ements of our ci!ili.ation.3 The loss of such quantities of the three elements is but a partial measure of the total loss1 into the sea and other -aters1 of elements of the human life7cycle1 a loss -hich could be a!oided by the ban)in( of these elements and returnin( them to the soil. To supply1 by contrast1 a picture of ban)in(1 Mr. ;in( quotes *r. 'rthur Stanley1 -hen 4ealth Cfficer of the city of Shan(hai1 in his annual report of #@88/ 3Re(ardin( the bearin( on the sanitation of Shan(hai of the relationship bet-een 5astern and Western hy(iene1 it may be said1 that if prolon(ed national life is indicati!e of sound sanitation1 the "hinese are a race -orthy of study by all -ho concern themsel!es -ith $ublic 4ealth. While the ultra7ci!ili.ed Western elaborates destructors for burnin( (arba(e at a financial loss and turns se-a(e into the sea1 the "hinaman uses both for manure. 4e -astes nothin( -hile the sacred duty of a(riculture is uppermost in his mind.3 %an)in( for the soil1 therefore1 captures *r. Stanley3s decision. 4e -as no ad!ocate of sanitary pro(ress for Shan(hai in the form of destructors for (arba(e and the -ater7carria(e system. There are in 5urope1 ho-e!er1 to-ns -hich1 li)e those of the Far 5ast1 ban) in the interests of the soil. There are to-ns -hich ha!e actually (one bac) to this ban)in( after tryin( out the -ater7carria(e system. The beautiful capital of S-eden is one1 and its transfer bac) to use in place of -asta(e must ha!e been +ust completed -hen the -ar bro)e out. ,n German to-ns ban)in( -as ordered by the Go!ernment in #89?1 not as a part of the soil basis of ci!ili.ation1 but as a -ar measure amon(st other -ar measures1 an application of )no-led(e about life7creation to assist at life destruction.

,n %ritain1 the Ministry of '(riculture in #829 published a leaflet1 0o. 98@1 ad!ocatin( this ban)in(1 but a(ain not for the ob!ious reasons of the rule of return. Motor7cars1 buses and lorries had (reatly reduced the number of horses and the amount of stable manure. 'mon( the !arious substitutes for this loss1 one -hich had thereby (ained a financial farmin( !alue1 declared the department1 -as ashpit refuse. There -as plenty of it1 but it -as unfortunately !ery little used. 3,ncineration of this refuse is costly and is sheer -aste. More up7to7date to-n authorities are no- ma)in( an effort to dispose of their refuse in a better and more useful -ay1 and some are addin( other -astes and crushin( the -hole for use as a fertili.er.3 There follo-s an account of -hat some of these to-ns -ere doin(/ London1 Glas(o-1 *undee1 $erth1 'berdeen1 Rochdale1 Warrin(ton1 4alifa and in particular Gateshead1 -here @: per cent of the houses had 3mi ed pail3 or ash closets1 and hence the 3home refuse contains a considerable proportion of human e creta3. This -as crushed -ith ordinary to-n and slau(hter7house refuse1 and made into a manure at the lo- price of t-o shillin(s and si pence per ton1 at -hich price it -as ea(erly bou(ht by local farmers. Tested in the field1 it sho-ed itself a !aluable substitute for farmyard manure. 0i(ht7soil in dried form -as prepared and sold by the Rochdale1 Warrin(ton and other corporations1 a method1 -hich if (enerally adopted1 said the leaflet1 -ould sol!e the problem of the -asta(e of se-a(e and 3the shorta(e of or(anic manures on the farm -ould be (reatly relie!ed2 but -e must e pect these methods of conser!ancy to be superseded3. Fifty years a(o e!en London -as a to-n from -hich farmers could ta)e ni(ht7soil for their fields. %ut the e cessi!e con!enience and niceness of the -ater7carria(e system ha!e (i!en it the appro!al1 not only of the urban peoples1 but of many of the country fol) also1 so that no- somethin( surreptitious has become attached to any other method of disposal. Cne must e pect these other forms of conser!ancy to supersede any form -hich reco(ni.es se-a(e and (arba(e as merely latent forms of life. That1 ho-e!er1 is unquestionably -hat they are2 and a hy(iene -hich destroys them and dri!es them out of the human life7cycle1 has no real title to its name. ,n this it is the opposite of the name it bears. The -aste substances themsel!es sho- their a!idity for life -hen put to(ether. ,n the. ma)in( of manure from the !arious to-n -astes1 the materials1 -hen mi ed to(ether1 coo) themsel!es by fermentation. ' heap of compost1 for e ample1 (ets so hot that1 if an iron rod is thrust into it1 -hen -ithdra-n it is too hot to (rip and hold. The final result of this coo)in( is li)e the leaf7mould that forms on the floor of a forest. The rottin( of !e(etable and animal matter in

a forest is a cleanly process and that done in a to-n -ith to-n -astes can be as clean1 and as free from flies and smell. ,t can1 indeed1 and should be the replica of the method of the forest1 e cept that the pace of the urban method is rapid and ma)es (ood1 s-eet humus in three months1 -hereas the ma)in( of humus in the forest is a slo-er process. %ut in both cases there is e!idence of acti!e life. The heat is one e!idence1 and the (ro-th of fun(us is so acti!e that it can be seen li)e smears of -hite-ash both on the floor of the forest and in the urban heap. This -aste then announces1 in a really emphatic manner for somethin( supposed to be dead and done for1 that it is !ery much ali!e and that it is +ust as much a part of the life7cycle as a -hole as it is -hen it pulses in the hot blood of a *erby -inner. ,t is also hot life1 indeed1 for durin( the (reater part of its acti!ity it is considerably hotter than is an animal3s blood. Then1 -hen its heat and acti!ity die do-n1 it has become the pleasant7smellin( and crumblin( humus1 -hich is a startin( point of the rich (reen (ro-th of healthy !e(etation. Such is one result of ban)s for the soil. The shamefully misnamed -aste becomes the beautiful1 soft1 crumblin( humus1 -hich is the !ery substance of healthy life. ,t needs1 perhaps1 a poet to reali.e -hat beauty it contains. ' poet can see in it the (reat1 positi!e Bea1 -hich is the unchan(eable to)en of healthy life and of all that (i!es stren(th1 (race1 s-iftness1 endurance1 cheerfulness1 a(ility1 ele(ance and beauty to man)ind. ,t is the uni!ersal parent of the e cellencies of life.

Chapter * #conom cs of the "o l

The lin) -hich connects to-ns and country in such a matter as the use of to-n -aste is a money lin)1 or cash ne us. 6nder present !alues one -ould be unable to find a municipality that turned its -astes into humus for the (ood of the soil1 but only because1 as (ood for the soil1 the farmers bou(ht it. %y sellin( that -hich once had been -aste1 it is con!erted into cash1 and this1 in present !alues1 is1 the good result from the municipal point of !ie-. Leaflet 0o. 98@1 of course1 had to accept the dominance of this -ay of !aluin(. ,t -ished to persuade the farmers to ma)e use of prepared -aste1 because thereby the (reat loss to the land of or(anic manure1 -hich had resulted from the diminution of stable manure1 -ould be miti(ated1 if not compensated. ,t -as true that money1 in the form of rail-ay costs in particular1 pre!ented farms

distant from to-ns bein( able to (et the manure1 but those in their !icinity -ere ur(ed to its use. 's thin(s -ere1 the leaflet found that some #:1:::1::: tons of ashpit refuse -as produced annually in 5n(land and Wales1 and that to-ns -ere spendin( L=1:::1::: a year on collection and disposal. This -as unquestionably -aste. The cash ne us1 therefore1 o!errode more !ital reasons. T-el!e years after the issue of the leaflet of #8291 Sir Geor(e Stapledon (a!e out the ominous information that si teen and a half million acres of 5n(land and Wales1 or 49 per cent of the total of culti!able lands1 had fallen into 3a more or less ne(lected condition3. They -ere1 ho-e!er1 3capable of radical impro!ement3. The 5arl of $ortsmouth1 about the same time1 summed up another aspect of the same question in these -ords/ 3,t is a sta((erin( commentary on our present attitude to health and a(riculture that1 e cludin( all accident1 all patent medicines and pri!ate medical cases1 the bill for sic)ness in this country amounts to L2?=1:::1::: a year1 -hile the farmer recei!es for his (ross output barely L2<:1:::1::C.1 $uttin( the t-o to(ether1 there -as a (reat deal of -asta(e of -astes and of land itself. The -asta(e of land -as !ery (reat indeed and the more surprisin( in that it occurred in a country threatened by -ar on a (reater scale than that recently e perienced in #8#47#@1 in -hich it -as nearly brou(ht to its )nees by the lac) of -ell7culti!ated homeland1 a -ar in -hich also the bloc)ade of its enemies and their consequent shorta(e of food -as a lar(e factor in their collapse. The need of (ood soil had been emphasi.ed by -orld e!ents in such hi(h tones that it -ould be almost incredible that it -as not re(arded as a paramount national and popular need1 -ere it not that1 for a prolon(ed period1 a thou(ht7barrier had practically and intellectually shut out the people from the soil. So one of the stran(est thin(s happened. ,n spite of the (reat dan(er of the ne(lect of soil bein( -ritten lar(e in letters of blood1 the people -ere blind. They -ere also deaf1 for they did not hear)en to the -arnin(s of such authorities as Sir Geor(e Stapledon1 the 5arl of $ortsmouth1 and many other leaders of the countryside. 3,t ta)es t-o to spea) the truth13 said Thoreau. 3Cne to spea) and one to hear.3 They -ere unable to hear. The barrier -as the paramountcy of money1 of the cash ne us. 's lon( as that -as paramount1 the creati!e po-er of life and all that pertained to it -as ine tricably fettered.

Cnly the rare man could himself escape from the entan(lement and see thin(s in their proper proportion. Such a rare man -as the late Cs-ald Spen(ler1 author of The Decline of the West1 and his account is so clear that it must here be (i!en in his o-n -ords. Spen(ler3s German is !ery difficult. My quotations are from the t-o7!olumed 5n(lish translation of his -or). 4e be(ins his analysis at the time -hen ci!ili.ation -as purely a(rarian. The life of the population is purely that of the peasant on the open land. The e perience of the to-n has not yet come. 'll that ele!ates itself from amon(st the !illa(es1 castles1 palaces1 monasteries1 temple7closes1 is not a city1 but a market1 a mere meetin( place of yeomen3s interests1 -hich also acquired1 and at once1 a certain reli(ious and political meanin(1 but certainly cannot be said to ha!e any special life of its o-n. The inhabitants1 e!en thou(h they mi(ht be artisans or traders1 -ould still feel as peasants1 and e!en in one -ay or another -or) as such. 3That -hich separates out from a life in -hich e!eryone is ali)e producer and consumer is goods1 and traffic in (oods is the mar) of all early intercourse1 -hether the ob+ect be brou(ht from the far distance or merely shifted about -ithin the limits of the !illa(e or e!en the farm. ' piece of (oods is that -hich adheres by some quiet threads of its essence to the life that has produced it or the life that uses it. ' peasant dri!es IhisI co- to mar)et1 a -oman puts a-ay IherI finery in the cupboard. We say a man is endo-ed -ith this -orld3s I(oodsI2 the -ord I ossessionI ta)es us bac) ri(ht into the plant7li)e ori(in of property1 into -hich this particular bein( 77 no other 77 has (ro-n1 from the roots up. 5 chan(e in these periods is a process -hereby (oods pass from one circle of life into another. They are !alued -ith reference to life1 accordin( to a slidin(7scale of felt relation at the moment. There is neither a conception of !alue nor a )ind or amount of (oods that constitutes a (eneral measure 77 for (old and coins are (oods too1 -hose rarity and indestructibility cause them to be hi(hly pri.ed. 3,nto the rhythm and course of this barter the dealer comes only as an inter!ener. ,n the mar)et the acquisiti!e and creati!e economics encounter one another1 but e!en at places -here fleets and cara!ans unload1 trade only appears as an organ of countryside traffic. ,t is the IeternalI form of economy1 and it is e!en to7day seen in the immemorially ancient fi(ure of the pedlar of the country districts remote from to-ns1 and in the out7of7the7-ay suburban lanes -here small barter7circles form naturally1 and in the pri!ate economy of sa!ants1 officials1 and in (eneral e!eryone not acti!ely part of the daily economic life of the (reat city.

3With the soul of the to-n a quite other )ind of life a-a)ens. 's soon as the mar)et has become the to-n1 it is no lon(er a question of mere centres for (oods7streams tra!ersin( a purely peasant landscape1 but of a second -orld -ithin -alls1 for -hich the merely producin( life Iout thereI is nothin( but ob+ect and means1 and out of -hich another stream be(ins to circle. The decisi!e point is this 77 the true urban is not a producer in the prime terrene sense. 4e has not the in-ard lin)a(e -ith the soil or -ith the (oods that pass throu(h his hands. 4e does not li!e -ith these1 but loo)s at them from outside and appraises them in relation to his o-n life7up)eep. 3With this (oods become -ares1 e chan(e turno!er1 and in lace of thinking in goods we have thinking in money. 3With this a purely e tensional somethin(1 a form of limit7definin(1 is abstracted from the !isible ob+ects of economics1 +ust as mathematical thou(ht abstracts somethin( from the mechanistically concei!ed en!ironment. 'bstract money corresponds e actly to abstract number. %oth are entirely inor(anic. The economic picture is reduced e clusi!ely to quantities1 -hereas the important point about I(oodsI had been their quality. For the early7period peasant IhisI co- is1 first of all1 +ust -hat it is1 a unit bein(1 and only secondarily an ob+ect of e chan(e2 but for the economic outloo) of the true to-nsman the only thin( that e ists is an abstract money7!alue -hich at the moment happens to be in the shape of a co- that can al-ays be transferred into that of1 say1 a ban)7note. 5!en so the (enuine en(ineer sees in a famous -aterfall not a unique natural spectacle1 but +ust a calculable quantum of une ploited ener(y. 3,t is an error of all modern money7theories that they start from the !alue to)en or e!en the material of the payment7to)en1 instead of from the form of economic thou(ht. ,n reality money1 li)e number or la-1 is a category of thought.3 4ere is clarity +oined -ith profundity1 a feat only to be e ecuted by (enius. The initial picture of the a(rarian -orld1 in -hich production primarily from the soil1 (i!es the products a reality because of the quality or life that is -ithin them. They become man3s possessions1 somethin( near him1 placed or sittin( by him1 and !alued -ith reference to life. %ut -ith the soul of the to-n a quite other )ind of life arises1 one in -hich somethin( inter!enes bet-een 3(oods3 and man. The result1 in its essence1 is contained in the chan(e from creati!e (oods7 thin)in( to abstracted money7thin)in(1 e pressed in phrases italici.ed by Spen(ler himself/ 3With this (oods become -ares3 Dthin(s of the -arehouse not

of the personal homeE1 3e chan(e turno!er3 Dnot as a mere inter7chan(e of (oods for other (oodsE1 3and in lace of thinking in goods we have thinking in money 31 and 3in reality money1 li)e number and la-1 is a category of thought3. Let us loo) closely at this differentiation1 particularly in its relation to those 3(oods31 -hich are most nearly related to life and -ithout -hich life could not be1 the food7products of the soil. The !e(etable food7products are seeds1 roots1 lea!es and fruits1 and early men made the obser!ation that -hen seeds -ere put in the (round1 a plant (re- up -hich produced a (reater number of seeds than -ere put into the (round. These men did not -orry about -hether or not the production of a (reat number of seeds from a fe- re!ealed a rather (loomy and e!en brutal desi(n on the part of nature to ma)e the fe- seeds successful in becomin( plants and so pro!in( their superiority to the rest as the fittest to sur!i!e in a stru((le for e istence. They did not re(ard the fe- and the many as bein( due to a rather snobbish1 if di!ine1 order of precedence1 ser!in( as the e planation of the e uberance of the creati!e po-er. They -ere more simply bound to the facts that these e tra seeds1 tubers1 fruits and folia(e pro!ided them -ith food1 and they sa- themsel!es dependent upon the manifold character of re7creation. 'll they understood -as -hat they sa-1 namely1 the (enerous outpourin( of abundance1 in response to their efforts1 by a mystical po-er1 -hich in its -or)in( -as beyond them1 but in its re!elation to them aroused their a-e1 their re!erence1 their (ratitude. So they ser!ed nature to the best of their ability1 dre- their share from the cornucopia of abundance and humbly than)ed a God in this re!elation of paternal lo!e and superhuman ma(nanimity. The abundance1 as the result of their labours1 enabled the -or) of a (roup of families to supply food not only for themsel!es1 but for others. ' certain part of their produce -as1 therefore1 set aside for the non7-or)in( members of the families1 for craftsmen -ho (a!e them possessions in return for food1 and for the men of (o!ernment in the form of ta es. So much of their produce had to (o to (o!ernment. They did not pay (o!ernment for its ser!ices in money1 but in produce. 0o- the (reat si(nificance of the ta in )ind is that it is1 of course1 completely related to the basis of human life1 the soil. The soil yields so much (rain. The (rain is mi ed1 spread out and a portion1 say a fourth1 is ta)en by an official for (o!ernment. Ta ation1 therefore1 recei!es the stability of the soil1 and nothin( really is so stable in human life as the -ell7culti!ated soil. There is1 -hen products are many in character1 a fairly steady a!era(e return in response to a traditional a(riculture1 if that a(riculture is not -asteful. There must be some

such steady relation of the soil to men1 for human life to continue -ithout !iolent fluctuations. There are1 of course1 (ood seasons and bad seasons. There are times of drou(ht1 there are times of flood1 but a settled and capable form of a(riculture does produce prolon(ed national life. $ayment of ta es in )ind is a payment in terms of that -hich is primary to national life. ,t is factual and real in a -hole national sense. ,t is terrenely (enuine and sufficient1 and has no forei(n1 e traneous and unlimited character1 such as life dependent on conquests1 on the -rec) of -ea)er nations or1 throu(h the a(ency of money1 on the -ell7 or o!er7fed condition of the fe- and the underfed condition1 or malnutrition1 of the many. ,t1 in fact1 liberates the soil and )eeps it free from money1 the one real and essential freedom for a -hole national life. ,n the old conception the peasants paid the )in( for national protection. That -as the ser!ice he rendered to them and for -hich they returned reciprocal ser!ice. That is the doctrine to be found in the classics of the past1 such as the Smriti or la-7boo)s of ancient ,ndia. The land of the country -as not the )in(3s property1 but the common ro erty of all who work on that land, and en-oy therefrom the fruits of their labour1 as $rofessor *!i+adas *atta insists in $easant4$ro rietorshi in &ndia1 #824. Ta es -ere to protect the li!in( land and the land of the li!in(1 and not as they ha!e no- become1 under the priority of money1 for thin(s so anomalous as1 for e ample1 the payment of interest on money lent by the pri!ile(ed class for -ars that -ere fou(ht and decided o!er a century a(o. The peasants did not pay the )in( to protect the land a(ainst enemies1 -hose dead bodies had for lon( been dissol!ed into soil7fertility. They paid for the protection of the land on -hich they -ere li!in( and by -hich their nation -as li!in(. 0o one can +u((le -ith the soil as acquisiti!e men ha!e learnt to +u((le -ith money. The soil is reality2 it has its o-n dominant character/ it is more po-erful than man1 for it has that infinite mystery of po-er to turn death into life1 and so not to remain as death. %ut money is purely man3s in!ention and he can fashion it of -hat he li)es1 from the ponderous bloc)s of iron of the honest Lycur(us to the boo)7entries of modern ban)ers or manufacturers of credit. ,t can ta)e e!ery form of transubstantiation that dominant men choose to put upon it. ,t permeates e!erythin( that they dominate. ,t is only upon the land that men -ill e!er be able to (et free of it. ,t is only there that they -ill be able to see clearly -hat life really is. 'nd life is somethin( that starts from the health of the soil in a -ay that1 if it is

to be successful1 the principle of life must direct. Soil1 in conser!ati!e and -hole life1 directs and rules money1 not money the soil. Soil is the first primary thin( and in reconstruction its needs must be pro!ided for apart from the assumption of priority by money. Money acts rather as a balance1 as a subser!ant to the soil. So it acted at least amon(st ,ndian and other peasantries. That is -hy it -as denoted by metal and -hy it -as reco(ni.ed as a possession because1 bein( metal1 it had durability as the land had durability. ,t could act as a substitute of the land. When there -as scarcity in local soil7products1 coins came into e istence to ma)e stored food and second7class food a!ailable by assistin( poor land to be culti!ated. When famine threatened or e isted1 then the sil!er ban(les of ,ndian -omen -ere ta)en and handed to the sowcar and -ei(hed by him and turned into an equi!alent -ei(ht of sil!er coins. So coin became more plentiful at times of distress. This is the e!act o osite of urban ban)in(. When distress threatens1 ban)ers call in their loans. 's distress increases1 money in circulation becomes less1 not more 77 more distress less local money1 not more distress more local money. ,n !ery (reat distress1 accordin( to the sa(es1 it -as ri(ht for the )in( not only to for(o the ta es in )ind1 but to (i!e money1 not loan it1 in order to li(hten the distress by enablin( the sufferin( people to buy food and assistance from outside their locality. The ri(ht economics of the soil do not e ist under thin)in( in terms of money. ,f the soil is lined up -ith other producti!e a(ents of saleable (oods1 then its intrinsic character !anishes. ,t is essentially different to (oods manufactured for sale1 for it is as much property of life as is the air. 0either soil nor air ha!e mar)et !alue because they are necessary means of life. There is no mar)et !alue yet for air1 there should not be one for soil. "ity air1 burdened -ith petrol1 is not bad economics but bad life. The soil1 that is burdened -ith money1 is not bad economics1 but bad life. That is -hy the ri(ht human partnership -ith the soil is an essential of human life1 if it is to endure. With the ri(ht conser!ation and ser!ice1 the soil responds -ith somethin( that is as certainly stable as the human !irtue -hich1 throu(h the continuity of family ser!ice1 pro!ides this protection. ,t responds -ith its repetiti!e1 but limited1 (ifts -ith a re(ularity1 -hich is entirely different to the !iolent fluctuations in national and personal life -hich ha!e occurred from the output of the precious metals1 and o-in( to -hich the most profound effects in modern ci!ili.ation ha!e follo-ed upon the disco!ery of $otosi sil!er1

"alifornian (old and impro!ed chemical processes for e tractin( (old. 0othin(1 one feels1 could be more fantastic than to try to stabili.e human life 77 and it must be stabili.ed if catastrophe Dor chan(e in the crust of the earth -hich is one of its dictionary definitionsE is to be a!oided 77 -hile measures of such inconstancy are permitted to dominate. Let us no-1 then1 in the midst of our inconstancies and the (reat catastrophes in -hich -e ha!e our present bein(1 in this our reconstruction re!ie- this (reat !irtue of constancy in terms of the creati!e po-er of the soil. 4ere -e ha!e for our enli(htenment $rofessor F. 4. ;in(3s boo)1 5armers of 5orty #enturies. 4is introduction of ten pa(es is one of contrast pictures of the thorou(h and profound relation of men to the soil in "hina and its pupillary countries1 of the conditions of social constancy that result therefrom1 and of the unde!eloped relation to the soil of men in the West. 4e too) as a stri)in( e ample the meticulous care -ith -hich -ater is preser!ed and used for the land in "hina. 3To anyone -ho studies the a(ricultural methods of the Far 5ast in the field31 he -rote1 3it is e!ident that these people1 centuries a(o1 came to appreciate the !alue of -ater in crop production as no other nations ha!e. They ha!e adapted conditions to crops and crops to conditions to such a pitch that in rice they ha!e produced a cereal -hich permits the most intense fertili.ation and at the same time ensures the ma imum yields a(ainst both drou(ht and flood. With the practice of Western nations in all humid climates1 no matter ho- completely and hi(hly -e fertili.e1 in more years than not1 yields are reduced by a deficiency or an e cess of -ater.3 4e -ent on to summari.e the ma(nitude of the systems of canali.ation in "hina1 a conser!ati!e estimate of -hich -ould place the miles of canals at 2::1:::. "hina has as many acres in rice each year as the 6nited States has in -heat1 yet the rice does not bear rice alone1 but 3produces at least one and sometimes t-o other crops each year3. When and -here -ater is not a!ailable for irri(ation1 the people culti!ate 3quic)7maturin(1 drou(ht7resistin( millets as the (reat staple food crops31 and for them the -ater is preser!ed by 3almost uni!ersal plantin( in hills or drills1 and so ma)in( possible the utili.ation of earth mulches in conser!in( soil moisture3. Thus 3these people ha!e -ith rare -isdom combined both irri(ation and dry farmin( methods to an e tent and -ith an intensity far beyond anythin( our people ha!e e!er dreamed of1 in order that they mi(ht maintain these dense populations3.

The canals1 moreo!er1 render not only -ater1 but a refreshment of soil itself comparable to that of the o!erflo- of the 0ile or of the -arpin( of the ,sle of ' holme. 3,n "hina enormous quantities of canal mud are applied to the fields1 sometimes at the rate of e!en se!enty or more tons per acre.3 'nd -here this mud is not a!ailable1 they yet refresh the soil in a manner a(ain ri!allin( the autochthonous rene-al of 5(ypt. 3So1 too1 -here there are no canals1 both soil and subsoil are carried into !illa(es and there they are1 at the e pense of (reat labour1 composted -ith or(anic refuse1 then dried and pul!eri.ed1 and finally carried bac) to the fields to be used as home7made fertili.ers.3 Finally1 on pa(e 24#1 he asserted that 3"hina1 ;orea and Gapan lon( a(o struc) the )eynote of permanent a(riculture ... ,n selectin( rice as their staple crop2 in de!elopin( and maintainin( their systems of combined irri(ation and draina(e1 not-ithstandin( that they ha!e a lar(e summer rainfall2 in their systems of multiple croppin(2 in their e tensi!e and persistent use of le(umes2 in their rotations for (reen manure to maintain the humus of their soils and for compostin(2 and in the almost reli(ious fidelity -ith -hich they ha!e returned to their fields. e!ery form of -aste -hich can replace plant food remo!ed by the crops1 these nations ha!e demonstrated a (rasp of essentials and of fundamental principles -hich may -ell cause Western nations to pause and reflect.3 Without much reflection1 it must be quite clear that in these -or)s and actions of the "hinese1 all the factors -hich promote the fertility of the soil are brou(ht to(ether so as to ensure and preser!e its hi(hest creati!e po-er. This is done 3at the e pense of (reat labour3 as the true character of the economics of the soil. %y such (reat labour a fair constancy of return from the soil can be assured1 a constancy -hich has no parallel in the dominant money system of our time1 a constancy -hich depends upon the fact that if all the factors of fertility in a locality are brou(ht into the action of culti!ation1 the results -ill reach a certain de(ree -hich they cannot surpass. The -hole conception of dominant money is1 on the other hand1 forei(n to the soil. When money is lent1 it e pects to (et not itself but more than itself in return. Cmittin( the speculati!e hopes of capital impro!ement1 money lent e pects an addition of itself called interest. %ut in (ood a(riculture1 fertility is fully used in producin( a crop. ,t is not and cannot be called upon to create an e tra quantity of itself so as to produce an e tra crop or interest. Cnly somethin( parasitical could add itself as an e!tra growth on decadent vitality and that does not occur in -hole farmin(. ,n

farmin( dominated by money1 ho-e!er1 parasitism is as abundant as debt1 li)e breedin( li)e. ,f one reads a boo) on modern farmin( one cannot help bein( struc) by the number of parasites that ta)e their share in it. There are -arble flies1 scabs1 lice1 fleas1 ma((ot flies1 boll-orms1 eel-orms1 -ire-orms1 fruit flies1 fun(i1 leaf roll1 blac)scab1 bli(ht1 mosaic1 rust1 bunt1 smut1 leaf stripe1 blac) le( and so on. The more comple scientific farmin( becomes says Mr. *. 4. Robinson1 the (reater 3the spread of complaints -hich formerly -ere un)no-n or of little importance3. There is clearly quite a definite difference bet-een a farm carried on for the preser!ation of a hi(h fertility and one for the immediate production of money7 crops1 enforced to this by the dominance of money and credit7debt. Cnce a farm is in!ol!ed in the credit7debt dominance1 once this credit7debt is loo)ed upon as a first need or chief claimant1 then a(riculture becomes ine tricably in!ol!ed in a hu(e system1 -ith its o-ners and mana(ers1 and its local1 national and international debts. These debts affect e!eryone -ithin the system. Modern men1 therefore1 in facin( the problem of life1 find themsel!es loaded and hampered by the dead -ei(ht of debt. The si.e and pace of enhancement of these debts are so e treme that there is no hope of their bein( balanced by the creati!e po-er of life. The only reply to them is to use up -ithout replacement the stored fertility of the past. 5!en this fails. ,t does not abolish1 but e tends debts and debtors on the land. The -hole position is so utterly beyond any balance that only men -ith minds split from the reality of creati!e life could possibly acquiesce in the hypotheses and creeds -hich ha!e arisen to fortify it and to ma)e it appear rational and sane1 hypotheses -hich -ere e!entually forced to raise the slee) speculator and the barrel7bellied millionaire to the status of darlin(s of nature2 her selections in the sur!i!al of the fittestJ The star) fact that appears no-1 and -hich -rote itself across the Roman 5mpire1 is that debt and ta ation increase as the soil declines. The one is a counterpart of the other. The hu(e1 unpayable debts are the measures of the death of reality2 step by step they are matched by the loss of soil7fertility. ,n comin( chapters -e shall see ho- remar)ably the (reater money dominance of the present era is matched by the (reater ill of the soil. The money dominance and its !ast debts1 personal1 local1 national and international1 are on the side of death and a(ainst the creati!e po-er of life. 0ature1 it must be remembered1 has no interest in maintainin( a more hi(hly or(ani.ed form of life such as man is. ,f he ta)es a harmonious place in a life7 cycle1 he -ill continue2 if not1 he -ill be replaced by some other form of or(anic life1 as brac)en replaces (rass. Sur!i!al is not a matter of stru((lin( to

be fittest1 it is not a matter of the modern boast of the conquest and e ploitation of nature. &t is a matter of reverence.

Chapter 1+ The #ngl sh 'easant and Agr cultural ,abourer

The 5n(lish peasant first appears in 5n(leland as an indi!idual -ith a stron( bent for independence. 5n(leland -as the southern part of the thumb of land that pro+ects itself bet-een the 0orth and the %altic Seas1 the northern part bein( the land of the Gutes or Gutland. The d-ellers in 5n(leland1 -rites Mr. Gohn Richard Green1 in his Short 4istory of the 5n(lish $eople1 3seem to ha!e been merely an out7lyin( fra(ment of -hat -as the 5n(le or 5n(lish fol)1 the bul) of -hom lay probably alon( the middle 5lbe and on the Weser31 and he adds that they -ere allied to peoples occupyin( a -ide tract reachin( to the Rhine and collecti!ely )no-n as Sa ons. Mr. Green does not1 ho-e!er1 spea) of the fascinatin( theory of 4enri de Tour!ille1 -ho (i!es the name of 3particularist3 to these 0ordic peoples1 because they -ere people of the small or particularist families of husband1 -ife1 and children as opposed to the lar(e +oint families of fathers1 their sons and (randsons and their -i!es and children. 4enri de Tour!ille1 in his %istoire de la 5ormation $articulariste1 belie!es this small family came into bein( in the follo-in( -ay/ some Teutonic or 0ordic people reached the plains of S-eden and in their search for undisturbed homes1 passed on o!er the mountains and settled alon( the fiords of 0or-ay. 'nyone -ho has !oya(ed up these fiords must ha!e been struc) by the patches of bri(ht (reen culti!ation that are set bet-een the precipitous mountains and the sea -ater of the fiords. They are li)e unequally spaced (ems of emerald. 4e -ill also ha!e been struc) by the smallness of the (reater number of them. 0e!ertheless1 -hat is (ro-n on them and the fish of the fiords still form the food of isolated families. These families -ere small or particularist o-in( to the sheer limitation of !e(etable food. When the families of a fiord (re- too lar(e1 the youn(er members (athered to(ether1 stoc)ed a fe- ships and !oya(ed south-ards1 see)in( land for themsel!es in fiords farther south1 in the pro+ectin( thumb of *enmar)1 in the north-estern ri!er7lands of Germany1 and finally in the island of %ritain. ,n the ne- settlements1 the lo!e of independence led to the

persistence of the small family system. 4o-e!er this system actually arose1 it has been of (reat si(nificance in the -orld3s history. ,t is the oddity as opposed to the customary lar(e or +oint family2 it is independent indi!iduality as opposed to dependence on +oint opinion2 and a !ery stron( oddity it has pro!ed to be. 4o-e!er rude and rou(h these early 5n(les may ha!e been1 there are fe- 5n(lishmen no- -ho -ill not be thrilled1 -hen they read ho- Tacitus1 comin( from the (reat city7-orld of Rome1 -as struc) by the +ealous independence of each farmer and his family in their settlements. 3They li!e apart13 he -rote1 3each by himself1 as -oodside1 plain or fresh sprin( attracts him.3 They could not1 ho-e!er1 be quite independent. *an(ers from other peoples sometimes threatened them and they then +oined to(ether1 chose a chief and too) to arms. They -ere fierce fi(hters and1 -hen they arri!ed in %ritain under their captains1 they dro!e the %ritons -est-ards or sle- them1 and too) their land1 until once more they -ere independent farmers at peace. They -ere the forerunners of similar settlers in 'merica1 'ustralia and 0e- Kealand. %ut1 before the comin( of the 0orman "onqueror1 these farmers1 says Green1 lost most of their peace and much of their independence. They had so many -ars that -arrior7)in(s and their military subordinates had become a standin( feature of their society. For (reater protection a(ainst in!aders1 li)e themsel!es in race1 they had to submit to lar(er associations1 and e!entually one )in(dom. They lost their spontaneity of action and had1 as a condition of e istence1 to attach themsel!es to a lord or the(n of the ;in(3s party. 3The ra!a(es of the lon( insecurity of the *anish -ars aided to dri!e the free farmer to see) protection from the the(n13 -rote Green. 34is freehold -as surrendered to be recei!ed bac) as a fief1 laden -ith ser!ice to its lord. Gradually the Ilordless manI became a sort of outla- in the realm. The free churl san) into the !illein1 and chan(ed from the freeholder -ho )ne- no superior but God and the la-1 to the tenant bound to do ser!ice to his lord1 to follo- him in the field1 to loo) to his court for +ustice and render days of ser!ice in his demesne.3 The comin( of the "onqueror1 William of 0ormandy1 increased and confirmed the subordinate position of the 5n(lish farmers1 by (i!in( them forei(n conquerors as their lords. The tendency to the establishment of the authority of the aristocrat 3-as quic)ened by the conquest31 -rote Green2 3the desperate and uni!ersal resistance of his 5n(lish sub+ects forced William to hold by the s-ord -hat the s-ord had -on1 and an army stron( enou(h to crush at any moment a national re!olt -as necessary for the preser!ation of his throne. Such an army

could only be maintained by a !ast confiscation of the soil. The failure of the 5n(lish risin(s cleared the -ay for its establishment2 the (reater part of the hi(her nobility fell in battle or fled into e ile1 -hile the lo-er the(nhood either forfeited the -hole of their lands or redeemed a portion of them by the surrender of the rest.3 Land became the property of the ;in(1 -ho re-arded his follo-ers and bound them in their interests to his1 by (ifts of land as pri!ate property. The 0orman aristocracy recei!ed many estates1 scattered so that they could not constitute a dan(erously stron( local po-er1 but e!en 3the meanest 0orman rose to -ealth and po-er in the ne- dominion of his lord3. So William initiated land as the pri!ate property of an aristocratic caste of lando-ners1 and the peasants became bound to the land as serfs. 5n(land -as1 humanly spea)in(1 a !ery small country at that time. The population -as some t-o million at the time of the "onqueror and t-o and a half million at the time of 5d-ard ,,,. The total area of culti!ated soil -as small1 the (reater part of the land bein( forest and therefore possessin( undisturbed its primal !e(etati!e co!er. The farmin( -as bac)-ard as the slo(ro-th of the population re!eals1 and1 compared to that of more enterprisin( countries on the "ontinent1 it remained bac)-ard for many centuries. 0e!ertheless1 it produced a life7cycle -hich1 thou(h of lo- (rade1 preser!ed -ithin itself a certain stability and -as free from pronounced -aste. When a balance bet-een the 5n(lish and their 0orman conquerors -as brou(ht about by time1 the features of an association based upon the soil1 -ith -hich readers are no- lar(ely acquainted1 came into bein(. The farmin( -as carried out by a method of lar(e estates. These estates -ere called manors and the heads of the estates -ere the lords of the manor. 6nder them the people -or)ed1 -ith !arious (rades of ri(ht to the land1 by -hich one and all (ot their food and home directly from the land. The country as a -hole -as in a condition of 30atural 5conomy31 not 3Money 5conomy31 and such commonplaces of the country of to7day as are capital1 labour1 competition1 employee1 had no meanin(. The family or associati!e method -as e!ery-here. ' man mi(ht employ labour1 but he -or)ed himself -ith those he employed and he ate the same foods as they did. The manor -as1 indeed1 li)e a lar(e family. ,t -as a self7contained community and the land itself -as the father and mother of the community. The lord of the manor represented a personal (o!ernment1 but he -as not able then to do -ith the land -hat he -ished. 4is position -as that of chief functionary1 and not that of sla!e7o-ner as in post7 $unic ,taly.

The land -as -or)ed on a common plan. There -ere no separate fields1 but one lar(e open space mar)ed off into strips by bal)s. The lord of the manor -ould often ha!e his strips amon(st those of the !illa(ers. ,n such cases the community -as a true community1 in -hich the land -as ali)e to all. %ut in other cases the personal land of the lord of the manor -as not amon(st but separated from that of the !illa(ers. The community -as then almost1 but not quite1 a true community based upon the soil. ,n addition to farmin( by the manor system1 the most or only educated section of the people1 the mon)s of the "hurch1 contributed to the national farmin( the benefits of their de!otion1 learnin( and art. William "obbett has (i!en an account of the special character and quality of the monasteries and their meanin( in an a(ricultural ci!ili.ation1 in The %istory of the $rotestant Reformation1 -ritten o!er a hundred years a(o. 4e said/ 30or must -e by any means o!erloo) the effects of these institutions on the mere face of the country. That man must be lo- and mean of soul -ho is insensible to all feelin( of pride in the noble edifices of his country. The monastics built as -ell as -rote for posterity. The ne!er7dyin( nature of their institutions set aside in all their underta)in(s e!ery calculation as to time and a(e. Whether they built or planted1 they set the (enerous e ample of pro!idin( for the pleasure1 the honour1 the -ealth and the (reatness of (enerations upon (enerations unborn. They e ecuted e!erythin( in the !ery best manner/ their (ardens1 fishponds1 farms1 -ere as near perfection as they could ma)e them2 in the -hole of their economy they set an e ample tendin( to ma)e the country beautiful1 to ma)e it an ob+ect of pride -ith the people1 and to ma)e the nation truly and permanently (reat. Go into any county and sur!ey1 e!en at this day1 the ruins of its1 perhaps1 t-enty abbeys and priories and then as) yourself1 IWhat ha!e -e in e chan(e for theseAI3 To their practical farmin(1 the mon)s brou(ht the help of the classic -riters of Rome1 of "ato1 >arro1 "olumella and others1 -hose -or)s in Latin they -ere able to read. They -ere culturedfarmers1 to -hom the spiritual side of creation appealed -ith especial si(nificance. ,t -as they -ho instituted impro!ements and preser!ed a standard in medie!al farmin(. ,t -as they -ho harboured that endea!our to do -ell1 -ithout -hich the -or) of the mass of men tends to decline. ,t -as they -ho built roads and brid(es1 and maintained traffic by openin( their monasteries as places of temporary rest and hospitality to all tra!ellers1 rich or poor2 they -ho drained marshes1 reclaimed -astes1 and impro!ed li!estoc). ,t -as they -ho filled in -hat one mi(ht call the full composition of a soil7based ci!ili.ation by (i!in( it the !ision of reli(ion1 the

art of the temple1 and the culture of studentship. They also defended1 as far as they could1 the independence of the peasants1 and supported them in their efforts to rise out of serfdom. The lords of the manor -ere the -orldly heads of the people. They super!ised and directed the di!ision of the land1 sa- to the up)eep of cotta(es and buildin(s1 presided o!er schoolin( and apprenticeship1 arran(ed marria(es1 punished slo!enly -or)1 dealt -ith quarrels and crimes1 chec)ed short -ei(hts and the adulteration of (rain and beer1 arran(ed for the e chan(e of (oods1 and directed the relations of the !illa(ers -ith the outer -orld -hich be(an on the farther side of the forest that bounded the manor. We no- come to the introduction of 3Money 5conomy3 to the land. 't the time -hen the manor system flourished best1 the lords of the manor -ere the paternal chiefs of the !illa(ers. %ut they also had a number of ri(hts -hich belon(ed to a conquest and -ere1 in fact1 deri!ed from the 0orman "onquest. ,t -as these ri(hts that made their precedence in the !illa(e somethin( different from that of the !illa(e assembly1 -hich is the common form of !illa(e rule and -hich constitutes the true freedom and independence of the partners of the soil. The lords of the manor had the ri(ht to e act a !aryin( amount of enforced -or) from the !illa(ers2 they e acted fees for the ser!ices of the manorial court2 they had the ri(ht to sell timber from the estate1 to permit stran(ers to ta)e up land1 to mill and e!en ba)e the people3s bread2 and1 their class bein( the la-ma)ers of the country1 they -ere able to pass such la-s as the Statute of Merton in '.*. #29=1 -hich (a!e them a ri(ht to enclose certain lands of the !illa(ers for their o-n use. ,n brief1 they -ere indisputable masters2 they prolon(ed the "onquest indefinitely and thereby pre!ented the !illa(ers of 5n(land from (ettin( complete freedom of property in the land they culti!ated. There -as one other pri!ile(e of the lords of the manor -hich -as a direct contradiction of the freedom of the soil to terrene man. ,t -as this. They had the ri(ht to fold1 not only their o-n cattle1 but also those of the !illa(ers1 on their land. They became the manurial1 as -ell as the manorial lords of the estates1 and e!eryone in the !illa(e1 of course1 )ne- that their lords robbed them of food1 -hen they too) the manure. The lords of the manor1 +ud(ed from the basis of the soil1 became thereby life4 robbers in the midst of the village. They -ere manurial robbers lon( before they became open robbers and pilla(ers under 4enry >,,,. %y their theft or pri!ile(e1 -hiche!er it be called1 their land recei!ed a (reater and the !illa(ers

a less fertility and1 in accordance with this change in the soil, there came into being a change in the human beings. ' difference in quality entered. The rich1 fed by a more fertile soil1 -ere better in physical quality. The le!el of the people (enerally -as de(raded. Rich and poor became not only a thin( of measurement by money1 but a !isible physical condition. There is nothin( perhaps that has to be made more clear than this/ that the first separation leadin( to the di!ided classes of employers and employed1 of rich and poor1 -ith the poor dependent not on the soil but on the rich1 -as a separation of farm dun(. ,t -as a personal sequestration of life7elements. ,t -as not a crime in 5n(lish la-1 but in terms of the soil1 a lethal type of crime e!entually to lead to disasters for the robbed. ,mmediately1 o-in( to it1 the life7 cycle of the lord3s demesne -as impro!ed1 that of the peasants3 land -as diminished. 3Cn land -hich -as inadequately manured13 -rote the late Lord 5rnle1 in 'nglish 5arming, $ast and $resent1 #8221 3and on -hich neither field7 turnips nor clo!ers -ere )no-n till centuries later1 there -as no middle course bet-een the e haustion of continuous croppin( and the rest7cure of barrenness.3 Much of the land had to lie fallo-1 unused and unculti!ated until it reco!ered its stren(th1 a natural part of -hich the lords of the manor had ta)en from it. The aristocracy needed the e tra -ealth -hich this sequestration of life7 elements brou(ht them. The crime -as forced upon them by their lu ury and e penses as courtiers and as -arriors in the "rusades and French -ars. They became1 consequently1 e actors1 not protectors1 of the soil1 and they displaced the old 0atural 5conomy of the manor for the ne- Money 5conomy. The more enterprisin( and fru(al !illeins of the manor1 supported by the "hurch1 sa- in this need of their lords the opportunity to satisfy their cra!in(s for independence. With the surplus they achie!ed by their ability1 they -on their freedom from ser!ice to their lords and they became tenants by the payment of rent. They too) o!er land1 too1 from the least efficient of the manor3s farmers and -or)ed it -ith the pre!ious o-ners as labourers1 thereby becomin( in the manor the 7ulaks in the (ir1 to spea) in Russian terms. Thus1 durin( the slo- brea)7up of the manor system o-in( to the introduction of the ne- Money 5conomy1 the people of the manor came to be di!ided into four classes2 the first -as the lords and their families and personal dependants2 the second the tenant farmers2 the third the !illeins1 -ho did not become tenants2 and the fourth those -ho failed to support themsel!es upon the land that had been allotted to them1 and -ho no- -or)ed for their more successful brethren for a -a(e paid in )ind or in money. This fourth class are often spo)en of as the class of free labourers1 because they -ere to some e tent free to sell

their labour. Their freedom -as !ery limited1 bein( due to their po!erty1 -hich compelled them to use it1 as labour uses its freedom to7day1 in bindin( itself to this or that master. They lost their ri(ht to the land and to the stoc) -hich had been their capital. Their !alue -as relati!e to their abundance or their shorta(e. Cnly -hen there -as a (reat shorta(e of labour1 such as that -hich follo-ed for many scores of years the destructi!e %lac) *eath of the middle of the fourteenth century1 did their -a(es e ceed the cost of their necessities. Thorold Ro(ers called the fifteenth century the (olden a(e of the 5n(lish labourers or farm7-or)ers measured by the relation of their -a(es to the prices of their necessities. The freedom that these relati!ely hi(h -a(es brou(ht -as defeated by the continuous decline of the soil of the land in the early Tudor period. Lord 5rnle -rote/ 3Land had depreciated in !alue2 rents had declined2 farmin( had deteriorated2 useful practices had discontinued2 cattle -ere d-indlin( in si.e and -ei(ht2 the common pastures had become infected -ith ImurrainI2 the arable area of open fields had (ro-n less producti!e1 and -ithout manure its fertility could not be restored.3 *esperate measures -ere required to sa!e the land and the measures underta)en -ere those dictated by the ascendant Money 5conomy. ,n Roman ,taly1 after the $unic Wars1 the deterioration in fertility of the soil led to the substitution of family7o-ned farmin( by lar(e estates1 the latifundia1 and lar(e lando-ners. ,n Tudor 5n(land the same substitution of latifundia for small family farmin( also too) place. ,n post7$unic ,taly1 acquisiti!e men sei.ed the lands of -ea)ened farmers -ith complete disre(ard of the la-. 3The -hole system31 Mommsen tells us1 3-as per!aded by the utterly unscrupulous spirit characteristic of the po-er of capital. ... Roman capital -as (radually absorbin( the intermediate and small landed estates in ,taly as -ell as in the pro!inces1 as the sun absorbs drops of rain.3 ,n ,taly1 the lar(e number of sla!es acquired by Rome3s conquests1 hastened the process1 for it -as easy for lar(e lando-ners to brea) ri(ht a-ay from their o-n fello-7 countrymen1 and1 lea!in( them to their fate1 to en(a(e forei(n sla!es for the ser!ice of the ,talian soil. ,n 5n(land the process of the e!iction of peasant family farmin( -as not completed until the industrial era itself. ,n both cases1 as on similar occasions else-here in history1 the social chan(e -as in the nature of a conquest. ' (roup of acquisiti!e men1 -ho had (ot money by other -ays than those of direct a(riculture1 acted as conquerors. They o!erthre- the peasants3 customary ri(hts in the soil as the basis of the State and made land a commodity to be purchased by the richest bidder. ,n ,taly

these acquisiti!e men -ere the 5quites or ;ni(hts1 -ho had acquired (reat -ealth by actin( as middlemen in the ne-ly acquired realm of Rome1 and -ho -ere to form the chief part of the aristocracy of the e!entual empire. ,n 5n(land the acquisiti!e men1 -ho o!erthre- the a(ricultural basis of the State and -ith it the "hurch and the mon)s1 became the ne- aristocracy of Tudor 5n(land. ,n both cases also there -ere statesmen and other leadin( men1 -ho set themsel!es a(ainst the 3terrible measures3 under -hich the independence and ri(hts of the farmers and of the free labourers -ere to succumb. Such -ere Wolsey1 More1 Latimer1 and Mueen 5li.abeth and her Ministers amon(st the 5n(lish. 0e!ertheless1 in spite of all such efforts the (reat li!in( fact about a soil remained and that fact -as e pressed by 5rnle in the -ords/ 3Without manure its fertility could not be restored.3 *un( had to sa!e the soil1 and the quic)est -ay to dun( the land -as to enclose it -ith hed(es and breed and put upon the fields sheep and cattle. Fortunately1 the acquisiti!e men -ere attracted to this method by the price that %ritish -ool fetched upon the "ontinent. ,t -as this opportunity for more -ealth that made them sei.e the land of the small men and of the monasteries and -ith the e penditure of their capital turn it into sheep farms. ,t -as unquestionably (ood for the soil1 but it entailed a brutal punishment to the small farmers1 and farm labourers1 -hose only sin had been that they had submitted ori(inally to the enclosin( of the lord3s demesne upon the manor and the robbery of the dun( of their animals for the land of the manor3s lord. So1 a ne- aristocracy arose upon the human relics of a system that had failed and the brilliant later Tudor period of 5n(lish history follo-ed. From that time the proletariat and pauperism became the familiars of social 5n(land. 0o appreciation of the !alue of the small holdin(s appeared. There -as no $rince ;ropot)in at that time to ma)e -hat -ould ha!e seemed an insanely preposterous statement that1 -ith the intensi!e farmin( of small holders1 the %ritish soil mi(ht support a hundred million inhabitants. 0othin( -as )no-n of the rich results of the "hinese peasants1 -ho -ere so s)illed in the use of -ater and -ho follo-ed the rule of return -ith such meticulous care. 0othin( -as )no-n of the a(riculture of the fallen 'rabic 5mpire. The Tudor -orld -as deeply stirred by -hat Green calls the 0e- Learnin(1 but the 0eLearnin( did not bend do-n to the humble (i!er of life1 the soil. For the further story of the 5n(lish a(ricultural labourer1 the 7only authoritati!e history in 5n(lish that , ha!e been able to find is A %istory of the 'nglish Agricultural Labourer1 by *r. W. 4asbach of the 6ni!ersity of ;iel. ,t -as first published in #@841 translated into 5n(lish in #8:@ and reprinted in #82:. Where enclosure occurred1 4asbach says1 a proletarian class appeared. 5n(lish

a(riculture from the fifteenth century1 -hen rich commercial men be(an to buy out o-ners li!in( on their land1 -as 3sacrificed to the interests of industry3. 4e (i!es a full account of the second (reat period of enclosures1 that of the ei(hteenth century. ,t -as in the latter part of this century that the (enius of the 5n(lish and Scotch brou(ht in a ne- epoch1 that of the machine. The po-er of the machines effected a re!olution. Manufacturin( to-ns (re- up and multiplied1 and the demand for food put a premium on the land. The Tudor enclosures had only affected a limited area1 but no- there -as a far (reater cry for ne- and unde!eloped land and for the deteriorated land1 on -hich the poor crops and poorer cattle re!ealed the need for capital and manure. ,n the pre7 machine part of the ei(hteenth century1 5nclosure 'cts -ere fe-2 in 'nne3s rei(n t-o1 in Geor(e , si teen1 in Geor(e ,, t-o hundred and t-enty1 but in the latter part of the century1 -hen Geor(e ,,, rei(ned1 there -ere three thousand fi!e hundred and fifty7four. ,n the fifty years before Geor(e ,,, 99?1@?= acres -ere enclosed2 at the end of his rei(n <1=@=1::: acres had been enclosed. 's in the times of the Tudor1 there -as a (reat impro!ement of the soil enclosed. Robert %a)e-ell D#?2<78<E transformed ra-7boned cattle and lean sheep into animals t-ice the si.e2 from #??= on1 Thomas "o)e of 0orfol) pro!ed the capacity of capitalistic mi ed farmin( to carry treble the li!estoc) and to produce rich crops of -heat in place of scanty rye. Turnips -ere (ro-n for -inter feed of the cattle and clo!er for the impro!ed feedin( of the soil. 5arnest farmers follo-ed these (reat e amples. 0e!ertheless1 the main impulse to the enforcement of enclosures -as the opportunity of acquisiti!e men to rise quic)ly to (reat -ealth. ,t -as this that (a!e the mo!ement its brutality and the character of a ci!il -ar bet-een one section of the people and another. Thou(h the s-ords of the fortune hunters -ere sheathed in le(ality1 they -ere none the less )een -hen unsheathed and so1 says 4asbach1 enclosures -ere 3not seldom chan(ed into a national curse3. ,t -as the better class of inhabitants of rural areas -ho appreciated local opportunities of sei.ure1 and it -as therefore 3squires1 parsons and la-yers -ho -ere the chief o-ners and benefiters3. Thou(h peasant7o-nership7farmin( sur!i!ed in some fe- parts of 5n(land1 in (eneral 3yeomen farmers and peasant proprietors ceased to e ist2 they drifted to the to-ns and san) into -or)ers at a daily -a(e. 0ot only small holdin(s but the lesser tenancies (radually !anished in a uni!ersal system of lar(e estates and farms.3 This quotation is from Richard Green. The a(ricultural labourers in this period reached the nadir of their fate. They had no protection from the "hurch and the monasteries1 as they had -hen

"atholicism -as the reli(ion of 5n(land2 their cotta(e industries had been supplanted by the ne- machines of the to-ns2 the days of an a(ricultural labourer trades union -ere yet to come. They -ere utterly helpless and hopeless. They -ere not e!en sla!es1 ensured by their masters as re(ards board and bed. The lando-ners ceased to pay -a(es in )ind1 in other -ords in food1 because food fetched hi(her prices in the to-ns and the yeomen -ho had once filled the !illa(e mar)ets1 -ere no more. Their food -as almost confined to -heaten bread1 -hich1 bein( -holemeal1 supported life. Their -a(es -ere miserably small1 so small that the parishes often had to add to its pittance an allo-ance from the rates. %ecause of this the parish authorities hired out the labourers1 and sometimes1 says 5rnle1 3the paupers -ere paraded by the o!erseers on a Monday mornin(1 and the -ee)3s labour of each indi!idual -as offered at auction to the hi(hest bidder3. The labourers presented heart7rendin( pictures to their bra!est champion1 William "obbett. 4ere is one ta)en from his Rural Rides in #@2#. 3The labourers are miserably poor. Their d-ellin(s are little better than pi(7beds1 and their loo)s indicate that their food is not nearly equal to that of a pi( ... The land all alon( here is (ood. Fine fields and pastures all around2 and yet the culti!ators of these fields are so miserable ... When , see their poor faces present as nothin( but s)in and bone1 -hile they are toilin( to (et the -heat and the meat ready to be carried a-ay to be de!oured by the ta 7eaters2 , am ashamed to loo) at these poor souls and to reflect that they are my countrymen1 and particularly to reflect that -e are descended from those amon(st -hom beef1 mutton1 por) and !eal -ere the food of the poorer sort of people.3 This de(radation of labourers on the land -as essentially 5n(lish. ,t did not happen in 5n(land3s nei(hbour1 the 0etherlands. 0athaniel ;ent tra!elled in the 0etherlands1 and1 in his %ints to .entlemen of Landed $ro erty1 '.*. #??<1 tried to a-a)en the said (entlemen to this fact. ,n the 0etherlands1 he -rote1 there -as an astonishin( quantity of pro!isions1 and as one of his broad hints to the Gentlemen of $roperty1 he recorded that the holdings were all small and the cultivators on e"uality. This de(radation1 therefore1 only happened in 5n(land. 'nd e!en then1 stran(ely enou(h1 it -as not ine!itable e!ery-here in 5n(land itself. That indefati(able tra!eller on behalf of a(riculture1 'rthur Boun(1 at one time the .ealous champion of 5nclosures1 but later of the opposite opinion1 disco!ered 3-ith (reat deli(ht the life of the small proprietors of ' holme3 DRe ort on the Agriculture of Lincoln1 '.*. #?88E 0o- the sin(ular fact about these small proprietors of the ,sle of ' holme -as that they -ere not 'nglish but Dutch. They were a bit of the 1etherlands

trans lanted to 'ngland. Their ancestors had been transplanted in the ,sle of ' holme more than a century before Boun( !isited them. The ,sle -as a s-ampy property of 4=1::: acres bet-een three ri!ers in Lincolnshire1 and had the (ood fortune of belon(in( to one of the most cultured and educated men of his time in 5n(land1 "harles ,. "harles had )no-led(e of the small holders of the 0etherlands1 and he called some of their families o!er to 5n(land to drain the ,sle of ' holme and culti!ate it. They -ere true intensi!e peasant7family farmers1 -ho1 as 4asbach -rote1 too) e!ery small ad!anta(e1 culti!ated e!ery corner1 had the help of their -i!es1 brou(ht up their sons in their footsteps1 and 3ser!e the land in the -ay it should be ser!ed1 ne!er stintin( themsel!es and as absorbed in their ser!ice as any priest in his reli(ion3. So these peasant7families caused ' holme to flourish1 and it -as flourishin( -hen it deli(hted the eyes of 'rthur Boun( at the time of the de(radation of the small 5n(lish proprietors and their e pulsion by the 5nclosures. ' holme is still flourishin(. Sir Rider 4a((ard in his Rural 'ngland1 #8:=1 -elcomed its 3almost ine haustible richness ... it -ill produce ma(nificent crops of -heat1 potatoes1 celery1 or -hate!er it may be desired to (ro-3. Mr. Gilbert Slater1 yet later1 in the (aking of (odern 'ngland1 #8941 seein( hea!ier crops in the ,sle than he e!er sa- else-here1 dre- the conclusion that the men of the ,sle of ' holme had abundantly +ustified their stout refusal to submit to enclosure in the ei(hteenth century. 30ot only are the open fields of the ,sle of ' holme e ceptionally -ell culti!ated at the present time1 but the island ser!es as a trainin( (round in practical and effecti!e farmin(1 and men -ho be(in as labourers there frequently become lar(e farmers else-here.3 These s)illed1 independent men met -ith stron( resistance from the 5n(lish farmers -ho tried to e pel them1 but they inherited a tradition of soil7protection and feedin(1 -hich (a!e them (reat faith in their o-n -or). They )ne- its superiority and they ha!e not chan(ed. Their ancestry 3affects the physical appearance and accent of the inhabitants of the present day3 D 'ncyclo aedia ,ritannica1 #4th editionE. The 5n(lish labourers1 in the early part of the nineteenth century1 on the other hand1 had lost all coura(e. They -ere an unprotected proletariat. ,n the times of their prosperity and independence1 says 4asbach1 3they had a!oided early marria(es and abstained from multiplyin( as a mere proletariat does2 -hereas no- all such e!ils appeared3. This1 he (oes on to say1 -ith (reat si(nificance to all narro-7!isioned reformers -ho -ish to increase a population1 this is the ans-er to Malthus1 -ho failed to reco(ni.e the psycholo(ical elements Ddespair of the future and of freedomE in the rapid increase of population. 3The error -as

immense.3 4asbach places the be(innin( of the sli(ht reco!ery of the 5n(lish a(ricultural labourer at #@941 in -hich year a $oor La- stopped the parish allo-ance to ad!anta(e the farmers and made them1 the farmers1 pay the -hole of the labourer3s -a(e. 'ctual paupers -ere put in the -or)house. %ut the real betterment1 he found1 -as in t-o thin(s1 allotments and trade unions. 'bout this time certain )indly farmers (a!e allotments of land to their labourers for their o-n use and -ere (lad to find that1 instead of ma)in( them -or) -orse on the farmers3 lands1 they -or)ed better. The eternal truth that e!eryone li)es to be able to pride himself on his o-n -or) (limmered into bein( a(ain and1 from bein( proud of the crops they raised on their o-n land1 these humble men and their -i!es and children too) pride in the crops they raised on their masters3 land. They did so -ell on their pri!ate land that -hen a Go!ernment Report in #@49 pressed for the e tension of allotments by la-1 the farmers complained that they had difficulty in (ettin( enou(h cheap manure as the labourers -anted it for themsel!es. The labourers in a !ery small -ay -ere1 in fact1 turnin( the scales a(ainst the old lords of the manor -ho had started their troubles by stealin( their soil7food. ,n #@?2 the labourers1 under Goseph 'rch1 started a trade union1 and 3considerin( the character of the labourers and their natural isolation they -ere at first !ery successful3. %ut their efforts to (et better -a(es -ere defeated by the farmers1 -ho summoned unemployed -or)ers from the to-ns and impo!erished ,rishmen for har!estin(1 hop7pic)in( and other uns)illed -or) in the busy seasons. 3'fter a lon( period of depression the unions spran( into life a(ain in the year #@8:.3 We find them (oin( to the root of the matter in their attempts to free land from the dominance of money. They supported the Land Restoration Lea(ue1 -hich -ished to put a ta upon rent and increase it pro(ressi!ely until it absorbed and e!entually abolished rent1 and thus achie!e the aim of 4enry Geor(e. '(ricultural and urban unions be(an to -or) to(ether to pre!ent to-n labourers frustratin( rural stri)es and !ice !ersa. Thou(h po!erty1 i(norance and isolation of their members )ept the rural unions bac)1 they al-ays 3(a!e e pression to the labourers3 desire for land3. 'llotments remained the most reco(ni.ed form of relief. ,n #@@8 a $arliamentary "ommittee on Small 4oldin(s1 -ith Goe "hamberlain as "hairman1 reported1 -ith 3farsi(htedness and ob+ecti!ity31 that a -ell7to7do

peasantry -as beneficial to any country1 nationally1 socially1 and economically1 and this -as supported by the "entral "hamber of '(riculture maintainin( that1 -hereas lar(e farmin( -as suitable to sheep and corn1 small holders -ere suitable to other types of farmin(. 3The theory that the a(ricultural population in (eneral -as unconquerably attracted by the to-ns cannot be seriously maintained.3 3The labourers did not depart -here allotments could be obtained1 -here (ood houses could be had at a fair price13 and -here some independence thereby -as theirs. They preferred to li!e in !illa(es to ha!in( cotta(es on farms. Bet1 -ith the !illa(e life1 the youn(er (eneration be(an to sho- themsel!es discontented. 3The old semi7 feudal relationships of the 5n(lish !illa(e -ere no lon(er quite pleasin( to the youn(er (eneration13 -ho -ere more -illin( to mi(rate to to-ns1 chiefly1 or e!en solely1 because on the land there -as so little chance to raise themsel!es socially. 4asbach ends -ith a re!ie- of the labourer from #@847#8:=1 and in these last pa(es the li(ht of hope is dulled. The prospects of betterment did not mature. The (eneration that -as content -ith allotments1 (ood -a(es and decent cotta(es almost died out. The ne- (eneration 3alto(ether despises the position of an a(ricultural labourer3. 34e is at the bottom of the social scale13 and )no-s it2 -hereas in a to-n a man can lose identity amon( the masses of the inhabitants3. 's a result of his study1 4asbach came to the belief that little or no permanent betterment in the lot of the labourer had been attained. 4e could not a!oid the impression 3that1 in spite of the tal) of better -a(es1 the lot of the a(ricultural labourer in many parts of the midlands1 south1 south7east and south7-est1 -here often the houses are -retched and both allotments and small holdin(s are -antin(1 is such that he is stron(ly induced to turn his bac) on the land1 e!en thou(h his sense of self7respect is comparati!ely unde!eloped3. While the labourer stri!es for a humble independence1 it is definitely the end of many people 3to place a proletarian class at the disposal of the farmer1 belie!in( such a step -as in the interest of the employers3. 0o statesman had arisen capable of !ie-in( the picture as a -hole or of 3estimatin( the total probable result of any measure3. 34itherto failure has attended all attempts to apply to the problems of a(ricultural labour the principles -hich ha!e been effecti!e in the realm of industrial labour.3 The consequence has been the demorali.ation and depopulation of the countryside. Facts sho- that the system of the lar(e farm cannot meet the crisis. 4asbach3s final ad!ice is the (reatest possible e tension of small and middlin( holdin(s.

So ends this most instructi!e and unique boo). %et-een #8:=1 -hen 4asbach ended his story1 and the present day1 5n(land has fou(ht in t-o Great Wars2 in both her people ha!e been aroused to the perilous state of their food supply2 in both they mi(ht and almost certainly -ould ha!e been star!ed into submission1 had it not been for supplies sent to them by the people of the 6.S.'. ,n the first -ar there -as a -ise increase of allotments to increase food. $o-ers -ere (i!en to local authorities to acquire land by compulsion for allotments1 and their number leaped from #9:1<9= acres to #199:1::: acres. ,n the inter!al of peace that follo-ed1 much land -ent out of culti!ation. The (reat efforts to increase the production of food before and durin( the second Great War are too -ell )no-n to be recounted here. 4o- far -e are from the )no-led(e of ho- to feed our soil1 and ho- it can best be culti!ated1 these t-o (reat crises ha!e re!ealed. ,n no country is a reconstruction by -ay of the soil more needed than in our island. We ha!e a lar(e population2 -e need a lar(e fertility of the soil to render our population safe and healthy. We need to free oursel!es from robbery of the soil.

Chapter 11 'r m t -e Farmers

The -ord primiti!e is defined by Annandale+s #oncise Dictionary as 3characteri.ed by the simplicity of the old times3. The le ico(rapher1 -ith this definition1 hits off -ith happy ease an e act description of the primiti!e peoples of this chapter and of the t-o that follo- it. 3The simplicity of old times3 +ust fits1 for the le ico(rapher informs us under the -ord 3simple3 that it deri!es 3from a root meanin( one or unity3. We can no- paraphrase our headin( of $rimiti!e Farmers1 as Farmers characteri.ed by unity. We must do this quic)ly before (oin( on to read other definitions of 3simple31 for -e shall find that one of them is 3easily intelli(ible31 and farmers characteri.ed by unity are not a bit easily understood by modern peoples. ,t is because they ha!e so rarely been understood that so many troubles ha!e come to them from the moderns. The primiti!e people here to be considered are the ;i)uyu of 5ast 'frica1 for about these same ;i)uyu a !ery rare )ind of boo) has been -ritten. ,ts authoress1 in the beautiful phrase of Robert Louis Ste!enson1 ea!esdrops at the door of the hearts of the people she describes. She is Mrs. 5lspeth 4u ley2 her boo)1 The Red Strangers. She tells her story from the mind and heart of the ;i)uyu1 to -hom the %ritish -ere the Red Stran(ers.

%efore the comin( of the %ritish1 the ;i)uyu -ere a family of people1 -ho culti!ated the land by family o-nership. The land -as cleared from forest and culti!ated. When its fertility -as e hausted1 a ne- clearin( -as made1 and the old one allo-ed a lon( rest and return to +un(ly conditions for its reco!ery. This farmin( is )no-n as that of shiftin( culti!ation. The ;i)uyu (re- fruits1 beans1 peas1 millets1 s-eet potatoes and other food crops. They )ept (oats and cattle. The fields -ere -or)ed by the -omen2 the men protected the fields a(ainst the inroads of -ild animals1 tended and protected their domestic animals1 acted as -arriors -hen youn( and as councillors -hen old. They fitted their life7cycle into conditions1 -hich they modified to their o-n ad!anta(e1 but to -hich they did no permanent destructi!e harm. 'n important feature of the tribe in re(ard to its e!entual meetin( -ith Western ci!ili.ation1 -as that it had no metal money. 0or did it ha!e any other form of durable money. ,ts currency -as formed by domestic animals2 the smaller currency bein( pro!ided by (oats1 the lar(er by co-s. ,n this matter of currency1 therefore1 they reached bac) to that of the early ancestors of Western ci!ili.ation1 -hose -ord for money1 pecunia1 -as deri!ed from pecu1 cattle. This character is !ery useful to our contrast picture. ,n loo)in( at the rather hearty and cheerful ;i)uyu1 as they first sho-ed themsel!es1 Westerners sa- a people -ho still possessed characteristics of the ori(inal Latins1 from -hom their o-n ci!ili.ation itself had deri!ed. They thus loo)ed o!er a Great Rift >alley of time. Goats1 then1 -ere the pecuniary units of the ;i)uyu. ' poor man had a fe(oats1 a little land and one -ife2 a rich man many (oats and fields1 to(ether -ith more than one -ife to -or) the lar(er possession and more sons to tend the more numerous animals. "o-s also -ere symbols of -ealth. ' co- -as !alued at about a do.en (oats. ,f a man procured the consent of a maid to marria(e1 he had to pay some such sum as thirty7fi!e (oats1 or t-o co-s and ten (oats to her father1 and sometimes rams and bre-s of beer made a part of the payment. ' field -as !alued at so many (oats. ' crime -as e piated in a payment of (oats to the in+ured party1 or1 in the case of murder1 a fine of o!er one hundred (oats paid by the clan of the slayer to the clan of the slain. Goats possessed a second quality of money1 o!er and abo!e their (eneral distribution2 they helped a family at times of hardship. Goats are distin(uished amon(st domestic animals as those most able to feed themsel!es under ad!erse

circumstances. ,n a drou(ht1 -hen other animals perish1 (oats mana(e to sur!i!e. They tend1 it is true1 to sur!i!e at the e pense of the reduced herba(e. They are1 amon(st animals1 those most calculated to strip the !e(etati!e co!er and promote erosion and desert7ma)in(1 for not only do they bite close1 but they are nimble climbers2 they can denude a hillside and find sustenance in its coarse1 -eedy !e(etation. So they increase and perpetuate the disaster of drou(ht1 as does money -hen1 as debt1 it adds to and perpetuates seasonal disasters of Western farmers. ,n1 #@8@ the ;i)uyu of Mrs. 4u ley3s story -ere first !isited by the Red Stran(ers1 as they called the %ritons1 and in #8:21 their elders or councillors at 0yeri surrendered their freedom to the Red Stran(ers. They -ere forced to this by ma(ic. The ma(ic of the stran(ers -as beyond all that they had ima(ined. 6nder it a mere noise could )ill a man many fields a-ay. The ;i)uyu ma(icians stro!e to oppose it1 but they -ere as feeble a(ainst it as -ere the prophets of %aal a(ainst 5li+ah. The story itself is1 indeed1 not a little ma(ical1 in that an established -isdom1 that -hich had fitted the people so -ell into a cycle of life1 should be at once dispersed because of a mi ture of saltpetre1 sulphur and charcoal. 0either ;i)uyu nor %ritain can ans-er the question -hy -isdom (ets no immediate support from nature1 so that these ma(ics at times do stru((le for the sur!i!al of the most po-erful. What is sure is that nature in her own time does write her verdictand she -rites it upon the soil. Then she ma)es herself the measure of -isdom and (i!es her !erdict in its fa!our. The ;i)uyu culti!ated the southern slopes of Mount ;enya at an ele!ation of 41::: feet1 -ith a climate in -hich the northern peoples could ma)e their homes. So1 -ith scarcely any preliminaries beyond the display of ma(ic1 the Red Stran(ers announced that the land -hich the ;i)uyu re(arded as theirs1 really belon(ed to a distant )in(. The ;i)uyu1 upon the rid(es of the hills1 had their enemies1 the Masai of the plains. They and the Masai had fou(ht mainly so that the !ictors could sei.e the cattle of the defeated. The first thin( that the stran(ers brou(ht about -as peace bet-een the ;i)uyu and Masai. %ut it -as not a peace that -as the counterpart of -ar1 that is to say1 a peace bet-een plumed -arriors. Li)e most that -as happenin(1 it -as so odd as to be ine plicable. The men of ;i)uyu -ere commanded by the stran(ers to (o amon(st the Masai peacefully and to carry the possessions of the Masai1 -hile the Masai themsel!es1 men1 -omen1 children and beasts -ere e+ected from the land of their fathers and sent to a neland. 6nder the ae(is of the peace1 the t-o peoples met and min(led in humiliation.

's the youn(er men -ere depri!ed of the pride and pri!ile(e as -arriors1 so also their elders found their di(nity stripped from them. ,t -as their ri(ht as councillors to dispense +ustice and compel the (uilty to pay fines to the in+ured. %ut no- it -as a Red Stran(er -ho too) o!er the dispensation of +ustice and imposed fines. These fines no- had to be paid not in (oats1 but in round metal coins and -hen paid by the (uilty to the Red Stran(er1 he did not (i!e them to the in+ured1 but )ept them himself. This clearly -as not +ustice but theft. There -as no effectin( of a balance by means of compensation. The Red Stran(er alone benefited1 not only by )eepin( the coins1 but by forcin( the (uilty to do paid -or)1 -hich the Red Stran(er required1 so that they mi(ht (et the coins for payin( the fine. Later came ne- and terrible demands. The men of ;i)uyu -ere ta)en from their homes and brou(ht do-n to the sea1 -hich they sa- for the first time. They -ere put into a -a(on that rested on the sea and loc)ed into a room -ith iron -alls1 the floor of -hich1 -hen the -a(on mo!ed1 roc)ed under their feet. They -ere o!er-helmed -ith fear2 it -as li)e bein( in the belly of an animal. They -ere brou(ht to a stran(e land1 -here a(ain they carried loads as porters and ser!ed the Red Stran(ers1 -hose )in( -as en(a(ed in a !ery bi( -ar. They endured hardships so se!ere1 that those -ho e!entually returned to their home could not spea) of them for many years. Such (rim memories -ere the (hosts of (reat fear. Cn their return1 some of them did not (o bac) to their ori(inal homes1 but -ent to ta)e up ne- land at some distance from the old1 -here the Red Stran(ers -ere installed. 0o- they -ere free and happy to be free upon farms of their o-n ma)in(. %ut1 after a -hile1 quite une pectedly1 a Red Stran(er arri!ed and told them he had (i!en coins to the Ser)ali or Go!ernment1 and because of this all the land and e!en their farms -ere his. %ut he did not1 he said1 intend to ta)e a-ay their farms or their animals. These they could continue to culti!ate1 but the men must also -or) for him. They -ould -or) one month for him and (et si coins or rupees for the -or)1 and then one month for themsel!es1 and so on1 throu(h the year. %y this arran(ement lar(e fields of mai.e -ere (ro-n and many beasts -ere pastured for the stran(er1 and the ;i)uyu )ept their farms in culti!ation and recei!ed coins. The early result -as surprisin(ly (ood. They (ot their sil!er coins e!ery second month and -hat -as more1 the Red Stran(er )ne- of mar)ets -here they could1 for more coins1 sell the surplus products -hich the !ir(in land produced abundantly. So coins be(an to accumulate. Cne odd thin(1 ho-e!er1 happened.

,t -as the Ser)ali -ho (a!e out the coins. 0e!ertheless1 the Ser)ali -ould not let them )eep all the coins they (ot1 but as)ed for some of them bac). 's the Ser)ali themsel!es made the coins1 this -as another insoluble pu..le. %ut1 thou(h some -ere (i!en bac)1 there -as still a (oodly number left1 either to be buried in the floor of the hut1 or to be put in the post office to be spent1 -hen opportunity occurred1 on ta)in( up more land and a second -ife to -or) upon it1 and more (oats for pasture. So1 under the leadership of the Red Stran(er1 -ho no- became in some sort a friend1 riches1 that is to say land1 -i!es1 and (oat1s became more plentiful and the future held out hands of promise as ne!er before. Then somethin( happened that neither the old nor the ne- ma(ic -ith its necoins could a!ert. There -ere t-o years of drou(ht1 terminatin( -ith locusts and famine. The Ser)ali sent food from outside to the people1 -hereby they -ere sa!ed from actual star!ation. There follo-ed a season -hich seemed to concentrate its o-n rain -ith that -hich should ha!e fallen in the t-o pre!ious years. The crops -ere no- not burnt up but dro-ned. Further1 in spite of the (reat shorta(e brou(ht about by the drou(ht1 -hen any surplus product -as no- ta)en to the mar)et1 instead of many coins bein( (i!en for it1 for some reason ine plicable1 so fe- -ere (i!en that they did not balance the cost of culti!ation. The Red Stran(er1 -ho had ta)en their freedom from them1 ne!ertheless had helped them and become their friend. 4e -as no- filled -ith sorro-1 and in sorro- he dismissed some of those -ho -or)ed upon his bi( fields and paid fe-er coins to those that remained. There follo-ed a further season of drou(ht1 -hen the unclouded sun beat day after day upon the land. The la)e in the !alley shran) to a lo-ness unrecorded in li!in( memory. The pastures1 stripped by locusts1 turned to po-dered earth1 and dust7de!ils -hirled across the !alley li)e -ild dancers. 5rosion had be(un. ,t -as as if the ne- treatment of the old earth made the soil become somethin( (houlish and caused it to tear itself from its home and flee in to-erin( columns -ith the -ind. So it escaped from the Red Stran(ers1 -hich the ;i)uyu could not do. 's has been said1 somethin( had (one -ron( -ith the coins of the necurrency and it -as no- found necessary to contract or cut do-n the currency of the ;i)uyu. The Red Stran(er1 -hom the ;i)uyu had had to obey and had come to trust1 issued an order to them to limit the (oats1 first to ten (oats for each married -oman1 and then fi!e. %ut this too failed1 and the stran(er1 ha!in( no coins left1 (athered his family to(ether1 bid a sad fare-ell to his sorro-in( ;i)uyu friends and -as no more there.

,n his place came another and -ith him an officer of the Ser)ali. Then fell the final blo-. 'll the (oats1 -hich in their hun(er -ere eatin( do-n to the !ery roots1 -ere e pelled from the stran(er3s pastures. The ;i)uyu1 -ho -or)ed on the lar(e fields1 -ere allo-ed to continue their -or)1 but they must ha!e no (oats. ,f they -ished to )eep (oats1 they and their animals must (o else-here. ,n this -ay the traditional currency of the ;i)uyu peasants1 that -hich had been to them -hat the coins had been to the )indly Red Stran(er1 -as as effecti!ely destroyed1 as -as that of the peasants of ,ndia by 'ct 0o. @ of #@89. ,t -as replaced by a currency -hich had no relation to the local returns of the soil1 as had the (oats1 but -as somethin( quite outside the humble fortune or misfortune1 -hich -or) and the seasons brou(ht to the ;i)uyu. The necurrency1 it is true1 brou(ht -ith it certain ad!anta(es. ,n times of actual famine1 it -as able to relate the ;i)uyu to better conditions far distant from their locality. With it came trade1 education and the creation and impro!ement of to-ns as means of li!elihood. %ut it too) a-ay somethin( that -as an essential part of the life7cycle1 an automatic animal factor upon the farms1 -hich rose and fell accordin( to the creati!e capacity of the soil. When se!ere ad!ersity came1 the animal life -as diminished2 it -as only e treme and rare disaster that had a li)e effect upon human life. %ein( a part of the life7cycle itself1 the currency mo!ed up and do-n -ith the fa!ourable or unfa!ourable condition of the soil. The ne- coins1 on the other hand1 had no relation -hate!er to the soil1 local or other-ise. They -ere completely disse!ered from it. They had1 indeed1 the a(ricultural impossibility of ha!in( nothin( at all local about them and of ha!in( an e istence entirely apart from the life7cycle. They -ere related not to the soil1 but to -orld finance1 the first modern attempt by a (roup of men to be masters of the -orld. Without their (oats the ;i)uyu -ere li)e the friendly stran(er -ithout his coins1 and they1 too1 in their despair1 follo-ed his e ample. They pac)ed up and left the land of their ad!enture to return to the land of their forefathers. ,n the further narration of the fortunes of this family1 Mrs. 4u ley s)ilfully contri!es to (i!e an epitome of the ;i)uyu people1 as a -hole1 in their transition from a subsistence to a capitalistic farmin( basis1 -hich -ith its ancillaries occupied in years as many decades1 as it too) centuries in 5n(land1 so s-ift -as the tempo. 0e!ertheless1 all the main features reappear in the ;i)uyu story. The lar(e estate and the e trinsic money system ha!e already been described.

The family returned bac) to their homeland1 confident that1 accordin( to tribal custom1 they -ould ha!e a ri(ht to the land1 -hich the father1 -hen youn(1 had cleared at the side of a forest (lade. %ut1 on their arri!al1 they found chan(es e!en more !aried than those they had e perienced in the land of their ad!enture. ' cousin had ta)en o!er both the land and the (lade. The (lade had been turned into a pasture1 and it had somethin( un)no-n in the past1 in a fence -hich enclosed it. $re!iously all pasture had been open and the common (round of the !illa(ers. Fields in the past had had temporary fences to protect crops from -ild pi(s and other animals1 but the fencin( they no- sa- -as substantially made and not the temporary fence of custom. The culti!ation of the fenced7in fields -as also different to that -hich they had e pected. The nati!e method of hoein( by hand had been supplanted by a plou(h -ith o en to dra- it1 and they soon disco!ered that there -ere other ne- -ays of culti!ation1 such as a rotation of crops. Still more surprisin( -as a square house built of stone1 -ith -indo-s1 a !eranda and a shinin( iron roof1 and about the house -as a (arden -ith flo-ers and -ith fruit trees planted in ro-s. The family loo)ed about for (oats1 but sa- none at all. That animal1 once the currency and also the !ictim of reli(ious sacrifice and so in t-o aspects closely inter-o!en -ith men1 they later found had1 under %ritish ad!ice1 been entirely discarded. There -ere some other measures of -ealth1 and then they reali.ed that -hat they had seen of the home of the Red Stran(er in the land they had left1 -as here repeated. They -ere loo)in(1 not at communal or tribal land any lon(er1 but at somethin( more li)e to the estate of the Red Stran(er. So they sa- and1 as)in( many questions1 they learnt that the cousin himself had become as the Red Stran(er1 one -ho1 by the ri(ht of the Ser)ali1 claimed that the land -as his. They -ere loo)in( on rivate ro erty. "ertainly this cousin had benefited (reatly by means of the Ser)ali and by listenin( obediently and intelli(ently to its a(ricultural officers. 's a pro(ressi!e man1 the Ser)ali had made him somethin( ne- to the ;i)uyu1 thou(h not1 had they )no-n it1 stran(e to the 5n(lish Red Stran(ers1 somethin( deri!ed from the lord of the manor. They had made him the local land7chief and he had become so rich that he had no less than t-enty7t-o -i!es to ser!e him. 5!en the form of the -i!es3 ser!ice -as stran(e1 for it -as they and not the cousin3s men -ho tended the cattle. There -ere sons enou(h for the -or)1 but they had all of them been to the schools of the Ser)ali and this placed them abo!e tendin( cattle. 5ducation -as somethin( -hich turned the youn( men from the land to the to-n1 -here they became cler)s or teachers or policemen or too) other forms of subordinate ser!ice to the Ser)ali. ,n these ser!ices there lay a (reater safety1 a prior claim it seemed upon the Ser)ali1 for in 0airobi1 the

capital to-n1 durin( the lon( drou(ht and famine1 these youn(er people had still had enou(h to eat1 still tra!elled comfortably in omnibuses to their -or)1 still dressed in 5uropean clothes and danced in 5uropean fashion. The (reat affliction of the countryside -as fended from the to-n. The returnin( family sa- and heard all this. $articularly1 of course1 did they note -hat concerned them most1 the stone house1 the ro-s of fruit trees1 the cattle1 the fencin( and other chan(es upon the land that accordin( to custom -as theirs. Cn the one hand1 then1 -as their traditional ri(ht1 on the other the robust facts of pri!ate o-nership. The father1 no- an old man nearin( his end1 -ished to bo- before the po-er of the ne-1 the son -as un-illin( and pre!ailed. 'nd so a claim for the land -as lod(ed by the family. The case aroused the )een interest of the -hole locality. ,t sta(ed the conflict that -as e!ery-here diffused bet-een the old and the ne-. The elders stood firmly for the tribal la-s of inheritance and the safe li!in( upon the land -hich they (a!e to each family1 and opposed the ne- ri(hts1 -hich made men dependent upon the -ill or -him of so7called o-ners of the land. The youn(er (eneration stood as firmly for the cousin1 because of the impro!ements he had made under the (uidance of the Ser)ali3s e perts. This1 they said1 made the land his. 's to the family1 if dispossessed1 there -ere other -ays of (ettin( a li!in( open to them1 such as by becomin( labourers upon the roads or rail-ay or in house7buildin(1 or portera(e1 or e!en in 0airobi1 by acquirin( di(nity as ta i or bus dri!ers. They could e!en stay on the land in the humble form of hired labourers1 recei!in( -a(es from the ne- o-ners. 's the claimants could not afford to pay compensation for the impro!ements1 the land -as finally a-arded to the cousin. %ut the claim of the family -as also ac)no-led(ed and land1 belon(in( to the clan1 -as a-arded of equal si.e and e cellence to the ori(inal clearin( by the forest (lade. So1 after many e periences of sudden and quite unpredictable chan(es of fortune1 the family attained once more to the traditional security of the homeland. %ut e!en here they had to submit to the frin(es of -hat -as to become by far the most dan(erous chan(e of all. The old father died and he left behind him one le(acy. ,t -as a prophetic pronouncement of his not lon( deceased friend1 ,rumu1 -ho had been the seer of the tribe/ 3When -omen -al) all day to see) fire-ood and -hen culti!ation lies na)ed under the sun1 then shall e!il come. Cn the days -hen trees a(ain dar)en the rid(es and brin( shelter to the -eary1 then shall (ood fortune return.3

From the deep1 in-ard oneness -ith the local life7cycle11 -hich such tribal -ise men ha!e1 had arisen a !ision of the comin( of the Great 5rosion. Where the ne- (reed for land as property caused too many trees to be felled alon( the rid(es of the hills upon -hich the ;i)uyu had their homes1 there the torrential rains -ould be unchec)ed by these umbra(eous ramparts. The -atery bullets -ould pound some of the top7soil into mud1 -hich escaped in turbid runnels do-n the slopes of the hills. This -as the be(innin( of -ater7erosion1 -hich as it spreads causes -omen to -al) all day in search of fire-ood. 'nd -hen the fields -ere bro)en open by the plou(h in place of bein( li(htly stirred by the nati!e di((in(7)ni!es1 and -hen they -ere made to (ro- one crop in place of se!eral plants of different hei(hts1 folia(e and roots1 then the culti!ation lay na)ed under the sun. ' dry season made the surface of the soil dusty and some -as blo-n a-ay by stron( -inds. This -as the be(innin( of -ind erosion. These t-o erosions form the last phase of the present story of the entry of the ;i)uyu peasantry into modern ci!ili.ation. *ue to this ci!ili.ation1 there -as a (reater call upon the fertility of the soil and in some stran(e -ay a similar call on the fertility of its partners1 for a nati!e proletarian population increases under the early rule of the Westerners. Many ne- -ays of earnin( the necoins -ere opened up. The colonial (o!ernments called for more coffee1 more su(ar1 more cotton1 more hides1 more mai.e1 more sisal and so on for e port. More land -as e posed for culti!ation1 its fertility ta)en up by the crops and the rule of return ne(lected. 4ere is an account of the last phase of this process as it is affectin( the ;i)uyu1 -ritten by Messrs. Gac)s and Whyte in The Ra e of the 'arth1 #898. This account completes the story so brilliantly told by Mrs. 4u ley. 5rosion1 they -rite in their -orld re!ie-1 has attac)ed the lands of the ;i)uyu1 and it is due to a(riculture bein( forced to too speedy a pace in 3the increased desire to obtain cash throu(h the sale of crops3 and in the need for more food crops by the increasin( population1 much of -hich mi(rated to the (ro-in( to-ns. The ori(inal mi ed farmin( for sustenance succumbs to the ne- commercial farmin(1 it does not everywhere form the basis for the new . Cne farmer -ill concentrate on the (ro-in( of mai.e1 another -ill stoc) or o!erstoc) the land as pasture2 both practise thereby a rape of the earth. They farm for cash1 and1 not heedin( the rule of return1 they ta)e more fertility than the soil can recurrently yield. They treat the soil as conquerors and not as partners.

,n the (eneral demand for more crops1 the peasants culti!ate not only the rid(es upon -hich they had their homes1 but also the easier slopes of the hills. There comes a loss in the quality of the soil1 a loss of that -onderful air7containin(1 loose adhesi!eness of the soil due to (ood humus1 and -ith this de(eneration the (reat natural elements of rain1 -ind and sun1 once friends and partners1 no-1 at the times of their especial stren(th1 become enemies. The Ser)ali has ta)en no proper measures to pre!ent this. There is a 3lac) of conser!ation measures in (eneral31 say Messrs. Gac)s and Whyte. The 5uropean o-ners mostly e haust their estates by the same disre(ard of the precepts of nature. They o!erride nature before the fall. 3,n the 5uropean areas erosion is caused by e haustion of the soil throu(h lon( continuous croppin( -ithout the adoption of methods to pre!ent erosion and maintain the humus content of the soil. The results of land misuse are only no- becomin( apparent in a (ra!e form1 as much of the land in the settled areas has only been culti!ated for fifteen to t-enty7fi!e years. Some areas of ;enya ha!e already reached such a state of de!astation that nothin( short of the e penditure of enormous and quite impossible sums of money could restore the land for human use abo!e a bare and precarious subsistence standard ... Generally spea)in(1 erosion has become serious only durin( the past fi!e years. ,n addition to the causes enumerated abo!e1 the in!asions of locusts of #82879# and the drou(ht of #89#7< (reatly accelerated the process and -ere lar(ely responsible for ma)in( it so apparent in the space of a fe- years.3 The Red Stran(ers came to the land of the ;i)uyu in ;enya1 because1 thou(h situated upon the 5quator1 it is hi(hland and has a climate in -hich they can li!e and farm. They ma)e their homes there1 but to maintain their accustomed standard of li!in( and to sa!e money1 they concentrate on farmin( for profit and in this they do but follo- the common lines of modern farmin(. The facts that the fertility of soil is e haustible and that methods1 under -hich in the cool1 -et climate of %ritain the soil is slo-ly depleted -ill1 in ;enya1 deplete it -ith rapid momentum2 that sun1 -ind1 rain1 (oats and cattle1 all fittin( into the old life7cycle1 -ill thereby be turned from partners into enemies 77 these are forei(n to their e perience and )no-led(e. ,n their o-n land the rule of return and the conser!ation of humus are not a iomatic. So they farm and so1 -ishin( the ;i)uyu to share in the -ealth from the nemethods1 they induce them to adopt the ne- !alues. The intention is (ood. %oth -hite men and blac) shall profit by pro(ress and

science. Thou(h the Red Stran(ers1 -ith their (reater ma(ic1 claim the land as belon(in( to the distant )in(1 any further e ploitation of the ;i)uyu is not the )in(3s -ish. ,n Guly #8291 4is Ma+esty3s Go!ernment itself decreed that the interest of the nati!es must be paramount o!er those of all immi(rants1 includin( the %ritish1 and that on no account -ere the blac) men to be sacrificed to the -hite. The Red Stran(er1 -ho announced to our ;i)uyu family that the land had become his by the payment of coins1 ne!ertheless1 as befitted this (ood intent1 soon became their beneficial friend. 3They understood then that they1 the blac)1 -ere not to be sacrificed to the -hite.3 %ut both blac) and -hite depended upon the soil and it -as the soil that -as sacrificed. ,t -as stripped of its shelterin( co!er -ith ea(er haste and a tra(ic lac) of understandin(. The final result is not yet )no-n1 but -hat is )no-n is sufficient. ,n some parts1 in !ery truth1 the -ords of ,rumu are no lon(er -ords but facts/ the -omen -al) all day to see) fire-ood and the culti!ation lies na)ed under the sun. "an the days1 of -hich he spo)e1 cease to be -ords and too become facts/ 3Cn the days -hen trees a(ain dar)en the rid(es and brin( shelter to the -eary1 then shall (ood fortune return.3 Money1 that has been the root of this e!il1 is unable to save. The authorities quoted say that only enormous and quite impossible sums of money could restore the land. 'nd before money1 representin( effort1 there must be a(ain the chan(e of !alues1 a chan(e of outloo) and a chan(e of faith. 0ature is !ery careful1 but men are careless. ,n some of the species of acacia trees in 'ustralia1 the lea!es are suppressed1 and the leaf7stal)s or petioles are !ertically flattened to ta)e upon themsel!es the function of lea!es. ,t seems that the !ertical. position of these petioles pre!ent in+ury from e cessi!e sunli(ht1 as1 -ith their ed(es to the s)y and earth1 the petioles are not so e posed to the li(ht as are the hori.ontal lea!es. Scientific theorists e plain ho- this comes about1 but to the thin)er1 it is an e quisite e ample of nature3s care1 and should impress farmers1 tellin( them/ 3*o li)e-ise. 5 quisite care is necessary in the preser!ation and ad+ustment of the details of life7cycles1 and that is -hat farmin( should be.3

Chapter 12 %yasa
4ere is the story of another primiti!e farmin( people of 5ast 'frica1 about #1::: miles south of the ;i)uyu and occupyin( hi(hlands of lesser ele!ation at about the same distance from the sea.

,n #89< the Go!ernment of 0yasaland became perturbed by the increasin( e odus of able7bodied peasants from the homeland. The Go!ernor appointed a committee of inquiry. 4o- alarmin( the e odus and its far7reachin( consequences -ere -as re!ealed to the members of this committee. 's they tra!elled and sa- and questioned1 !ista after !ista of the tra(edy of nati!e life -as disclosed. This is -hat they reported/ 3We must confess that1 si months a(o1 there -as not one of us -ho reali.ed the seriousness of the situation2 as our in!esti(ations proceeded -e became more and more a-are that this uncontrolled and (ro-in( emi(ration brou(ht misery and po!erty to hundreds and thousands of families1 and that the -aste of life1 happiness1 health and -ealth -as colossal.3 0o- this statement of a -ell7intentioned committee is -orthy of the closest attention. 't the outset it should be noted that there -as not a rural nati!e upon the committee. ,t -as assumed that -isdom lay outside the land. The committee men -ere not terrene men1 measured by the a ioms of the soil1 but super7terrene men -ith !ery little )no-led(e of the terrene men of the land of 0yasa. "onsequently1 -ithin si months1 they found themsel!es astonished1 e!en o!er-helmed1 by the disruption of a terrene life7cycle1 in!ol!in( many humble people1 for -hom they and their )ind -ere responsible. The -ealth1 of -hich they -rote1 -as the -ealth of the land1 and they laid do-n their belief about it in these -ords/ 3We consider it essential that the -hole $rotectorate should be sur!eyed by local a(riculturists -ith the idea of disco!erin( the best uses to -hich the land can be put1 re(ardin( the land not as somethin( to be e ploited piecemeal1 but as the sole capital of the $rotectorate.3 The lan(ua(e1 one -ill note1 is that of money7minded men2 the land is called the ca ital of the $rotectorate2 as capital it must not be e ploited for industrial profit1 but put to the best uses as the only means of li!elihood for the people of the $rotectorate. 4o- this -as to be done -as to be decided by local a(riculturists. This term did not include nati!e farmers1 because they -ould not be capable of sur!eys -ith an accumulation of facts and fi(ures from -hich to dra- conclusions. The committee men did not see) a reno!ation of the indi(enous social and farmin( life1 from -hich impro!ements could e!entually de!elop1 but ad!ised the consideration of the question from the up7to7date Western a(riculturists3 outloo). ,n that -ay it could be decided ho- to put this particularca ital to its best uses. The indi(enous methods by -hich the nati!es of 0yasaland farmed had (eneral

resemblances to those of the ;i)uyu. They cleared a part of the forest and culti!ated it as lon( as it (a!e (ood results. Then they abandoned it for a number of years1 in -hich1 by encroachments from the nei(hbourin( forests1 it re!erted to the natural plants and conditions of the country. This is called shiftin( culti!ation. 3Shiftin( culti!ation13 -rite Messrs. Gac)s and Whyte1 3althou(h it )ept men as unimportant ser!ants of -ild nature1 maintained soil fertility indefinitely1 since the forest dro!e the culti!ator out and re7assumed its beneficent control as soon as any si(n of soil e haustion occurred.3 The indi(enous method1 therefore1 included as a practice1 if not as an intellectual precept1 the indefinite maintenance of soil7fertility. The Western a(ricultural1 money7ma)in( land7 o-ners only a-o)e to the de!astatin( effects of the loss of soil7fertility after it had mar)edly occurred1 and then de!ised methods of preser!ation. This is because dominant money falsifies conser!ati!e farmin(. The -hole conception of money plus interest is forei(n to the soil. When money is lent1 it is in the e pectation of (ettin( not itself1 but more than itself in return1 an additional creation called interest. %ut a crop does not reproduce more than the substances it (ets from the soil and the air. The creative ower never creates anything e!tra. ,t chan(es forms. ,n nature there is only transition1 not addition. The conception1 then1 that money can produce e tra money1 somethin( o!er and abo!e itself1 is not one deri!ed from the creati!e po-er of the soil or the character of nature1 and that no doubt is the ultimate reason -hy interest has been so stron(ly condemned by reli(ions and philosophies. $easants feel it to be -ron( and the poets1 -ho in *ante3s definition are 3those -ho )no- the secrets of nature31 the 3ma)ers3 of the Gree)s1 )no- it to be a(ainst nature and unreal and therefore inimical to the intellect and morally -ron(. For these reasons money7directed farmin(1 ho-e!er scientific1 cannot create the honest constancy of equi!alent return. ,t stri!es to (et more than it (i!es1 and thereby brin(s about a difficulty in actual sur!i!al. ,t is this -hich constitutes the story of 0yasa. Money7directed farmin( -as e pected from a primiti!e people by a (o!ernment belon(in( to the money system. The primiti!e people belon(ed to a completed life7cycle1 in -hich surplus crops -ere e chan(ed for other human needs. There -as no space in their -or) or habits for anythin( o!er and abo!e this completed life7cycle1 nothin(1 that is to say1 -hich could be stored a-ay as dead capital or discarded as not -anted. ,t -ould be turned immediately into -ealth1 -hich meant cattle or other such !isible 3(oods3 of the nati!e. ,t certainly could not be symboli.ed and ban)ed. "onsequently -hen the 0yasa Go!ernment demanded a hut7ta to be paid in

money1 it dre- the peasants into the money system -ithout any preparation or aptitude for it and -ithout defence. They could ha!e paid the ta in (oods or )ind accordin( to their custom. %ut they had not the coins -hich the Go!ernment demanded1 and their o-n elder men1 in their o-n ur(ent need for the coin commanded by (o!ernment1 ordered the youn(er men to pay the bride7price in coin1 not the con!entional cattle. The cash as)ed for by Go!ernment throu(h ta ation1 -rote the committee in their Report1 -as considerable. ,t -as more than a farmin( district1 after pro!idin( for subsistence1 earned. The committee (a!e1 as e amples1 fi!e districts1 -hich had to pay ta es of L#@1:::1 thou(h earnin( but L#41:::1 made up of mar)et earnin(s L#1::: and -a(es L#91:::. ,n response to these urban infiltrations amon(st primiti!e farmers1 therefore1 none of them pro!ed to be 3the fittest to sur!i!e3 upon the land of their fathers. There -as only one thin( to be done1 as -as done in 5n(land by many of the harassed Tudor and Geor(ian peasantry2 they had to e!ict themsel!es and see) employment in the modern1 Westerners3 minin(1 to-ns of Tan(anyi)a1 Rhodesia and the Trans!aal1 all of -hich could be reached on foot. 4ence1 out of a total population of #1=::1:::1 there -ere #2:1::: farmers continuously out of the country1 <: to =: per cent of the able7bodied population. %asutoland and S-a.iland1 farther south1 had almost the same percenta(e of youn( -or)ers absent from the land. The -or)ers1 partners of the soil1 -ere disinte(rated and blo-n1 as it -ere1 li)e eroded soil1 to re(ions -here they -ere made to ta)e from the earth1 not crops1 but the (old that -as then the (od of the money system. <: to =o per cent left their farms2 yet the Go!ernment of the %el(ian "on(o had been ad!ised by one of their committees that e!en the absence of < per cent of youn( able7bodied men from an 'frican !illa(e upsets the -hole economic and social balance of the community. There is scarcely need to (i!e a picture of the state of the peasant families -ho remained2 of the -omen1 the old men and the elder children1 -ho stro!e to carry on the culti!ation of the land2 the fields o!er(ro-n -ith -eeds and +un(le in!asion2 the huts fallin( to pieces2 abandoned fields and crumblin( !illa(es1 as if the Tudor period flun( a lon( reflection of itself upon 0yasa and the nei(hbourin( lands. ' partial remedy came throu(h the unchastity of the married -omen. Wearied by the unequal battle and the increasin( illnesses of themsel!es and their families -hich accompanied it1 they (a!e up the attempt to remain chaste for their husbands3 return from the minin( to-ns -ith the cash and the !enereal

disease they had there acquired. So1 -hen nati!es of $ortu(uese 5ast 'frica disco!ered that there -ere -omen and land across the border1 they sei.ed their opportunity. 't the present time1 it is said1 there are as many1 or e!en more1 such male cuc)oos resident in 0yasaland as there are 0yasa men. The story of 0yasaland tells that 3-aste of life1 happiness1 health and -ealth -as colossal3. ,t is a tale of the misery of a shattered life7cycle. ,t is not a tale for the heart only1 but for the brain. ,t is an e pected tale. 4istory does repeat itself o!er and o!er a(ain. $ost7$unic history and Tudor history1 -ith their e!ictions and brilliancy1 are repeated in the story of 0yasaland and its nei(hbours. *istances are (reater and the brilliance -as to be found distantly amidst the -ealthy of London and other cities1 and those -ho deri!ed somethin( from them. %ut the modern story -as debased by its bein( one caused by na)ed (old itself1 to mine -hich the peasants -ent from their farms to earn cash1 for the ta ation by coin that -as put upon them. ,t is a tale of the immediate contact of the ramaterial of the money7system itself -ith primiti!e farmers. The foes -ere face to face. Some readers may sometimes ha!e -ondered -hy primiti!e peoples seem to die out -ith the 3ad!ance of ci!ili.ation3. 4ere is one -ay. ,t sho-s directly ho- the money7system acts. ,t is the system1 -hich else-here is represented by hi(h e plosi!es1 bombs1 tan)s and the rest. %ut a(ainst the soil its -eapons are not )no-n as -eapons. 0e!ertheless1 throu(h them1 the money7system is far more -idely and more permanently lethal than it is by the destructi!e efficiency of its machines. ,t )ills at the source. ,t )ills the partnership of the soil and the peasants. Where!er it is in action1 it produces an e!entual desolation of death2 peasants and soil !anish and -ith their loss1 -hat -as a source of healthy creati!e po-er is (i!en o!er to death.

Chapter 13 Tangany ka
%et-een ;enya and 0yasaland lies the (reat1 sparsely7inhabited territory of Tan(anyi)a. ,n this territory1 there is a life7cycle of a !ery remar)able character1 -hich contains -ithin it1 as a part of its ecolo(y1 an insect1 the tsetse fly. This fly has come to play the part -hich the lions of Gudah once played as defenders of the natural forest a(ainst the intrusions of man. $alestine no lon(er has its lions and the consequence is that1 -hen one flies o!er it in an aeroplane1

one loo)s do-n upon the -atershed to see barren roc) -here there should be forest. The tsetse3s method of defendin( its forested life7cycle is more subtle than the terror by -hich the lion once )ept men from his home. There is nothin( re(al about the tsetse1 but its part in its life7cycle forms one of the most remar)able in nature. ,t feeds li)e the mosquito1 upon blood1 bitin( both animal and human. Tsetse is also a host of the microscopic trypanosome2 consequently -hen it bites it may in+ect the trypanosome into the blood of the bitten animal. When it in+ects animals in its o-n life7cycle1 the animals li!e. The trypanosomes do not harm them more than a number of microbes1 -hich li!e in men1 harm their hosts. %ut if man3s domestic animals and man himself in!ade the tsetse area1 it is a !ery different story. Cn the e pedition to Tan(anyi)a1 to -hich the ;i)uyu peasants -ere ta)en as porters and endured such miseries1 none of the animals imported into Tan(anyi)a in the ser!ice of the %ritish Forces sur!i!ed. $ractically all that -ere not )illed accidentally succumbed to the fly. ,t is destructi!e too1 to men. The first trypanosomes -ere brou(ht by cattle dri!en across the -atershed bet-een West and 5ast 'frica. ,n parts of 6(anda the tsetse li!ed. They became the hosts of the trypanosomes1 and 2::1::: out of 9::1::: people died in si years. Men1 therefore1 ha!e a !ery (reat fear of the localities of this insect1 a (reat fear li)e that of past $alestinians for the lions of their forests. The tsetse e!icted them and their cattle from its forest areas. ,t is said that in the full 9=<1::: square miles of Tan(anyi)a1 t-o7thirds of the fi!e million inhabitants ha!e to confine themsel!es to one7tenth of the total territory. Then came scientific -hite men determined not to be e!icted by1 but to e!ict the insect. So they cut do-n the trees and bushes near the streams1 la)es and pools1 in the shade of -hich the tsetse li!es. The result has been an erosion1 not so threatenin( and e tensi!e as in ;enya1 because the area that is culti!ated is so limited1 but so serious as to call a halt. ,t -as clear that trees must be left to protect the soil a(ainst the hea!y rain of tropical 5ast 'frica2 other-ise the forest became sa!anna1 then coarse (rassland and1 e!entually1 if this poor pasture -as o!er7 stoc)ed -ith cattle1 barren -aste. The hydrolo(ical or -ater7cycle1 in -hich !e(etati!e co!er plays an absolute part1 had to be preser!ed1 and consequently the -holesale destruction of the haunts of the tsetse alon( ri!er and around pools and la)es had to be abandoned. ,n its place !ery cautious ablation of bushes and trees fa!oured by

the fly1 is bein( tried. ,ndeed1 in no part of 'frica probably has the !alue of distribution and conser!ation of the -ater supply been more thorou(hly (rasped than in present Tan(anyi)a. ,n the ;iliman+aro 0ati!e "o7operati!e 6nion1 -hich claims 241::: members out of the 9=1::: farmers on the slopes of ;iliman+aro1 there are 2= societies1 and the reason of this number is that it corresponds to 2= streams1 -hich ta)e their ori(in in the (reat mountain and -ater its slopes. 6nder the (uidance of Sir *onald "ameron1 (eolo(ists1 plant ecolo(ists and -ater sur!eyors ha!e been lin)ed to(ether to fit farmers in an understandin( manner to the local character of the -ater supply as a -hole. They ha!e mar)ed out the catchment areas of the 2= streams. 5ach catchment area -ith the ri!er to -hich it (i!es rise has been made into a separate entity and is presided o!er by a nati!e chief1 and the 2= entities united in the "o7 operati!e 6nion2 2= catchment areas1 2= ri!ers1 2= culti!ated areas1 2= chiefs1 2= communes1 and one 6nion. ,t is a real association of communes and the assembly of the 6nion a real 4ouse of "ommunes or "ommons1 people of a common source of life and not the mi ed moc)ery -hich the 'ssemblies of "ommunes ha!e else-here become. So in the stran(e -ay in -hich nature replies to human acts1 man has been sho-n that the tsetse1 -hich has been such a prolific )iller of him and his animals1 has ne!ertheless pro!ed a (reat sa!iour of the source of terrene life1 the soil. 4ad it not been for the tsetse1 the rich soil fed by the (reatest mountains of 'frica under an 5quatorial sun1 -ould ha!e been (reedily sei.ed upon and its stored fertility turned into cash1 until an irre!ocable erosion stayed further ra!a(es. %ut1 o-in( to the tsetse1 this s-ift onslau(ht could not be made. The tsetse has pre!ented it2 in the -ords of Mr. R. :. Whyte 3the presence of the tsetse in many parts may be a blessin( in dis(uise1 as it can be re(arded as the trustee of the land for future (enerations3. The tsetse is a pest to man1 but man1 (reedily ea(er to ma)e his fortune from stored soil fertility1 is a pest to life itself. So the stran(e story of Tan(anyi)a ends -ith the little tsetses still defendin( their -ater-ays a(ainst the lords of the earth1 so (i!in( time for nature in her o-n -ays to tell these lords that1 masterful thou(h they may be1 if they claim to be masters of nature1 they are doomed. They themsel!es must re7learn -ith humility that they are the creatures of nature1 and1 this time1 a little insect shall teach them.

Chapter 14 .#arth Thou Art.

%efore continuin( the story of the present misfortunes of the1 soil1 it is -ell to recall a(ain ho- earthly -e oursel!es are. This may be done by a meditation1 in -hich one concentrates the mind on some one thin( of those so common to us that normally -e ne!er trouble oursel!es about them. We concentrate and alloour minds constantly to -iden the circle of thou(ht that arises from this concentration. We are accustomed to (i!e a (ood deal of time thin)in( out our problems1 but -e rarely meditate1 -e rarely ma)e oursel!es stran(e to the familiar. We accept the air as air1 the sun as sun1 the earth as earth -ithout at any time ma)in( oursel!es stran(e to them until -e comprehend both them and oursel!es in relation to them. 35arth -e are and to earth -e return3 is a sa(e and familiar sayin( upon -hich -e may -ell -iden our reflection. ,t seems that this earth no- under our feet is in some -ay us. To it and its dar)ness -e and so much else in the -orld of li(ht belon(. The interchan(e from the !isible to the in!isible and from the in!isible bac) into the li(ht1 is continuous. We oursel!es1 as part of the !isible1 are lar(ely concerned -ith the in!isible. The (reat ma+ority of men trouble little about it1 but since man is1 it seems1 the sole creature of the soil that is endo-ed -ith meditati!e thou(ht1 he has (athered a (ood deal of )no-led(e of the crust of his planet. *eeper than the crust of the earth he can scarcely reach1 but in it he searches from a -ide (enerality of instinct1 -hich tells him that1 thou(h he has spirituality1 he is ne!ertheless essentially terrene1 and -hen he searches into the earth1 he searches for a further understandin( of his o-n bein(. Li!in( in the !isible -orld1 he is destined to return to the earth. 's electricity can be separated by him from the earth and made to run trains1 dri!e ships1 bathe ni(ht cities in radiance1 and dra- (reat clouds to(ether o!er thirsty lands1 yet li)e man it has its earthy phase and to the earth it must return. Similarly man1 in his farmin(1 separates land from its natural state of forest and prairie. There he (ro-s products for his use1 but in the end they too are destined to return to the earth. So also it is -ith -ater. Water rises in!isibly from the ocean and ascends to the s)ies there to ta)e !isible form as clouds. Thence it descends a(ain to the earth and ta)es !isible form upon it as broo)s1 ri!ers1 la)es1 ponds and de-. Man1 too1 separates some of it for his purposes. %y irri(ation he -aters his fields1 by conduits he -aters his cities1 by tan)s and reser!oirs he -aters himself. %ut e!entually these -aters return to the in!isible1 they sin) into the earth or the depths of the ocean1 from -hich once a(ain they come bac) to the !isible -orld.

We human bein(s1 -hose substance plays its part in these transitions1 are concei!ed by the spar)s that set our bein( in motion and sprin( from the mystery of creation. %ut from the !ery moment after the t-o spar)s1 male and female1 unite1 -e are in (ro-th of the earth earthy. 4eredity1 in all its !ariety1 comes from t-o cells so small that they need the microscope to ma)e them !isible. ,n these t-o cells for us and other bein(s of the earth1 there is the ma(ic of predestination. ,t is they that determine the launchin( of man or animal or plant. ,n man1 they determine se 1 colour1 character. Thou(h only t-o spec)s1 they ha!e -ithin them a multiplicity of destiny that is quite beyond our understandin(. We )no- there are so many genes in each cell1 but to )nosuch mathematical details1 thou(h most acceptable1 is not to understand its mysteries. ,n this early sta(e1 as in later ones1 -e recei!e the means of (ro-th from the earth and from those thin(s -hich also ha!e their earthy phase1 the air and -ater. These means of (ro-th are made up of substances1 many of -hich ha!e been separated as entities1 by the )no-led(e of man and called by him elements. There are only ninety )no-n elements1 but they occur in so many combinations1 that -e should be entirely lost if -e had to mana(e them oursel!es. ,t is nature that mana(es them and their interchan(e. This -e )no-1 that other-ise there -ould be no life. 0e!ertheless1 -e boldly a(ain isolate elements and certain combinations1 identify them by tests1 -ei(h them and (i!e our names to them and try1 as it -ere1 to come to some stable and positi!e relation to-ards them1 callin( a halt1 for the time of our o-n bein(1 to their constant transitions. These are the elements that ha!e been found to be a part of human bodies/ nitro(en1 o y(en1 carbon1 hydro(en1 sodium1 potassium1 sulphur1 iodine1 fluorine1 man(anese1 silicon1 cobalt1 copper1 iron1 .inc1 lead1 arsenic1 lithium1 ma(nesium1 aluminium1 boron1 chromium1 strontium1 cadmium1 barium1 tin1 !anadium1 titanium. Some of these t-enty7ei(ht elements may not be essential to human life. %ut they are part of it1 for all ha!e been found in se-a(e slud(e. They may1 one ha.ards1 be essential1 if not to life1 to certain qualities of life. The four (reat elements of our body1 our brain1 our thou(ht and our affections1 nitro(en1 o y(en1 carbon and hydro(en1 are all aerial1 as if they ha!e to pass to the hea!ens for their purification before they turn -ith pristine !itality to the earth a(ain. $erhaps there1 bathed in the rays of the celestial bodies1 they (ather that mar!ellous po-er of combination1 -hich ma)es them the supreme elements of life. ,n their endo-ment of life they sho- a sin(ular affinity for

each other1 an affinity so da..lin( that it blinds our !ery thou(ht in concei!in( it. They associate to(ether in innumerable patterns1 as if in the (reat spaces from -hich they come they had become li)e Words-orth3s birds displayin( %undreds of curves and circlets, to and fro, 8 ward and downward, rogress intricate 9et un er le!ed, as if one s irit swayed Their indefatigable flight. ,t is the four of them that1 +oinin( to(ether in almost uncountable !arieties1 form the proteins of li!in( substance. Some of their steps in the protein dance ha!e been separated out by the cold s)ill of the masters of or(anic chemistry. These steps are called amino7acids. 4ere is one and this is ho- it is -ritten/ si atoms of carbon1 thirteen of hydro(en1 one of nitro(en and t-o of o y(en1 or D"49E2/"4. "42. "4D042E. "CC4. Cr they may be spaced li)e this/

The number of possible proteins is quite beyond men3s ima(ination 77 %er( (i!es them as =1?:@19?91?:<1?2@1#:: 77 and the transition of associatin( elements from one temporary form to other forms (i!es one a (limpse of the constant and ama.in( !ariety of li!in( nature1 before -hich man can only1 -ith such (limpses as he has (ained1 re(ard his o-n creati!e and manufacturin( po-er as somethin(1 e cellent thou(h it may be for him1 yet !ery lo-ly and humble before this -hirlin(1 form7ma)in( artistry. When nitro(en steps aside from this quadruple partnership and lea!es carbon1 o y(en and hydro(en1 the three a(ain meet and re7meet in the less da..lin( combinations of the carbohydrates or starchy and su(ary substances of li!in( matter. They too are illustrated by the chemists in formations more re(ular1 but ne!ertheless as -ondrous as -hen nitro(en ta)es so !ital a share. 4ere is a common su(ar1 de trose1 "42C4. "4C4. "4C4. "4C4. "4C4. "4C. Were this form placed amidst a number of surroundin( mirrors1 there -ould be an equi!alent number of reflections. There are actually si teen of those reflections to the abo!e su(ar1 de trose1 four of -hich are found in nature1

t-el!e prepared synthetically by 5mil Fischer and others1 but not yet found in nature. There is somethin( sober and shapely about the carbohydrates2 for the ma+ority of them are so many atoms of carbon in combination -ith so much hydro(en and o y(en1 combined as they are in -ater or 42:. This cannot be said of these three elements1 -hen nature -ith her mar!ellous +u((lery uses them to ma)e the fats. 4ere for e ample is an arran(ement -hich ma)es a fat/ "94< DC."C."#<49#E DC."C."#?499E DC."C."#?.49<E. 5!en -ith this +u((lery -ith the three elements in the ma)in( of food substance )no-n as carbohydrates and fats1 nature is not content1 but from them she fashions certain hormones1 -hich ha!e a (o!ernin( po-er -ithin the body1 such as the hormones of the testes and o!aries and also one of the adrenal (lands -hich in e cess can (i!e a beard to a -oman -ith other qualities of masculinity. Some of the popular !itamins are so made. %y addin( nitro(en there result one or t-o other hormones and !itamins1 and yet a(ain -ith the addition of iodine and nitro(en the hormone of that !ery dominant (land1 the thyroid1 and1 -ith nitro(en1 sulphur and chlorine1 the -ell7)no-n !itamin %. When one re!erently meditates upon these four mar!ellous aerial elements1 is it stran(e that man1 -ho deri!es so much of his !itality and the fabric of his spirituality from them1 should not almost from the be(innin( ha!e felt his intimate unity -ith the pellucid hea!ens abo!e himA Truly it seems that he has a hea!enly1 as -ell as an earthly body. Bet1 in his mur)y -orship of money1 in his manufacturin( cities1 he shuts himself off no less from the clean air than he does from the clean earth. We )no- that in consequence he is less -hole and healthy. We )no- that he has to (o to the sea side or the country to reco!er some of his aerial factors. We )no- that authorities ha!e to plan camps for children and adolescents to (o under the open s)y. We )no- that -e ha!e to install plants of artificial sunli(ht in the cities as a treatment for the most ob!ious cases of depri!ation of natural sunli(ht. We do not )no- ho- -ide1 subtle or deep is the total e tent of depri!ation1 because our -holeness -ithin the life7cycle is un)no-n to us and1 at the most1 only the sub+ect of fra(mentary research. 4o- then dare -e to proclaim oursel!es the masters of nature and the lords of creation1 -e -ho ha!e bro)en our o-n life7cycle1 di!ided oursel!es from its earthly and hea!enly elements and loo) to mortal men of mediocre health and physique1 sittin( in their laboratories1 for (uidance in these immortal truths that are clearly e!ident in our in-ard feelin(s and -ritten upon the open face of the (reat sphere -here -e li!eA There are other aerial elements1 ar(on1 crypton1 neon1 enon and helium1 of the

relation of -hich to life -e )no- little or nothin(. We -ill return then to the terrene elements. 4o- many of the t-enty7ei(ht already named in this chapter are essential has not been determined1 but it has been disco!ered that mere traces of some of them are essential. Thus1 in the case of the blac) rot of su(ar beet1 it has been found that this disease occurs if there is lac)in( a necessary trace of boron in the soil. Similarly1 a trace of man(anese protects oats from blac) spec). ' fatal disease of sheep in parts of 'ustralia and 0e- Kealand is made curable if a little cobalt is added to the soil. ,n Florida cattle -ere found to die until a trace of copper -as put in the fields1 in -hich they pastured. ,t is probable1 then1 that all these t-enty7ei(ht elements are -or)ers and that none are drones in the cycle of life. There is1 then1 a procession of the elements and1 thou(h there is no pause in it1 it may be said to start in the microbic and fun(oid sta(e in the soil. ,n man3s cycle1 the procession starts in man himself1 for the brea)in( do-n of -aste substances by microbes be(ins in the lo-er bo-el. Microbes in health are friendly microbes. Their hostility only appears -hen li!in( matter seems to lac) -hat -e call quality. Then they set about hastenin( the return of the li!in( matter -hich lac)s quality to the soil. %y far the (reater part of the microbic -orld is1 then1 not only friendly1 but it is merely oursel!es in a different form. Cur elements are their elements. They ma)e us and -e ma)e them. Therefore1 -hen -e concern oursel!es about them1 -e concern oursel!es -ith -hat -e oursel!es are. This is a secret of healthy food. ,f -e ta)e elements out of the cycle and disperse them in the sea1 -e are robbin( oursel!es. The microbes then ta)e measures1 as it -ere1 to sa!e themsel!es. 6nfriendly microbes multiply. Cne -itnesses1 in fact1 a brea) in the mores1 the morality1 of the microbic -orld. The microbes start e ploitin( the -ea) for their o-n benefit1 they become a((ressi!e1 brin( the -ea) to the (round and become emboldened to attac) the stron(. %ut it is the original weakness that brings about this break in morality and turns one hase of the rocession of the elements to become the enemy of another hase. The microbic theory and money7dominance are certainly no stran(ers to each other. ,t can all be so different. These mar!ellous elements are li)e the notes of the piano1 -hich under s)illed and re!erent treatment produce an infinite number of melodies and harmonies. ,n the rhythm and the completeness of the forms they ma)e in the natural -orld1 one can indeed see a -ider picture of that music to -hich the ancient Gree)s (a!e the hi(hest place in human culture. Misplaced they ma)e cacophony1 the hideous cacophony that no- roars throu(hout the inhabited (lobe.

Man must re!ere and respect these elements. 4e must lose none1 he must spoil none. 4e must consider them -here!er and ho-e!er he meets them as a part of a (reat bein( and becomin( in -hich he has his share. Whether as non7farmer or farmer1 it should be his wisdom to understand his life4cycle and kee to it . 4e should )no- that1 as man1 he tends to be so anthropomorphic1 so self7 centred1 that he interprets food from his o-n point of !ie- only. 4e thin)s of it as thin(s of the day1 the mar)et and the shop1 as bread1 !e(etables1 meat1 e((s1 fruits and mil)1 or as thin(s of the factory1 processed1 preser!ed1 tinned1 bottled1 dried or dehydrated1 or as thin(s of the field1 as (ro-in( (rains and !e(etables and fruits upon the tree. 4e thin)s of them as thin(s in themsel!es1 as indeed he must do in the daily traffic of life. %ut to preser!e quality in them and to maintain quality1 he must also thin) of them as transitionary parts of a -hole. This he has failed to do. &t is a failure in thought and observation . With that failure he has become1 in the -ords of the (reat seer1 F. 4. ;in(/ 3the most e tra!a(ant accelerator of -aste the -orld has e!er endured. 4is -itherin( bli(ht has fallen upon e!ery li!in( thin( -ithin his reach1 himself not e cepted.3 4e pursues the path of race7suicide1 -hile he chants the hymn of pro(ress. 4e is terrene and e!erythin( that is terrene is of importance to him. 4e is of and for the earth. 's the su(ar7beet (ets blac) rot -ithout its trace of boron1 oats (et blac) spec) -ithout their trace of man(anese1 and sheep1 3pine7sic)ness3 -ithout their trace of cobalt1 so he also requires such final sculptural touches for the perfection of his physical and mental health. ,f he depletes his life7cycle1 he is himself depleted. ,n the intelli(ent 6nited States1 the depletion of the soil has a-a)ened alarm1 and scientists no- ma)e statements -hich seem e treme but may -ell be true. Such statements are that 88 per cent of the 'merican people sho- some lac) of minerals. *r. Sherman1 of "alifornia1 has said of his people1 -hat Sir Gohn Crr has said of his1 that abo!e half the people suffer from calcium deficiency. *r. 0orthen1 of 'labama1 added a number of minerals to the soil and found that1 thou(h !e(etables and mil) produced by it had the accustomed appearance1 they had a !ery different mineral content. Muite nestandards are1 therefore1 needed. Te tboo) analyses1 once made1 stand. %ut often they are standards set by a soil that has been in+ured by faulty practices. So they are faulty !alue standards. We need the standards of the perfectly healthy soil. Man3s bodily substance1 -hen not lost to the sea1 returns to the earth many times in the course of his life. The (rim sayin(1 35arth thou art and to earth thou shalt return31 said of his dead1 is no less true of his li!in( body. 4e is a terrene animal1 of the earth earthy. That he cannot escape1 and so he li!es as a product

of the soil to conser!e it or deplete it. 't present he depletes it. The story of this depletion is in its -ay mystical and ine plicable. ,t is one of retributi!e +ustice. The old doctrine that sic)ness and -ars -ere the punishments of God appears a(ain as truth. ,t seems that1 in non7reco(nition of it1 man acts -ith a per!ersity little short of insanity1 for the insane are those -ho irrationally endan(er both others and themsel!es.

Chapter 1! " nd and #gypt

'ccordin( to a famous sayin(1 the (reatest benefactor of man)ind is he -ho ma)es t-o blades (ro- -here formerly one (re-. This is an especial motto of perennial irri(ation. This chapter is -ritten mainly about a land -here the lar(est or one of the lar(est schemes of perennial irri(ation is in action1 the pro!ince of Sind1 ,ndia. The Lloyd or Su))ur %arra(e1 -hich controls this scheme1 -as opened in #892. The ma)in( of soils from the -eatherin( of roc) is a process -hich ta)es a !ery lon( time. The (eolo(ist1 Mr. T. ". "hamberlin1 in an address (i!en at a "onference of the State Go!ernors of the 6nited States of 'merica1 held in #8:@1 -ishin( to impress upon his authoritati!e hearers the tremendous importance of the conser!ation of the soil1 did so in the follo-in( -ords/ 3We ha!e no accurate measure of the rate of soil production. We )no- it is !ery slo-. ,t !aries -ith the )ind of roc) ... Without any pretensions to a close estimate1 , should be un-illin( to name a mean rate of soil formation (reater than one foot in #:1::: years on the basis of obser!ation since the (lacial period. , suspect that if -e could positi!ely determine the time ta)en in the formation of the four feet of soil o!er our a!era(e domain1 -here such depth obtains1 it -ould be found to be abo!e rather than belo- 4:1::: years. 6nder such an estimate1 to preser!e a (ood -or)in( depth1 surface -asta(e should not e ceed such a rate as one inch in a thousand years. ,f one chose to indul(e in a more liberal estimate of the soil7formin( rate1 it -ill still appear1 under any intelli(ent estimate1 that surface -asta(e is a serious menace to the retention of our soils under our present mana(ement. 4istorical e!idence enforces this dan(er. ,n the Crient there are lar(e tracts almost absolutely bare of soil1 on -hich stand ruins implyin( former flourishin( populations. Cther lon(7tilled land bears similar testimony. ,t must be noted that more than the loss of fertility is here menaced. ,t is the loss of the soil body itself1 a loss almost beyond repair. When our soils are (one1 -e too must (o1 unless -e shall find some -ay

to feed on ra- roc)1 or its equi!alent.3 This is a !ery succinct description of the final dan(er of un-ise culti!ation of stationary -eathered soils. %ut the soil of the ,ndus >alley in the allu!ial plain of Sind has not been formed from the roc) beneath it. ,t is soil -hich has been formed at !aryin(1 and1 mostly at (reat1 distances. The (reater part of the preliminary -eatherin( has been done in the 4imalaya1 the ;ara)oram and the 4indu ;ush Mountains. These mountains ha!e crumbled under the action of frost1 heat1 ice1 sno- and rain1 and the crumbled stuff has been carried by innumerable streams and ri!ers1 unitin( near the border of Sind into one (reat ri!er some three hundred miles from the sea. The allu!ial plain of Sind is the result of this ri!er3s annual floods. Sind1 therefore1 has not to fear the dan(ers of surface -asta(e1 of -hich Mr. "hamberlin spo)e. "ontributions to her soil ha!e been made on a far more (enerous scale. To her the hi(hest mountains of the -orld ha!e paid their annual tribute for countless years1 in the thin layer of silt1 -hich is spread out by the floodin( ,ndus. The soil of Sind is1 therefore1 !ery deep compared to -eathered soils2 in place of the four feet of -eathered soil1 of -hich Mr. "hamberlin spo)e1 there is as much as forty feet formed by -aferli)e sheets of mud. Further1 in contrast to stationary soils1 there is not any sharp distinction bet-een soil and subsoil. 'n allu!ial soil1 seen in the cuttin( of an emban)ment1 is featureless1 but it also lac)s uniformity1 for it is the result of a series of irre(ular floods carryin( their silt hither and thither in no re(imented -ay. The t-o soils1 stationary and allu!ial1 are quite distinct. 4ere1 then1 there is ample opportunity for the ob+ecti!ity of man 77 different soils1 different treatment. Cr if sub+ecti!e1 here lies a trap 77 different soils1 similar treatment. 4as man a!oided the trap or has he let himself be cau(ht in itA Let us see. Let us here a(ain quote Mr. T. ". "hamberlin1 -ith his neat1 succinct -ay of sayin( thin(s/ 3Some of the soluble substances ... formed at the base of soils are necessary plant foods1 -hile some are harmful2 but -hat is more to the point1 all are harmful if too concentrated. There is need therefore that enou(h -ater pass throu(h the formin( soil1 and on do-n to the (round7-ater and out throu(h the under7draina(e1 to carry a-ay the e cess of these products. 'n essential part of the best ad+ustment is thus seen to lie in a ro er a ortionment of the amount of water which goes through the soils . ,f this be not enou(h1 the plants -ill suffer from saline e cess.3

, ha!e myself been able to e amine allu!ial soil in Sind1 not as an e pert but as an humble obser!er. , ha!e been able to obser!e it in a cuttin( ten feet deep1 abo!e -hich the surface -as soa)ed by irri(ation. 'fter the surface7irri(ation1 the -ater san) throu(h the -hole ten feet and disappeared into the earth at the foot of the cuttin(. Gust at the ed(e of my cuttin( there (re- a border of stunted (rass and a loericaceous plant. Farther from the ed(e -as the irri(ated crop. When the irri(ation ceased1 the upper layers of soil1 -etted by a trans!erse spreadin( of -ater1 be(an to dry o-in( to sun and -ind. 5!entually the upper t-o or three feet became quite dry and -hen , scraped it po-dered off as fine1 pale sand. %ut belo- this dry surface the layers do-n to the foot of the cuttin( remained moist for months after a (ood soa)in(1 as , disco!ered -hen , scooped out small tunnels into its interior. The lo-er layers1 then1 ha!e a notable capacity of storin( -ater and1 -ith it1 soluble plant foods. The humble desert plants1 the stunted (rass and ericaceous shrub1 )ne- this1 for they sent slender roots strai(ht throu(h the upper dry layers do-n to the moist layers. Some of the roots tra!ersed the -hole ten feet of the cuttin( and disappeared into the earth at its foot. These astonishin(ly lon(1 fine roots1 in places -here they are numerous1 loo) li)e combed hair. They sho- quite clearly that they only rely for a short time upon the upper layers of the allu!ial soil for their food and -ater. &t is u on the lower layers that they rely for their continued sustenance. The character of an upper dry1 and lo-er moist1 area after a soa)in( -ith -ater appears to be similar in all deep1 ri!er7made soils in arid climates1 such as those of Sind1 5(ypt1 ,ra) and the li)e. This character -as described in #8:= by $rofessor 4il(ard1 as found by him in the San Goaquin >alley in "alifornia. 4e found also a third1 dry1 airy area1 belo- the moist area1 due to the soa)in( -ater pushin( the air in the soil in front of it throu(h smaller and smaller channels1 until it could no lon(er bubble up. The compressed air in this third area pre!ents the further fall of -ater1 e cept in crac)s throu(h -hich it finds its -ay to the (round -ater. This third area not only holds up the -ater in the middle area and pre!ents further loss do-n-ards1 but it also supplies that area -ith o y(en1 -hich helps the microbes in it to prepare soil7foods for the plants. The arran(ement1 in short1 is a stri)in(ly perfect one1 as one mi(ht e pect1 for ho- else could !e(etati!e life be possible in these climatesA ,t is possible because of the stora(e of -ater and foods and air in the !oluminous middle layers1 -hich are

themsel!es protected a(ainst e!aporation by the upper dry layers. ,t is1 indeed1 +ust another e ample of the usual1 that -here there is life under unusual and difficult conditions1 there -ill be found so appropriate and delicate an arran(ement that men used to declare they sa- in it the re!elation of a hi(her intelli(ence. 'nd they mi(ht -ell in all re!erence ta)e that !ie- no-. "ertainly -hen they separated out the acres of Sind for themsel!es under the Su))ur %arra(e and "anals System1 they placed their o-n intelli(ence in immediate relation to this hi(her intelli(ence. That the Su))ur System can be acclaimed (reat1 there is no question. ,t is (reat. The ma)in( of it is indisputable testimony to (reat technical intelli(ence. %ut is the plannin( and e ecution also testimony to hi(her intelli(enceA 4ere one may ha.ard that1 from the point of !ie- of the soil itself1 the lac) of hi(her intelli(ence so characteri.es the industrial a(e1 that its e istence in this plannin( -ould be e ceptional. The Su))ur %arra(e in its aims has not been e ceptional. ,t has been sponsored by modern1 practical1 money7ma)in( men1 -ho ha!e made such tra(ic blunders in the a(ricultural -orld else-here. 0ature3s -ay of soaking these soils in arid countries is precisely the same as that by -hich she forms them1 namely1 by an annual o!erflo- of the ri!er. When men ori(inally brou(ht in irri(ation to direct the o!erflo- to their o-n ad!anta(e1 they did so by puttin( emban)ments to enclose lar(e areas or basins of flat land and then sendin( the -ater into them by -ater7channels. *urin( the period of the flood1 -ater passed on from hi(her basins to lo-er basins on the -ay to the sea1 and in each basin silt -as deposited. This form of irri(ation is )no-n as basin7irri(ation. ,ts chief e ponents ha!e been the 5(yptians. The -aters of the 0ile -ere enclosed in the emban)ed basins for fifty days or so1 some mo!ement occurrin( all the time as -ater passed from the hi(her to the lo-er basins1 e!entually to be drained bac) to the ri!er. ,n that fifty days the soil of each basin (ot a continuous soa)in( and upon it a certain amount of rich silt settled. The soil of each basin -as cropped each year and1 after the har!est1 -as left uncropped until the ne t season of flood. 0o-1 if this method of irri(ation is carefully considered it -ill be seen that it is an adaptation of the natural cycle of e!ents to the 5(yptians3 use. The -ater lay upon the land for the same fifty days or so of the natural flood of the 0ile and recei!ed the same deposit of mud. Throu(hout their lon( history1 the 5(yptians did not alter the natural cycle. ,t -as only in the last half7century that perennial be(an substantially to replace basin irri(ation1 and the reason -as that perennial irri(ation permitted t-o crops in place of one. ,t earned1 therefore1 the blessin(

(i!en to those who make two blades grow in lace of one . This ad!anta(e of perennial irri(ation is brou(ht about by a ermanent hi(h le!el of the ri!er abo!e a dam or barra(e placed in its course. Main canals lead off the hei(htened -ater from abo!e the dam and minor canals distribute it. ,t ma)es constant use of the artificial hi(h le!el of the ri!er1 and1 usin( the -ater that flo-s in the ri!er all the year round1 it is ob!iously not -asteful but conser!ati!e. %ut there is one darin( thin( about perennial irri(ation2 it alters the age4long habit of river4made soils in arid countries . What it is made to do is1 in fact1 to treat these arid soils as if they -ere soils dependent upon frequent rain1 for by means of loc)s and (ates there is a (i!in( of -ater e!ery ten to t-enty days. The system increases the products of the soil not only by puttin( more land more frequently into use1 but also throu(h more frequent crops it ma)es (reater demands on the stored plant7foods2 at the same time it does not cater for an annual settlement of silt as does the basin method. ,t (ets its results by an e ploitation of the allu!ial plain and not by an application of its natural habit2 thereby issuin( as it -ere a challen(e to nature. ,t mi(ht1 therefore1 call forth a retaliation from nature. 'ctually it does do so and the retaliation ta)es the form of an accumulation of salines in the soil. These al)aline salts lead to a deterioration of the soil and1 -hen ad!anced1 pre!ent the (ro-th of crops alto(ether. 3The 5(yptians1 -rites Mr. G. >. Gac)s in The Ra e of the 'arth1 durin( the lon( period in -hich they used basin irri(ation1 3li!ed on the soil3s income and -on lastin( security a(ainst natural ha.ards at the e pense of pro(ress. With the introduction of a more efficient technique into 5(yptian a(riculture1 the soils ha!e steadily deteriorated. ISoil al)aliI has become a serious and (ro-in( menace1 cotton yields are fallin(. The deterioration has been due in the main to the substitution of perennial for basin irri(ation.3 %asin irri(ation suits the soil and is a)in to it. $erennial irri(ation1 on the other hand1 is not a)in to it. %ut1 at a time of the unchallen(ed dominance of money1 the perennial form -as una!oidable as 3a substitution indispensable for the cotton (ro-in(1 by -hich 5(ypt has ad!anced and enriched itself3 DGac)sE. 0e!ertheless1 in its !ery success1 it has sta(ed once more the drama of money !ersus the soil1 -ith money in the role of !ictor. %ut nature -ill not be (ainsaid. The !ery source of 5(ypt3s life suffers1 and thou(h the present (enerations (ain the future ones -ill lose. 35(ypt3s ad!ance to modern ci!ili.ation is bein( bou(ht -ith soil fertility13 is the conclusion of Mr. Gac)s.

That (reat a(ricultural (enius1 the late $rofessor F. 4. ;in(1 -ho became "hief of the *i!ision of Soil Mana(ement1 6nited States *epartment of '(riculture1 in his boo)1 &rrigation and Drainage1 #@8@1 reflectin( upon 3the fields of the 0ile )ept free from al)alis for thousands of years31 and upon the present increase of salts 3to so serious an e tent that many acres ha!e been abandoned31 -as struc) by the thou(ht1 -hich li)e a flash in the dar) illumines the brain of (enius1 that these (reat irri(ators must ha!e tried out so ob!ious a modification of basin irri(ation as is the perennial. 3The probabilities31 he -rote1 3are that lon( lon( a(o the more rational methods DAE no- bein( practised had been tried and found inadequate or inapplicable1 on account of the accumulation of al)alis -hich they permitted1 and the old irri(ators learnt to be content -ith a system -hich1 althou(h more -asteful in some -ays1 still )ept the dread al)alis under control ... ,t is a note-orthy fact that the e cessi!e de!elopment of al)alis in ,ndia1 as -ell as in 5(ypt and "alifornia1 are the results of irri(ation practices1 modern in their ori(in and modes1 and instituted by people lac)in( in the traditions of the ancient irri(ators1 -ho had -or)ed these lands for thousands of years before. The al)ali lands of to7day1 in their intense form1 are of modern ori(in1 due to practices -hich are e!idently inadmissible1 and -hich1 in all probability1 -ere )no-n to be so by the peoples -hom our modern ci!ili.ation has supplanted.3 ,n ,ndia the ad+acent pro!inces of the $un+ab and Sind ha!e both been -idely de!eloped by perennial irri(ation1 and both ha!e reacted1 e!en in a brief span of years1 by increasin( al)ali. ,n The Summary of Results1 published in #84: by the '(ricultural *epartment of the $un+ab States1 one reads/ 3,n the $un+ab !ast areas of al)ali soils ha!e come into e istence.3 ,n Sind there ha!e been but a fe- years of perennial irri(ation1 for the %arra(e -as only opened in #892. 0e!ertheless1 in the #89?7@ Report of the *epartment of '(riculture1 it is stated/ 3This constant application of irri(ation -ater1 for raisin( crops in such intensity1 has brou(ht in comple soil problems1 the solution of -hich is necessary to the success of the pro+ected a(ricultural pro(ress of the $ro!ince ... Thou(h precise information is not a!ailable1 it is )no-n that there are thousands of acres of kalai Dthe local name for al)aliE land -here no crops -ould (ro-. %esides these lar(e stretches1 there are scattered all o!er the $ro!ince1 almost in e!ery holdin(1 small pieces of kalai land -here crop either does not (ro- or (ro-s !ery poorly.3 Since the openin( of the %arra(e1 as is abo!e stated1 precise information is not a!ailable. ' fe- researches made1 -here it -as possible to contrast pre7%arra(e -ith post7%arra(e conditions1 sho- that the -arnin( of Mr. T. F. Main1 *irector of '(riculture in #8281 that 3under perennial irri(ation one must loo) for-ard to !ast areas more or less infected -ith salt3 is a prophecy li)ely to be fulfilled. 'l)ali is already the most

ur(ent problem in Sind1 and the most effecti!e remedy that has been found1 is1 says the Report1 to put lar(e quantities of irri(ation -ater1 #=792 inches1 dependin( upon the salinity13 to soa) the soil. ,n other -ords1 the most effective remedy is a tem orary return to basin irrigation . When the soil is capricious and tends to deteriorate1 more is in!ol!ed than a diminution of crops. The -hole life7cycle deteriorates too. ,n readin( the Report one is impressed by the (reat amount of disease1 not only of the soil1 that there is in the %arra(e area. ,t is true that at present no immediate lin)a(e bet-een disease and al)ali has been in!esti(ated1 but then no-here is the relation of the soil to the disease of the life7cycle it supports properly reco(ni.ed. ,t is not put in the fore(round of official a(ricultural reports any-here and only appears more or less by chance. "otton is the crop to -hich the %arra(e System is particularly suited1 yet in Sind this fluffy beauty is as delicate as a %ri(hton in!alid. 4ere are some of its enemies and diseases/ +assids1 -hite ants1 pin) and spotted boll -orm1 blac)7 headed cric)et1 dus)y cotton bu(1 lucerne caterpillar1 red pump)in beetle1 root rot1 boll rot1 red leaf. So it is officially stated/ 3There is no doubt that the losses suffered annually by the cotton (ro-ers of Sind1 on account of dama(e to their crops by insect pests or fun(oid and bacterial diseases1 are immense1 and scientific research -or) on these pests and diseases is most ur(ently required.3 Re the animal phase of the cycle1 the system -as not desi(ned for Sind3s famous red cattle1 as is e!idenced by the fact that 3since the commencement of perennial irri(ation1 the yield and quality of the -owar crop in Sind ha!e deteriorated in many tracts3. 3owar is a common food of cattle and -ith its deterioration 3there is a (eneral deterioration in the breed3. ' 3hea!y toll3 in animals is ta)en by such diseases as li!er flu)e1 rinderpest1 parasitic (astritis1 haemorrha(ic septicaemia1 and so on. Lastly comes the human phase. The chief disease1 -hich affects the countrymen of Sind is malaria1 and1 re malaria1 the $ublic 4ealth Report of #89@ states/ 3,ts incidence has increased -ith the inau(uration of the Lloyd %arra(e and "anal "onstruction Scheme.3 ,t is not possible to compile accurate statistics in rural Sind1 but the pre!alence of malaria is brou(ht home to lando-ners1 because its -ea)enin( effect on the labourers is produced -hen there is the (reatest call for their labour. Some har!estin( actually has been abandoned because of the shorta(e malaria produces. The increase of malaria is connected up -ith the System in the follo-in( -ay/

the System brin(s more -ater2 more -ater brin(s more pools2 more pools brin( more mosquitoes1 and the bite of mosquitoes leads to the infection of malaria. %ut this quite possibly is not the -hole story. The Sind soils tend to be al)aline1 -ith1 in the lan(ua(e of science1 a p4 of o!er ?. Lo- de(rees of al)alinity can be neutrali.ed by the carbonic acid -hich the roots secrete1 but1 if al)alinity increases1 the -ater of the soil cannot hold iron and man(anese to the same de(ree as it can -hen it is neutral1 and these t-o are the chief metals of the red matter of the blood. 6nder the %arra(e System only a small in!esti(ation of p4 !alues has been made1 -hen it -as found that the p4 had risen from an a!era(e bet-een ? to @.< in pre7%arra(e days to an a!era(e bet-een @ and 8.< in post7%arra(e. ,f this -ere (enerally true1 then the plants in the post7%arra(e period as eaten by the Sindhis -ould ha!e less of the metals that form the stren(th of human blood. Malaria in particular1 is due to parasites in the blood itself. The -ea)er blood fa!ours the parasites of malaria and so malaria is increased for subtle reasons of the life7cycle and not merely from more pools and more mosquitoes. Whether this sequence -ill be found or reco(ni.ed to be a further e ample of ho- -e humans must be thou(ht of as part of a life7cycle or -hether it is re+ected1 there can be no question that the (ro-in( of t-o blades -here one (re- in Sind has ushered in a cycle of sic)er soil1 sic)er plants1 sic)er animals and sic)er humans. Were there a definite measure of character and morals1 it is possible that e!en no- these -ould be found to ha!e deteriorated. ,n the (eneral opinion of those -ith )no-led(e of Sind1 there has been a notable deterioration1 but this is not attributed by them to a slac)enin( of efficiency and authority under pro!incial self7(o!ernment. Mr. Gac)s proclaims that al)ali is not as dan(erous as erosion1 because it can be remedied. The most effecti!e remedy in Sind and else-here is the soa)in( of the soil. Rice (ro-in( is also effecti!e1 for in the (ro-in( of rice1 the soil is co!ered -ith -ater and thorou(hly soa)ed. %oth processes are of the nature of the basin irri(ation1 -hich in 5(ypt for so many centuries completely protected that -onderful land a(ainst al)ali. What -ill be the end in SindA Will the stubbornness of nature and her dominion o!er all terrene life once a(ain either force men to comprehend1 or -ill it ma)e their habitations barrenA ,s an old1 old story in the 5ast a(ain to be repeatedA Sind1 li)e 5(ypt1 is buyin( her -ay into a money7ruled ci!ili.ation -ith her soil7fertility. Will the a(ricultural scientists1 obedient not to the soil but to their urban masters1 enable this money7dominance to hold its position a(ainst the

affronted landA Will they1 by their fra(mented methods1 be able to (o further and establish a stable1 healthy life7cycle in SindA Will they failA For myself1 , loo) for an ans-er to the man1 -ho of all men seems to me to ha!e had the -idest and -isest !ision in these (reat matters1 the late $rofessor F. 4. ;in(1 and return to his -ords/ 3The al)ali lands of to7day1 in their intense form1 are of modern ori(in1 due to practices -hich are e!idently inadmissible1 and -hich1 in all probability1 -ere )no-n to be so by the people -hom our modern ci!ili.ation has supplanted.3

Chapter 1$ Fragmentat on
When1 in the first half of the industrial era1 the call upon the soil for food and ra- material became ur(ent1 certain scientists set themsel!es to study the means by -hich the soil -as enabled to create more life. They did not do this by a -ide obser!ation of nature in the forest1 prairie or else-here1 nor by a study of successful farmin(1 past and present1 but they did -hat is typical of scientists1 they selected one aspect of the question and concentrated on it. They selected plant7food1 not in its entirety1 but in the fra(mentary aspect of a particular character of it1 its chemical character. They acted as simplicists1 split off a part of a -hole problem1 and attempted by an intense study to ma)e the part sol!e the -hole. Thereby they e!entually made the part (reater than the -hole. 4o-e!er1 the story tells itself. The men -ho set out to sol!e this problem1 or1 in other -ords1 to put a scientific theory and practice of plant7feedin( in the place of the traditional1 obser!ational )no-led(e and practice1 -ere not farmers. They -ere chemists1 allied1 therefore1 to the chemists -ho then -ere ma)in( factories so successful. The three leadin( men in this !enture of the human mind -ere Theodore de Saussure1 Gustus !on Liebi( and G. %. La-es. Liebi( D#@:97?9E1 -ith -hose name the !enture became chiefly connected1 had already -on a -ide reco(nition as one of the (reatest chemists of his time. ,n #@92 he1 -ith WNhler1 published a memoir called Researches on the Radical in ,en0oic Acid 1 in -hich he sho-ed that the radical ben.oyl mi(ht be re(arded as formin( an unchan(in( constituent of a lon( series of compounds. %y this (reat -or)1 he opened out a ne- era of or(anic chemistry1 and made possible the elucidation of the numberless combinations of a fe- elements1 such as those -hich fi(ured in "hapter #4.

,t -as1 therefore1 -ith a (reat presti(e and una!oidable reco(nition on his part of his o-n pre7eminence as a chemist1 that in #@9@ he turned his po-ers to a sub+ect that -as ur(ent and immediate1 the sub+ect of the production of more food. ,t -as a time )no-n in 5n(land as the 34un(ry Forties3 and in Germany one of (ra!e social unrest amon(st the (ro-in( industrial population. Liebi( became dra-n to the nature of food1 !e(etable and animal1 and such -as his forceful intelli(ence that he -as sure to ma)e out a !ery stron( case for the chemist -ith re(ard to it. 4e did so. ,n this !ital matter1 he made out the claim that the chemist should be the supreme arbiter. 4e re+ected the farmers3 )no-led(e that the plants deri!ed their chief nourishment from humus1 formed by the decay of dead animal and !e(etable matter. 4e tau(ht that plants too) their nitro(en and carbon from the air and e!entually returned them to the air by the a(encies of putrefaction and fermentation. There -as no loss of either carbon or nitro(en in this cycle. %ut it -as a different matter -ith the minerals that plants required1 such as phosphorus1 potash1 soda1 sulphur and lime. These came from the superficial earth1 in -hich they -ere limited and could become e hausted. What the farmers had to do -as to ma)e (ood the loss by (i!in( bac) the required amount to the soil. To affect this1 they had to put themsel!es in the hands of the chemists. The chemists -ould ta)e some of the crops to the laboratory and there burn a-ay the or(anic matter and analyse the minerals of the ash that -as left. They -ould1 then1 disco!er -hether phosphates1 potash1 sulphates1 lime1 and also nitrates since nitro(en -as not supplied speedily enou(h by the air1 -ere defecti!e in quantity. %y minin( the deficient salts or by manufacturin( them in factories1 they -ould supply those that -ere required. The ones particularly required -ere (rouped under nitro(en1 phosphorus and potash1 -ith lime -hich had lon( been (i!en to fields in the form of marl or chal). These chemicals became )no-n by the term of 3artificial3 manures in contrast to natural1 farmyard manures. 't no time could circumstances ha!e been more fa!ourable to artificials than at the time of their introduction. The o!erthro- of the conception of men3s partnership -ith the soil1 -hich is embodied in a free peasantry1 had been completed as has already been told. The old feelin( for the land as somethin( li!in( and creati!e had disappeared -ith the peasantry. The land had become somethin( to be o-ned and -or)ed for money. Lar(e1 ne- populations -ere a-aitin( food and also other ra- materials of plant (ro-th. Fortunes -ere -on throu(h o-nership of land as quic)ly as throu(h that of factories. The land of 5n(land had1 therefore1 been sei.ed by -ealthy and ambitious men1 and the

peasants had been turned off their holdin(s and their commons. The peasants -ere sub+u(ated by the rich1 as if they -ere a conquered people and not fello-7 countrymen. 6rban areas1 too1 -ere rapidly ceasin( to ha!e the character of country7to-ns and -ere differentiatin( themsel!es as almost purely industrial. The leadin( industrialists1 on their part1 had also defeated the countryside. They had destroyed the rural cotta(e industries and thereby had forced the youn( and able7bodied country fol) to ser!e their factories. Whether on the land or in factories and mines1 the ne- order -as rich men and1 completely subser!ient to them1 the proletarians. This -as the rural condition -hich constituted the parenta(e of 3artificials31 and1 from the point of !ie- of life7cycles1 it -as bad. Cn the other hand1 it may be claimed that these chemical fertili.ers made a bi( contribution to the difficulty of feedin( the ne-1 urban populations. 'part from e ceptional farmers1 the soil had for lon( been indifferently manured. The elements -hich artificials supplied -ere needed1 and lar(er crops follo-ed their use. 4ealthier and better results could ha!e been effected by the systemati.ed collection of (reat quantities of urban and rural -aste and the manufacture of it into manure. %ut there -ere difficulties. Firstly1 the roads -ere bad. 5!en the best of roads -ere such that royalty sometimes could not (et from ;ensin(ton $alace to Richmond o-in( to the mud. ,f this -ere so -here royalty passed1 collection and distribution of stuff needed by farms and !illa(es -ere not li)ely to be systemati.ed1 a -ord that did not apply to the farmin( of that day. Secondly1 the ma)in( of manure from -astes requires plannin( and labour1 and there -as a lac) of both in the 5n(lish countryside. 'rtificials had many ad!anta(es o!er natural manure. They -ere either mined or manufactured. They -ere much less bul)y to transport1 and they -ere !ery easy to spread upon the fields. They -ere1 indeed1 almost too practical and con!enient2 they offered the allurement of ease1 and1 as they (a!e quic) results1 lando-ners and lar(e farmers -ere satisfied. Science thus came to the rescue and scored a triumph. 'rtificials did (reat ser!ice in a period -hen the alto(ether unprecedented increase of population and ne- to-ns enforced an e ploitation of the soil in a country of bac)-ard a(riculture. They pro!ided a partial and artificial fulfilment of the rule of return. They sin(led out the most important elements of plant food and replaced them1 e!en if distant islands had to be sou(ht to (et the required substance. This feedin( to the land -as certainly superior in its results to no feedin( at all. ,t -as planned and conducted under s)illed (uidance. ,t increased yields1 stren(thened -ea)lin( crops in their (ro-th1 filled in (aps -hen the introduction of motors and

tractors led to losses of or(anic manure by displacin( horses and o en. ,n consequence1 artificials came to be used in lar(e quantities in many parts of the -orld. 0e!ertheless1 they -ere and they remain fra(mentary2 they are not a full return of all that is ta)en from the soil. ,s there e!idence that in results they ha!e not had a -hole effect1 such as their partial character -ould indicateA 't the !ery outset there is somethin( -hich1 in a sense1 is so fantastic and yet so in )eepin( -ith the spirit of that e uberant time1 -hen the first burst of -onder -as aroused by the many triumphs of the scientific method1 that it seems almost lo(ical. ,t is this/ the life4cycle was not used as a test of artificials . There is the +ustly famous small plot of (round of %roadbal)1 Rothamsted1 the e perimental station founded by Mr. G. %. La-es1 -here for a century -heat has been (ro-n yearly on soil -ith a full complement of artificials ne t to a similar plot1 -here farmyard manure has been used. The -heat on both plots loo)s -ell and yields -ell. %ut all tests of this century of e periment ha!e stopped -ith the crop itself and its quantity. The crop has been -atched as a thin( in itself by the close1 careful1 fra(mentary 1 -atch of science. ,t has +ust been a mar)et test1 the quantity of -heat yielded by a plot of such a si.e. 0o animal phase of the -heat as a food has been tested1 nor has its !e(etable factor been complete1 for the seed of the lots has been im orted from outside 1 brin(in( in qualities of life7cycles not belon(in( to the plot. So the -hole century7old e periment has been -ithout any life7cycle tests1 has indeed belonged to no life4cycle. &t has been individuali0ed, se arated, s eciali0ed. ,ut in nature nothing is like that. This fra(mentary method in a(riculture1 as else-here1 became the standardi.ed method of test. ,t has not1 e!en no-1 reached the sta(e of the life7cycle1 in -hich obser!ant peasants and the health of themsel!es and their products enter as a part of it. Scientists1 it is true1 do test out crops and foods on animals1 but in a fra(mentary and apparently ine haustible manner1 and1 e cept the estate planned by Lady 5!e %alfour in Suffol) before the outbrea) of -ar1 there -as in %ritain no e perimental farm1 in -hich the life7cycle -as the standard of test. There seems to be1 then1 only one -ay to (et an ans-er to the life7cycle results of artificials and that is to ta)e a (eneral !ie- of the results of a(riculture in the period1 in -hich artificials ha!e played a prominent part. Firstly1 -e -ill ta)e quality as denoted by taste. That (reat farmer1 Mr. F. '.

Secrett1 at the Royal Society of 'rts in #89<1 spo)e of taste and quality in this practical manner/ 3, notice that in "o!ent Garden and the lar(er pro!incial mar)ets1 those stands are fa!oured -here the produce has come from farms -hich ha!e recei!ed or(anic manure. 'lthou(h hi(her prices are char(ed for this produce1 it is sold out first.3 Taste and choice are1 of course1 natural measures of food1 but they are not scientific ones. $eople are so sub+ect to the statements 3pro!ed scientifically31 3measured scientifically31 that they fail to reali.e that the e cellencies are not measurable and therefore ha!e to be disre(arded by science. The customer1 -ho li)es the loo) of a bas)et of (ooseberries and ta)es one to taste1 is a sound measurer1 but he is not a scientist. ' scientist1 as scientist1 cannot measure appearance and taste. D' !ery (reat and honest scientist1 "harles *ar-in1 said that his -or) had spoiled his appreciation of music.E %ut people can still +ud(e by taste1 and it has been noted by those -ho (ro- !e(etables and fruits upon land -here full return is practised1 that customers (i!e a sudden e pression of surprised deli(ht -hen they first bite into these products. They ha!e come to e pect almost a sa!ourlessness in mar)et7(arden produce. 'nyone -ho has tried out foods (ro-n from full return and those from artificials1 immediately reco(ni.es the distinction. Cne is in!itin(1 the other insipid. Mar)et7(ardeners themsel!es )no- it1 but no- that motor7cars and !ans ha!e dri!en out the hu(e horse population -hich once belon(ed to the to-ns the (ardeners ser!ed1 they ha!e been left mostly helpless. 'nimals1 too1 )no- that taste is a safe (uide to (ood food. Mice ha!e been tried out by (i!in( them t-o trou(hs1 the one filled -ith (rain (ro-n by the bio7dynamic methods1 -hich is a 3-hole3 method1 and one -ith (rain (ro-n by artificials. The mice in!ariably chose the first trou(h and finished its (rain before they -ent to the second. Similarly cattle1 let into a field equally di!ided into 3artificials3 and 3-hole return3 areas1 collect and (ra.e upon the -hole return. 0e!ertheless1 in searchin( around it is surprisin( ho- fe- are the e amples of choice. The curious fact emer(es that the taste of fresh foods is no longer regarded as a guide. The (reat ma+ority of modern foods are scarcely e pected to taste of themsel!es by the mass of their consumers. Tastes1 as condiments1 sauces1 curries11 and so on1 ha!e to be added to them. The ne t test of quality is health. "an it be said that the products are healthy under modern farmin(1 in -hich artificials ha!e come to play a dominant partA To ans-er this question by personal obser!ation1 one -ould ha!e to (o on a tour li)e those of 'rthur Boun(1 William "obbett and Rider 4a((ard1 and see

for oneself. We ha!e to find a less laborious +ourney1 and this is readily achie!ed by (oin( throu(h a te tboo) on modern farmin(1 -hich (i!es one1 as it -ere1 a (uideboo) to a country one does not )no-. 's the ma+ority of people do not )no- the farmin( -orld1 such a boo) -ill form a (uide to -hat is to the reader !irtually a forei(n country. , ha!e such a boo) before me1 -ritten -ith the e cellent technical s)ill -hich one e pects in such instructi!e boo)s. , ha!e read throu(h it se!eral times1 -ith the spirit of a tra!eller see)in( to )no- -hat this ne- farmin( -orld is li)e1 and each time , ha!e -ondered the more at -hat , read. There is first the soil. ,n this ne- country one soon comes to reali.e that the soil is not a bit li)e the soil in nature1 a part of a (eneral life7cycle. ,t is a thing in itself1 the composition of -hich is understood by scientists as somethin( that they can manipulate1 compound into its se!eral parts and dispense to farmers as compounders dispense medicines. What the soil did in the past and still does -here left to nature1 -hat it did under the culti!ation of past farmers1 these are thin(s of the *ar) '(es before the li(ht of modern science came to the -orld. 's principles or assistants to )no-led(e1 they are not e!en mentioned. $re!ious )no-led(e and tradition of the land are treated as the pre!ious )no-led(e of1 say1 radiolo(y and -ireless1 as not -orth mentionin(. %ut the soil is somethin( !ery different to ne- scientific sub+ects or disco!eries in technique such as that of Marconi. The scientists1 ho-e!er1 seem to see no difference bet-een technique and !itality. The manipulated soil (ets a number of diseases1 so the -ise modern farmer -ill (et his soil o!erhauled by a soil7scientist1 as the to-nsman (ets himself o!erhauled by his local doctor. %ut -ith these numerous complaints and their treatments -e -ill not deal. The spontaneity of the soil1 by -hich it has done its +ob of life7supportin( for endless !istas of time1 is lost in this ne- country. So1 e!en thou(h one )no-s the lan(ua(e1 one has also to )no- the e act meanin( the scientist (i!es to his -ords. Cne -onders -hat e actly he thin)s of the soil. ,s it a !i(orous re7creator of life or a cantan)erous in!alidA ,s it the peasant3s partner or the scientist3s patientA ,t is really confusin(1 but let us (o on -ith our +ourney. We no- enter another pro!ince1 that at -hich the scientist is at his happiest technically1 manipulatin( the breedin( of plants and animals in -ays so quietly disco!ered by the mon)1 Mendel. ,n this pro!ince1 -onderful !arieties of life ha!e been fashioned. 4ere1 for e ample1 are pi(s so fat that to their pro(enitors they -ould appear ni(htmares rather than pi(s. They ha!e been con+ured into masses of strea)y bacon such as a public has been tau(ht especially to !alue.

Sometimes the public taste in bacon is chan(ed1 and -ith it the pi(s are chan(ed1 the scientists bein( able to s-itch their fat and lean about so as to ma)e a chan(e practical. These pi(s are bred1 fed in special -ays1 stalled and slau(htered1 and often ne!er (o under the open s)y1 until they are ta)en to the mar)et. They are1 of course1 delicate1 but they are bul)y. They are tasty1 too1 -hen they reach the table1 so that here public taste itself seems faulty as a (uide1 and this -ould be so1 -ere it not that the taste is directed not so much by the consumers as by the retailers. Still they are tasty1 especially to those -ho ha!e not or care not for the po-erful crunch of orthodontic teeth. 4ere1 too1 are co-s specially bred for mil). They also see !ery little of the open s)y durin( their useful life. They become mothers and their udders fill -ith mil). Their cal!es are almost at once ta)en from them and the mothers are transferred for ser!ice to lon( and !ery clean buildin(s near lar(e to-ns1 -here each one has her stall. 'ntiseptic chemicals are requisitioned to cleanse the teats of microbes and then a machine is attached to the teats1 -hich suc)s out the mil) into sterile receptacles. 5 treme -atchfulness and care is ta)en. 'bo!e all the scientists ha!e to test and e amine for tuberculosis1 for there is probably no (roup of li!in( animals so prone to a (ra!e infection as are these unnatural co-s to tuberculosis. , ha!e not -ith me nor can , recall the percenta(e of co-s in %ritain that ha!e tuberculosis1 but it is surprisin(ly lar(e. Cur (uide to this ne- farmin( country1 ho-e!er1 comes to our assistance. The best -ay of pre!entin( the spread of tuberculosis in dairy herds1 it says1 is to test the co-s by the tuberculin test and to destroy those -ith a positi!e reaction. The ob+ection to this practical man3s treatment of an in!ited disease is that it means a capital loss to farmers1 -hich they cannot afford. The scheme1 thou(h declared to be scientifically sound1 is not carried out in practice. ,t is a (ood e ample of the lan(ua(e of this ne- country bein( so topsy tur!y as to distort the meanin( of -ords. Sound may be so allied with science, but it certainly cannot be so allied with nature. To be sound in nature is to be healthy . We ha!e no- had a si(ht of some of the animals in the ne- country. We -ill direct oursel!es to some of its crops. ,t does not really matter -hich crops -e choose. We -ill1 therefore1 select t-o of the commonest forms of human food1 -heat and potatoes. What is -anted is a -heat of the best quality. There -e all a(ree1 but the -ord quality in the ne- country has a different meanin( to that -hich it had in the old one1 -hen it meant a -heat that (a!e a health7(i!in( and tasty loaf. Muality

is no- millin( quality1 the capacity to ma)e lar(e loa!es. ,mported -heat is better quality in this respect than %ritish -heat1 for a t-o7pound %ritish loaf is only t-o7thirds as bi( as a t-o7pound loaf of imported flour. For this reason the %ritish flour is called -ea) and the imported stron(. The science of plant7breedin( is recent2 it belon(s to the present century1 and one of its early triumphs -as in the ma)in( of %ritish -heat stron(. This -as accomplished by breedin( on Mendel3s principles. 3Beoman3 and other -heats sho- that stron( -heat could be (ro-n in %ritain. %ut1 thou(h these -heats -ere stron( in the ba)er3s sense of the -ord1 they -ere not stron( in health. They -ere1 li)e the so7called soft -heats1 sub+ect to many diseases1 of -hich certain 3rusts3 are particularly destructi!e. ' -heat1 called 3Ghur)a31 -as fetched from Russia because it resists rust and it -as bred -ith %ritish -heats1 and finally there emer(ed 3Little Goss31 -hich -as immune to Bello- Rust. ,ts ba)er7quality -as not so (ood as that of 3Beoman31 but its health -as better2 so by better health it lost one quality in (ainin( another. There are many other diseases of -heat2 there is1 for instance1 one -ith the unpleasant name of stin)in( smut. To a!oid stin)in( smut the seeds of -heat before so-in( are soa)ed or dusted -ith chemical antiseptics1 so stron( that those -ho handle the seed ha!e to (uard themsel!es a(ainst bein( poisoned. Some of the poisons -ere too dan(erous for common use1 so the scientists set to -or) to find safer poisons. "oated -ith these poisons1 -heats of (ood quality can emer(e into life. 0o- those -ho can remember the cotta(e loaf1 as made by hand in the countryside before these chan(es -ere be(un1 -ill recall the delicious fla!our of the bread. %ut a delicious fla!our is not a measure in this ne- country. See1 for e ample1 -hat has been done -ith our second choice1 the potato. The potato is an 'merican plant -ith its ori(inal home in $eru1 -hen that country -as itself the home of a !ery (reat a(ricultural ci!ili.ation. Cur (uide to the necountry1 ho-e!er1 tells us -hat a poor7quality thin( the potato -as before bein( ta)en in hand by the scientists. $otatoes of the present day1 the (uide7boo)1 declares1 are much superior to the small 3hi(hly fla!oured3 potato of the last century. 0o-adays a hy(ienic public1 trained to associate the colour -hite -ith cleanliness1 demand -hat in the ne- country is a quality7potato. ,t must be of medium si.e1 thin7s)inned1 -ith fe- eyes1 and abo!e all1 it must be -hite. ,t must ha!e a 3(ood3 appearance1 it must be a 3shop7-indo-3 potato1 thou(h its fla!our is poor compared to its yello-7fleshed1 hi(hly7fla!oured and more nutritious ancestor. %ut this yello- colour is not 3quality32 it is1 a 3discoloration32 merchants -ill not buy such potatoes and the public -ill not eat them. 4o- is it

that the public re+ected fla!our and nutritiousness in fa!our of bul) and appearanceA ,s the ans-er not clear to my readersA %ul)1 if it means ultimately less to the consumer1 means more (ain to the seller. Money scores. 'nd appearance1 is that not a second falsity of money1 the eye displacin( the ton(ue1 -here the ton(ue should ser!e the -hole in the supreme matter of !italityA Cr1 to discard the serious for the humorous1 ho- many times ha!e , not read and lau(hed at 'lice in the Loo)in(7Glass1 until1 follo-in( my (uide7boo)1 , reali.ed that , too -as li!in( in such a -ron(7-ay7round country. Cf course the potato has a number of diseases. We read of them1 in the (uide7 boo). ,t is really delicate1 so delicate in fact that in many countries1 includin( %ritain1 certificates are issued by special inspectors that seed7potatoes are free of !irus1 and1 in consequence1 that their offsprin( -ill not be )illed out to an e tent of more than <: per cent by !irus diseases. There are1 of course1 fun(us diseases as -ell. There is1 for e ample1 -art disease1 -hich is so dan(erous that in #8291 Go!ernment made its occurrence notifiable to the police. So one tra!els in the ne- country1 to hear the same tale a(ain and a(ain repeated. Finally the tra!eller comes to the opinion that the modern scientific farm, and es ecially the e! erimental farm, is a mi!ture of forcing house and hos ital. ,t fra(ments the life7cycle. ,t is the offsprin( of a defect of thou(ht1 the splittin( or departmentali.in( of the mind1 -hich disables it from seein( -holeness and that men1 animals1 plants and soil are inseparably united. 6nder this fra(mentation1 insects and other pests ha!e assumed a dominion1 -hich assuredly they ha!e not (ot in nature1 frit flies1 aphides1 moths1 cut -orms1 -ire-orms1 leather7+ac)ets1 -arble flies1 ma((ot flies and the rest. %ut1 throu(h these misfortunes of the ne- farmin(1 the balance of nature is once a(ain emer(in( under the term ecolo(y. 4o- different is the tale of ecolo(ists to that of scientific money7farms. 4ere is the e!idence of one of them1 ta)en from the %io7dynamic '(ricultural 0e-s Sheet of 'pril #89@/ 3We ha!e found it possible to pre!ent the plants from sufferin( dama(e from insects simply by means of suitable biolo(ical measures1 and -ithout ta)in( steps to )ill them. ,n !e(etable culture proper -e ha!e mostly to do -ith plants -hose flo-erin( impulse is held bac)1 as1 for e ample1 all )inds of cabba(e1 carrots1 radish1 chicory1 lee)1 celery1 beetroot1 turnip1 etc. Cr -e ha!e to do -ith plants -hose flo-ers are not !ery prominent1 such as beans1 tomatoes and similar plants. From this repressed impulse to bloom there results a certain one7 sidedness. True flo-erin( plants are not amon(st them. ' close study of the relationships in nature ma)es it clear that the insect and plant -orlds are

complementary to and dependent upon one another1 and moreo!er that certain insects and certain plants are sympathetic to each other. >e(etables enable insects to de!elop their lar!ae and flo-ers offer food to countless fully7 de!eloped insects. 'nd there are many small creatures -hich prey on each other1 such as the spiders1 ichneumon7fly1 ladybirds1 etc. ,f -e pro!ide as lar(e a !ariety of insects as possible -ith the means of li!in(1 most of them -ill in time li!e harmoniously to(ether1 and the harm done by this or that one -ill be practically ne(li(ible. That is -hy it is so important to ha!e flo-erin( plants near !e(etables. The aromatic herbs are especially !aluable for this purpose1 e.(. bora(e1 la!ender1 hyssop1 sa(e1 thyme1 mar+oram1 dill and fennel ... 3't first the (rubs of the cabba(e7fly -ere !ery destructi!e. 0o- -e do not mind them at all. ,f on1 -arm days1 at the end of 'pril or May1 the fly lays her e((s on the cabba(e plant1 the red mites find them and suc) the e((s before the lar!ae emer(e. There are many such compensatory ad+ustments. The sand7fly dra(s many caterpillars a-ay to bury them for its lar!ae. ,n sprin(time ants see) amon( (rass and plants for the lar!ae of the daddy7lon(7le(s and )ill them. 5!en the -ire-orm made itself useful by preferrin( pre7di(ested plant7 stuff and destroyin( the lar!ae of a cabba(e7fly. 30ot only do insects balance amon(st themsel!es1 but toads1 fro(s1 moles1 shre-7mice and li.ards ta)e part in this ad+ustment.3 Men1 animals1 plants and the soil are balanced and united. That is the clear meanin( of the abo!e close obser!er and follo-er of nature. ,t is the ans-er to all that stran(e1 ne- country1 throu(h -hich -e ha!e tra!elled. ,t is also the ans-er to that particular part of it called 3artificials3. Men separate and fra(ment. They separate a science from nature as chemistry. Then the common thin(1 -hich bad thou(ht permits1 happens. The ne- specialists1 the chemists1 loo) at the !ital processes chemically and lay claim to be its (uides and masters. %ein( scientists they (et the support of other scientists1 and that of the scientific method1 the method of e periments1 -hich can be repeated by any properly trained indi!iduals. Thereby they fra(ment1 isolate and simplify questions1 and ma)e them readily 3comprehensible3 and 3controlled3. %y 3artificials3 not only do they reduce the feedin( of the soil to a purely chemical process1 not only do they omit the secrecy1 delicacy and !ariety of nature3s o-n methods1 but they limit the !ery chemistry itself. They fra(ment and simplify it to three or four minerals1 those of nitro(en1 phosphorus1 potassium and calcium. %ut there are more minerals in the soil than are dreamt of in their philosophy2 for e ample1 those that accompany the (ro-th of su(ar7beet by the sea constitute1 as *r. $feiffer calls it in ,io4dynamic 5arming1 #89@1 a 3small

pharmacy of sodium1 lithium1 man(anese1 titanium1 !anadium1 strontium1 caesium1 copper1 rubidium31 some of -hich elements are as rare as their names are beautiful. 's to these rare and common metals1 do -e )no- -hat tone and quality -e miss1 if -e lac) our share of themA We already )no- from "hapter #4 of (ra!e defects from small omissions1 but the mind need not (et confused contemplatin( their possibilities. We ha!e +ust read of the -onderful balance of nature3s ad+ustment bet-een insects1 flo-ers and other small forms of life. Will not nature effect the same balance -ithin us1 if she is allo-ed her -ay1 and -e follo- and do not fra(ment her method of life7cyclesA Will not each element harmoni.e -ith the others and so e press healthA 4o- then can -e e pect health1 -hen that harmony is bro)en in the soil itselfA That is the ans-er to 3artificials3. , could (i!e other ans-ers and sho- ho-1 -hen the -hole is follo-ed1 health must necessarily accompany it1 but , -ill not do so1 as , ha!e already made this the sub+ect of my boo)1 The Wheel of %ealth D#89@E. %ut , prefer to end this chapter not -ith minerals but men. The intelli(ence department of our a(riculture is -ron(ly based2 it is an intelli(ence lar(ely directed to cure the e!ils -hich it itself brin(s into bein(. ,t is the countrymen3s -isdom -e need no-1 that of the countrymen -ho ha!e built up lon(7lastin( a(riculture and -hose -isdom lies in tradition. They ha!e fashioned it by muscular and bodily -or) and by a close and immediate obser!ation1 by a personal intimacy -ith nature1 -hich -e ha!e come to associate -ith the poet. 'nd1 in fact1 peasantries are poetical and are so because of this intimacy. The music1 dances and son(s of the peasantries are characteristic of their countries2 they are the creati!e e pression of their o-n li!es. 0othin( collecti!e or characteristic1 as their life is1 ori(inates from people separated from the soil as are to-nfol). The poems and essays that played a notable part in the country life of the "hinese1 the Tibetan art -hich finds its -ay into e!ery home1 the syl!an settin( of the modern Gapanese !illa(es1 of the %alinese and %urmese1 the !ocal harmony of S-iss peasants returnin( from their fields1 the reproduction of floral beauty and colour in festi!e dress of so many countries1 these beto)en the un!oiced poet that lies in e!ery peasant3s heart. ,t is this intimacy that becomes creati!e in the poet1 as the (reat Gree) people reco(ni.ed in their use of their -ord poet1 namely1 a 3ma)er3 or creator1 and -hich *ante !oiced in the Divine #omedy1 -hen he declared that the poet -as not the disciple of the ima(ination1 but he -ho )no-s the secrets of nature. ,t is this intimacy -hich re!eals to the cultureless or self7cultured countrymen

the complete1 inter7dependent character of all the !aryin( forms of life1 and the health1 (oodness and beauty -hich come from it. ,ts all7per!adin( quality is somethin( )no-n by bein( seen1 felt1 li!ed -ith and reali.ed1 and not told to the ear. ,t constitutes that mystical unity1 about -hich all the most meditati!e reli(ious thou(ht and all the most sublime art ha!e (athered. The most famous temples of the -orld1 the noblest poems1 the lo!eliest pictures1 the most transcendent music1 ha!e acclaimed it. They are all -or)s of balance and beauty1 created by the unity of reali.ation on the part of artists1 -ho )no- the secrets of nature. ,t is to their company that the )no-led(e and arts of the peasantries belon(. They are1 both (reat and humble1 of li)e ori(in. %ut modern1 urban ci!ili.ation1 split off from the creati!e po-er of the soil1 has fors-orn this (reat herita(e. ,n its place there has spread a nihilism that year by year has been destroyin( art1 truth and beauty1 and1 at the same time1 in an immeasurable de(ree1 the soil itself1 to be consummated in a holocaust of men and nations.

Chapter 1& #ast and /est Ind es

The *utch be(an their career as empire7ma)ers in the 5ast almost at the same time as the %ritish1 the %ritish actually ha!in( the small start of ten years. %oth peoples came to the 5ast to trade and both became imperialists almost as an accident of their bein( traders. %ut there -as a notable difference bet-een the t-o peoples1 close nei(hbours thou(h they -ere in 5urope. ,t lay in their attitude to their o-n soils1 and this difference they carried -ith them to their eastern possessions. The consequence -as that the *utch1 in their island (o!ernment1 left the culti!ation of the acquired lands to the nati!e culti!ators1 -ithout interference other than that of the payment of ta es in )ind1 by -hich they (ot the tropical products they needed for sale in the mar)ets of 5urope. 'll that -as concerned -ith the nati!e a(riculture1 subsistence farmin(1 the !illa(e system1 and nati!e rule1 -ere left undisturbed. ,t -as a method of rule1 li)e to that -hich the %ritish no- follo- in some of their West 'frican "olonies and -hich that (reat colonial statesman1 Lord Lu(ard1 described as The Dual (andate. ,n the latter part of the last century1 the *utch Go!ernment of the islands (a!e up actin( itself as trader. %ut it had become so firmly con!inced of the !alue of the Ga!anese and other peasantries1 that it protected them by the absolute prohibition of the sale and purchase of land.

Mr. %oys1 of the %en(al "i!il Ser!ice1 !isited Ga!a in #@821 and he summed up the preser!ation of the Ga!anese peasantry in this remar)able passa(e/ 3The Ga!ans ha!e escaped the fatal (ift of proprietary ri(ht1 -hich has been the ruin of so many tens of thousands of our peasantry in ,ndia1 and -ith -hich1 -hile stri!in( to bless1 -e ha!e so effectually cursed the soil of ,ndia. ,t is not too much to say that the many benefits -hich -ould ha!e been conferred on Ga!a by the substitution of the 5n(lish for the *utch rule1 -ere not too hi(h a price to escape from the many e!ils of the unrestrained po-er to alienate pri!ate property. 6nder their present Go!ernment1 the Ga!ans accordin( to our 5n(lish ideas ou(ht to be the most miserable people. That they are not so1 but that1 on the contrary1 they are the most prosperous of Criental peasantry1 is mainly due to one cause 77 the inability of the Ga!an to raise a sin(le florin on the security of his fields1 and the protection thus (ained a(ainst the moneylender and himself. 0ature is bountiful in Ga!a1 and undoubtedly the abundant fertility of the soil enables the Ga!an to stand up a(ainst many ills to -hich he is sub+ect2 but -ere her fecundity doubled1 -ere she able to pour her (ifts as from a cornucopia into his lap1 nothin( -ould ultimately sa!e him from the moneylender and from the consequent e!iction from his fields and his home1 if he -ere able to pled(e the one or the other as a security for an ad!ance.3 The Ga!ans carry out a !ery s)illed peasant7a(riculture and 3ha!e (ot erosion under as complete control as has been achie!ed any-here in the -orld13 -rites Mr. G. >. Gac)s1 and continues/ 3The *utch Go!ernment in Ga!a has carefully preser!ed and encoura(ed nati!e anti7erosion a(riculture1 and the same principles are applied to 5uropean7controlled estates. There are no social barriers bet-een 5uropean and nati!es in Ga!a. The primary ob+ect of a(riculture is to feed the people2 the food supply of the community as a -hole must be maintained on a permanent and secure basis before rubber1 tobacco1 coffee1 etc.1 can be produced for e port.3 4ere1 in this island picture1 e!erythin( has been fa!ourable to the soil. The traditional culti!ation and anti7erosion measures of the Ga!anese are e cellent2 the early *utch Go!ernment1 as trader1 -as able to (et -hat it required throu(h ta es in )ind -ithout other interference2 -ith )no-led(e1 the Go!ernment came to !alue the peasants3 s)ill so hi(hly that it did e!erythin( to support it. 'nd1 in order to support it1 the *utch encoura(ed a ri(htly ordered a(riculture1 the rimary ob-ect of which was to feed the eo le . %y the absence of social barriers1 both peoples1 *utch and Ga!ans1 -ere able to base themsel!es on the soil. %y both the soil is1 one can say1 vitally !alued. ,n Ga!a1 -rites Mr. Gac)s1 they 3(i!e e!ery acre of land a national !alue that may be out of all

proportion to its money7ma)in( po-er3. This hi(h !aluation of the soil -as indi(enous. %ut one can -ell understand ho- hi(hly it itself -as appreciated by such a people as the *utch. When they came to Ga!a1 the *utch -ere themsel!es the best culti!ators in 5urope. %ut they -ere somethin( in addition. Cf all peoples in 5urope1 they had -a(ed the (reatest and most unceasin( fi(ht for the preser!ation of the soil2 they1 abo!e all people had (i!en land a national !alue. They had for centuries -on land from the sea and flood and (uarded it by dy)es1 -hich -ere their perpetual care. ,n )no-led(e of the use of -ater and draina(e1 in the rotation of crops1 in the use of clo!er1 in the full art of culti!ation1 the *utch in!aders in the ,ndies -ere (reatly the superiors of their %ritish contemporaries. The !ery impro!ements in a(riculture in 5n(land1 -hich -ere first adumbrated at the time of 5li.abeth1 -ere due to *utch and Flemish influence and infiltration. ,t -as "harles the First -ho brou(ht *utch e perts in dy)e and draina(e to ma)e his estate of the ,sle of ' holme the best -or)ed in 5n(land. Cf all Western peoples1 therefore1 appreciati!ely to ta)e o!er Ga!a and its sister7islands 77 if such -ere destined to occur 77 none could ha!e been better chosen than these s)illed and soil7re!erin( farmers of north7-estern 5urope. So1 in this respect1 the *utch 5ast ,ndian islands had the ad!anta(e o!er the %ritish West ,ndian ,slands. Cf the quality of the 5astern culti!ators themsel!es1 there is no better account than that of Mr. ". R. Wallace in his famous boo) The (alay Archi elago1 firstly1 because he -as a (reat obser!er1 and secondly1 because he !isited the islands se!enty years a(o and1 in the island to be described1 sa- its a(riculture as somethin( entirely its o-n. ,t -as a most felicitous combination of obser!er and obser!ed. The resultin( almost paradisical picture is one of enthusiasm1 but at the same time of une a((erated !erity. The island is that of Lomboc)1 separated from Ga!a by the island of %ali. ,t has at present some =::1::: inhabitants. ,ts capital is Mataram. 3Soon after passin( Mataram31 -rote Mr. Wallace1 3the country be(an (radually to rise in (entle undulations1 s-ellin( occasionally into lo- hills to-ards the t-o mountainous tracts in the northern and southern parts of the island. ,t -as no- that , first obtained an adequate idea of one of the most -onderful systems of culti!ation in the -orld1 equallin( all that is related of "hinese industry1 and as far as , )no- surpassin( in the labour besto-ed upon it any tract of equal e tent in the most ci!ili.ed countries of 5urope. , rode throu(h this stran(e (arden utterly ama.ed1 and hardly able to reali.e the fact1 that in this remote and little7)no-n island1 from -hich all 5uropeans e cept a fe- traders are +ealously e cluded1 many hundreds of square miles of irre(ularly undulatin(

country has been so s)ilfully terraced and le!elled1 and so permeated by artificial channels1 that e!ery portion of it can be irri(ated and dried at pleasure. 'ccordin( as the slope of the (round is more or less rapid1 each terraced plot consists in some places of many acres1 in others of a fe- square yards. We sathem in e!ery state of culti!ation2 some in stubble1 some bein( plou(hed1 some -ith rice crops in !arious sta(es of (ro-th. 4ere -ere lu uriant patches of tobacco2 there1 cucumbers1 s-eet potatoes1 yams1 beans or ,ndian corn1 !aried the scene. ,n some places the ditches -ere dry1 in others little streams crossed our road and -ere distributed o!er lands about to be so-n or planted. The ban)s -hich bordered e!ery terrace rose re(ularly in hori.ontal lines abo!e each other1 sometimes roundin( an abrupt )noll and loo)in( li)e a fortification1 or s-eepin( round some deep hollo- and formin( on a (i(antic scale the seats of an amphitheatre. 5!ery broo) and ri!ulet had been di!erted from its bed1 and instead of flo-in( alon( the lo-est (round -ere to be found crossin( our road half7-ay up an ascent1 yet bordered by ancient trees and moss7(ro-n stones so as to ha!e all the appearance of a natural channel1 and bearin( testimony to the remote period at -hich the -or) has been done. 's -e ad!anced farther into the country1 the scene -as di!ersified by abrupt roc)y hills1 by steep ra!ines1 and by clumps of bamboos and palm trees near houses and !illa(es2 -hile in the distance the fine ran(e of mountains of -hich Lomboc) pea)1 ei(ht thousand feet hi(h1 is the culminatin( point1 formed a fit bac)(round to a !iescarcely to be surpassed in human interest or picturesque beauty.3 This (reat naturalist and obser!er1 it -ill be noted1 is struc) by 3one of the most -onderful systems of culti!ation in the -orld32 3in a remote and little7)no-n island1 from -hich all 5uropeans e cept a fe- traders are +ealously e cluded32 a culti!ation due to assiduous labour2 a s)illed and complete use of -ater includin( e!ery ri!ulet and broo)2 the roads themsel!es are made sub+ect to the -ater channels2 the le!ellin( of e!ery plot of land1 lar(e and small1 so that the -ater could be equally distributed2 and he is able to end his description -ith a true and happy association of 3picturesque beauty3 and 3human interest3. The %ritish in the West ,ndies met -ith no (reat indi(enous culti!ators li)e those of Ga!a1 %ali and Lomboc). The %ritish pioneer in!aders of the West ,ndian ,slands -ere themsel!es men of ad!enture. They -ere buccaneers1 the bold buccaneers1 -ho at their o-n personal ris) and for their o-n personal (ain set out upon the hi(h seas to dispute the $ope3s fiat that the 0e- World1 )no-n and un)no-n1 belon(ed to the Spanish ;in(. They and the French too) many of the islands from the Spaniards1 and made them their o-n. The early history of Gamaica is typical of these happenin(s. The island -as

disco!ered by "olumbus in #4841 and ta)en o!er by the Spaniards. With a criminality to-ards indi(enous peoples1 -hich seems to ha!e been peculiarly their o-n1 the Spaniards annihilated its (entle and peaceful inhabitants. When the %ritish too) the island from them1 the total of Spanish masters and their sla!es did not e ceed three thousand. So the %ritish1 -ho had left their homeland for lo!e of ad!enture1 and others -ho had left for fear of the la-1 no- found fortune before them. ,n #=?2 the Royal 'frican "ompany -as formed and Gamaica became one of the busiest sla!e marts of the 0e- World. The culti!ation of su(ar -as then introduced. $epper1 coffee1 cocoa1 (in(er and indi(o1 products sent from Ga!a to 4olland by the *utch1 -ere no- sent from Gamaica to %ritain. When sla!ery -as abolished in #@9@1 the prosperity ofGamaica -as at its .enith. ,n Ga!a1 as -e ha!e seen1 the mana(ement of trade -as underta)en by the Go!ernment itself1 and the -or) -as carried out by the people on their traditional lines. ,n Gamaica1 the -or) -as carried out by 0e(ro sla!es o-ned by planters1 -hose ob+ect -as to enrich themsel!es1 -ith or -ithout the enrichment of partners in %ritain. Thou(h buccaneers no lon(er1 the personal moti!e of the buccaneer remained -ith them1 namely1 that of usin( their property primarily for their o-n personal ad!anta(e. Soil and labour -ere both their sla!es. %ut sla!ery1 -hile it endured1 carried -ith it the obli(ation of the planter to feed and house his sla!es upon the estate. So1 the first function of the soil1 to feed the people -ho -or) upon it1 -as fulfilled. There -as a direct relationship bet-een the -or)ers and the soil upon -hich they -or)ed. The planters1 as sla!e7o-ners1 had also a direct relation -ith their -or)ers1 a position that in the case of many of them1 possessin( the innate moderation and humanity of the %ritish1 amounted to a (uardian1 paternal chieftainship. They stood in a parental relationship1 such as is so mo!in(ly described in a recent best7seller1 the no!el .one with the Wind1 a relationship -hich1 indeed1 in its -ide dimensions1 has constituted the main human bindin( po-er of the %ritish 5mpire1 and -hich acted as a dra(7anchor to the endan(erin( selfishness of the increasin( money7po-er. 3Sla!ery31 -rites Mr. W. M. Macmillan1 in his Warning from the West &ndies1 #89=1 3-as not1 as some maintain1 -holly e!il in its effect on the sla!e7o-ner3s character. ,t not only fostered a proprietary sense of responsibility2 sla!es made possible a spacious leisure ... Many fine planters in the West ,ndies and the Southern States1 li)e some "ape farmers1 ha!e a delicacy of culture associated only -ith the choicest traditions of old 5urope.3 Such culture made (ood

masters. The prosperity of the planters o!erflo-ed in a (enerosity to their dependants. Cne may say that1 in terms of happiness1 the West ,ndies -ere -ell off in the ei(hteenth century. 'nomalous as it may seem1 the chan(e -as brou(ht about by the emancipation of the sla!es in #@9@. This emancipation -as an act of liberalism. %ut there is somethin( (reater than liberalism1 and that is soil7-isdom. 'nd in the li(ht of soil7-isdom1 this emancipation -as superficial and unreal ... ,t -as an apparent release of the sla!es from compulsion2 it -as no less a release of the planter from certain responsibilities. The o!errulin( factor in an a(ricultural island is not sla!ery or freedom1 but direct subsistence7farmin( and craftsmanship for the peasants1 their families and their )insfol). 'nd it is because of this that there are only t-o human relations of a(ricultural -or)ers to the soil. The first is that of sla!es1 -hen they are assured of their subsistence from the soil and are !alued by their o-ners and )ept in health and happiness1 because the estates are then -ell7-or)ed and conser!ed and the human feelin(s of the family7o-ners (i!e to the estates the quality of a home. ' certain easy and ready acceptance of life1 -ith the rich fla!our of a landed aristocracy1 comes into bein(1 and places the -hole art of life on a plane -hich stands abo!e that of land as a mere a(ency for the mar)et and for profit. The buccaneer becomes a (entleman and the sla!e a de!otee. 0e!ertheless1 the money7purpose -ill become paramount1 -hen the freedom and -ealth of the landed (entry becomes shac)led by the middlemen of the to-n. Money ta)es command. Moreo!er1 the hi(hly s)illed1 soil7conser!in( a(riculture is not acquired by sla!es1 because they ha!e not the sense of property. The meticulous care of the soil1 -hich is required for it1 seems to be the possession only of the second form of a human relationship of a(riculture1 that of the peasant7family o-nership. The self7dependence of free peasants produces qualities of a (rade necessarily superior to those of sla!es. The emancipation of sla!es con!erts them into supposedly and so7called free1 indi!idual labourers. This chan(e presented itself upon the West ,ndian arena in #@9@. ,t has e isted no- a hundred years and recently celebrated its centenary. This it did1 lo(ically enou(h as -e shall see1 by riots and re!olts. Mr. 4arold Stannard1 in The Times in #89@1 described the d-ellin(s of the humble a(rarians in Gamaica/ 3The first time , sa- one of these ho!els1 , could hardly belie!e that it -as intended for human habitation. Strands of dried bamboo are -o!en round a frame-or) of sta)es and the IroomI thus formed is

co!ered -ith palm thatch. There is no furniture e cept sac)in( on the earth and some sort of table for the oil7sto!e ... 6rban conditions are1 if anythin(1 -orse.3 Royal "ommissioners declared the slums of $ort of Spain1 Trinidad1 to be 3indescribable in their lac) of elementary needs of decency3. "onditions of labour sometimes find the "ommissioners equally -ordless/ 3,t -ould be hardly possible to find terms stron( enou(h3 to e press their disappro!al. The e pression is but a part of the (eneral chorus1 -hich accompanies the imperial achie!ements of the time and -hich finds its full harmony in Royal "ommission reports on labour in ,ndia1 %asutoland and else-here. 4ere is Mr. Stannard3s statement -ith re(ard to nutrition and subsistence1 the primary test of a ri(ht of property in the soil/ 36nder the stimulus of a circular dispatch from the "olonial Cffice1 inquiries ha!e been conducted in the islands and ha!e yielded disquietin( results. 5!en to a non7medical eye the frequency of bad teeth amon( a population -hose diet could and should contain a lar(e proportion of fresh fruit and !e(etables1 (i!es cause for mis(i!in(. ,ndeed1 it is not necessary to loo) into the islanders3 mouths. ,t is enou(h to (lance inside the shops -here they buy their food. 5!ery "hinese7)ept store e hibits1 from floor to ceilin(1 shelf after shelf of tinned (oods. These superbly producti!e islands1 li!in( mostly by the e port of food1 cannot feed themsel!es. ,t is estimated that Trinidad imports four7fifths of -hat it eats.3 This1 then1 is the condition of the islands1 -hich %ritain cherishes as the oldest of her colonies. Throu(hout their career of 3freedom31 she has never ado ted, as an unalterable rinci le, the right of the eo le to su ort from their soil . She brou(ht 'fricans as sla!es to the islands. ,n the ascendancy of the money po-er1 e!en the subsistence of the sla!es from the soil has been ta)en from them1 and under the co!er of apparent freedom1 she has made their condition more subtly oppressi!e than it -as in the past. The -ords of that (reat pope1 Leo O,,,/ 3For e!ery man has by nature the ri(ht to possess property as his o-n. 4ence man should possess the fruits of the earth1 but also the !ery soil31 do not apply. They apply neither as to the soil nor as to the fruits of this !ery fertile island earth. The money po-er once a(ain emer(es as the enemy of the people3s source of life. We -ill continue -ith Mr. Stannard3s -ords/ 3Cnly by a re!ersal of the policy -hich prefers money crops to food crops can the nati!e labourer be assured of the conditions -hich ma)e a ci!ili.ed life possible. 'pparently the e!il has increased in recent years. The %arbadian report is definite on this point. I,n the old days plantation7proprietors planted a fairly lar(e acrea(e in food crops1 some of -hich -ere sold to labourers at preferential rates. %ut in recent years

the culti!ation of food crops has been so curtailed that the price of locally (ro-n !e(etables is so hi(h as to be beyond the modest means of the labourer ... The absence of fresh !e(etables and proteins in the diet of the labourer is1 -e (ather1 ha!in( a deleterious effect on his health and physique. ,n short1 the modern methods1 -hich ha!e tended to di!orce the field from the su(ar factory and ma)e of them distinct and separate entities of plantation economy1 ha!e -or)ed to the detriment of the field labourerI.3 The quoted %arbadian report1 it -ill be noted1 uses emollient phraseolo(y1 such as 3-e (ather31 3in short31 3ha!e tended31 3the detriment31 to blur the star) reality. Mr. Stannard1 ho-e!er1 is in no doubt about the re!ersal of the policy1 re money and food crops. 3,n the *utch 5ast ,ndies31 he -rites1 3land sufficient to meet the needs of the -hole population is earmar)ed for food crops before any money crops are allo-ed to be (ro-n.3 Therein is the difference bet-een the %ritish West ,ndies and the *utch 5ast ,ndies. Cur fertile islands no- e hibit the sti(mata1 -hich1 under urban conditions in %ritain1 ha!e come to be )no-n under the slo(an of Scarcity amidst $lenty. 4ere are plentiful soils in a plenteous climate1 and the sti(mata -hich the %ritish ha!e incurred by their !alues are those of e treme po!erty in the homes and malnutrition of the mass of the people. From cold1 of course1 the people cannot suffer and so their ho!els ha!e not to ta)e upon themsel!es the protecti!e character of northern homes. %ut1 -ith this sole ad!anta(e o!er the northern island to -hich they belon(1 the people seem to be as far from plenty and as near destitution as a people can be. Mr. Macmillan1 from his personal in!esti(ations1 states that the spendin( po-er of the a!era(e citi.en is so lothat it is scarcely abo!e that of the people of one of our more recent colonies1 0yasaland. %ut in many -ays the islanders are -hat is considered ad!anced. The %arbadians1 so many of -hom cannot afford fresh !e(etables1 apparently ta)e pride in callin( their island 3Little 5n(land31 since1 thou(h it is smaller than the ,sle of Man1 it supports1 if not a!ailable !e(etables1 an 5stablished "hurch1 t-o "hambers1 a "ourt of Grand Sessions1 ele!en $arish >estries for local (o!ernment1 and probably the best educational system in the West ,ndies. '(riculturally1 the %arbadians are careful and s)illed culti!ators of cane. Their fields are clean and -ell tilled1 and 3a respectable tradition demands a serious effort to find and ma)e -or) for as many hands as possible ... for an abnormally dense population of more than #1::: to the square mile by intensi!e island7-ide culti!ation of the su(ar7cane3. Cut of #?=1::: inhabitants1 some #@1::: are said to be small holders of a total of #41::: acres1 so ?? per cent of the small holders ha!e less than an acre. Moreo!er1 the land -hich the peasants do (et for themsel!es is 3only the poorest soil. Muite often it is the land of some

estate ruined by its 5uropean o-ner3s bad and indifferent culti!ation2 but 5uropean critics are quic) to point a fin(er and +ud(e peasant possibilities by failure in such conditions ... %arbados1 ho-e!er1 in face of a most serious population problem is in fact dead set a(ainst the peasant solution. $easants1 it is held1 ha!e failed to maintain the output1 -hich has so far )ept the island (oin(1 and so lon( as cane is the only industry nothin( but the hi(hest possible output -ill suffice. The peasants1 ho-e!er1 ha!e had their chance only on poorer soil1 -ithout or(ani.ation or e!en sympathetic direction. The %arbadians1 moreo!er1 ha!e no e perience as peasants1 little tradition but of super!ised plantation labour. Thou(h intelli(ent -or)ers under direction they -ould not be at their best as indi!idual culti!ators. ,n the lon( run the only alternati!es for %arbados -ould seem to be (reat industries absorbin( much labour and ma)in( the island more li)e one to-n 77 or a steady flo- of emi(ration3 DMacmillanE. %arbados and 'nti(ua lac) the ran(e of mountains of most other islands in the West ,ndies. They ha!e1 therefore1 been (i!en o!er to mono7culture1 that of su(ar and1 as Macmillan states1 ha!e no e perience as peasants and little tradition but of super!ised plantation -or). They are1 therefore1 the most -idely separated of all a(ricultural labourers from the families of the 5ast ,ndian island of Lomboc). The other islands1 in this1 ha!e (reat ad!anta(es o!er them. Let us ta)e Gamaica1 the lar(est island of the %ritish West ,ndies -ith its 41<<: square miles and nearly a million inhabitants1 as the chief e ample of an island -ith a central ran(e of mountains. Mr. Macmillan -rites/ 3The Gamaica peasant tradition is due not to any special aptitude of the sla!es imported1 but rather to the fortunate +u taposition of ample !alleys and less accessible but still fertile and attracti!ely habitable hill country2 this accident (radually led the estate o-ners1 as seldom else-here1 to lea!e some of the sla!es to (ro- their o-n food supplies. Thus a stron( a(ricultural tradition -as established and has persisted. 'fter 5mancipation many freedmen became independent culti!ators and the Gamaicans1 thou(h they may be less disciplined1 to some e tent escaped the routine -or) characteristic of the su(ar islands.3 ,t has been said that there are no less than #<:1::: smallholders. Mr. Macmillan1 ho-e!er1 doubts this and declares that 3peasant lots are noob!iously too fe- and too small to pro!ide an adequate li!in( for any sufficient number of Gamaica3s million inhabitants3.

Some fe- are successful and ha!e sa!ed money from their farmin(. %ut they do not use their money to impro!e their land1 but to buy up more land. They buy up the land of their -ea)er brethren1 -ho then become their tenants. They are no careful partners of the soil. The !alues under -hich they li!e are those of pri!ate property and indi!iduals1 the sur!i!al of the fittest1 and not of the controlled1 recurrent creation of the -ell7farmed soil. So the successful peasants imitate the -hite lando-ners. Frequently they o!erreach themsel!es by ta)in( too much land1 -hile the -hite lando-ners1 on their part1 continue to hold only partially used estates in the hope that fortune -ill chan(e and brin( a better mar)et. The final human sti(ma of an ill7founded a(riculture then appears/ 3"ontrol if not o-nership passin( into the hands of ban)s or business firms ... the almost unseen chan(e of control from pri!ate landlords to outside mort(a(ors.3 So peasant o-nership as a policy lan(uishes in the mountainous islands of the West ,ndies1 as it does in 5n(land. 3,n enli(htened circles of -idely different !ie-s31 -rites Mr. Macmillan1 3the appro!ed policy1 so far as there is a policy1 is to offer opportunities of risin( to peasant7status to as many as possible of this hetero(eneous mass of small tenants 77 a fe- of -hom ori(inally set the fashion -ithout help. Cfficial encoura(ement has been stron(ly pressed by indi!iduals 77 especially by Sir 4enry 0orman1 e 7Go!ernor1 head of the West ,ndian "ommission of #@8?1 and follo-in( him1 by Sir Sydney DLordE Cli!ier in his Go!ernorship of Gamaica2 but it is still only an aim1 not an achie!ement. 5!en the aim has usually been hesitant. ,t is not quite clear -hether peasants are to be relied on for the main a(ricultural production of the country1 or -hether peasant7o-nership is only a means of relie!in( unemployment.3 The final terminus of ill7founded a(riculture also no- sho-s itself in these naturally lu uriant islands. 5rosion of the soil is at -or) ... 3*ifferent factors are concerned -ith the erosion -hich is occurrin( in many of the islands of the West ,ndies13 -rites Mr. R. :. Whyte. 3,n Gamaica1 small tenant farmers ha!e practised shiftin( culti!ation1 payin( rent for1 say1 one acre but burnin( and destroyin( forest o!er a !ery much lar(er area. ,n addition1 accessible areas of forest ha!e been hea!ily o!er7e ploited1 and there are insufficient Forest Reser!es. ,n the plantation districts all land fit for this type of croppin( has been cleared1 but in addition1 e cessi!ely steep slopes ha!e been disposed of to petty settlers1 for the production of foodstuffs ... *eforestation has also been e cessi!e on some of the Wind-ard and Lee-ard ,slands. For e ample1 a critical sta(e has been reached on the island of St. >incent ... ,n Trinidad1 fellin( of protection forests and shiftin( culti!ation ha!e caused serious

denudation1 erosion and se!ere floodin( in the Maracas >alley and the "aroni plain.3 $articularly !aluable is the result of a reconnaissance sur!ey of the 6nited States island of $uerto Rico. ,t -as found that 3there is sli(ht erosion on #8 per cent of the island1 mostly on culti!ated parts of the coastal plains and allu!ial !alleys or on (ently rollin( pasture lands2 moderate erosion -as found on 28 per cent and se!ere erosion of about 98 per cent on the area. Most of the se!ere erosion occurs in the rou(h mountainous interior. Sheet erosion is the most common type1 -ith (ullies occurrin( on a little less than 22 per cent of the area.3 The same author else-here in his boo) -rites of t-o %ritish islands1 scarcely less fertile than $uerto Rico and Gamaica1 -here a similar -anton disre(ard of the soil 3threatens to lea!e the country li)e an emaciated s)eleton3. ,t seems that this hauntin( !ision of the South $acific no- reaches the lo!ely7bodied islands of the "aribbean Sea.

Chapter 1( 0erman Colon es1 The 2andates

The Germans -ere the last 5uropeans to coloni.e. They -ere also the people most imbued -ith the faith of modern science1 and this tau(ht them1 -ith a clear conscience1 to pursue the ri(hts of the fittest to its e treme1 lo(ical conclusion. 'rmed -ith this faith1 they conquered three areas in 'frica/ South7 -est 'frica1 the "ameroons1 Tan(anyi)a. The Germans date their colonial empire from #@@41 -hen LPderit. hoisted the German fla( at 'n(ra $equena1 a port of South7-est 'frica1 0achti(al did the same at *uala1 a port of the "ameroons1 and ;arl $eters and his companions landed at Kan.ibar. So be(an their part in the e ploitation of the *ar) "ontinent. Many countries had preceded them1 $ortu(al1 %ritain1 France and %el(ium and1 in their e ploitation of their ne- territories1 had not al-ays refrained from cruelty. Cne of them1 %el(ium1 under the influence of its )in(1 -as in the nineties to (i!e an e ample of cruelty on such a lar(e scale and so pitiless that1 -hen )no-led(e of it became public1 it pro+ected a -idenin( -a!e of horror throu(h the 6nited States1 %ritain1 France1 and %el(ium itself. The period of harsh treatment of nati!es had come to an end as far as the (reat publics of Western 5urope and 'merica -ere concerned.

With this equal start in the three colonies in the year #@@41 the German !ersion of the policy of e ploitation be(an. 's re(ards South7-est 'frica1 a dry land and chiefly of a(ricultural !alue because of its pasture land1 $aul !on Rohrbach defined the policy in the Deutsche 7olonialwirtschaft1 in these -ords1 as quoted by Mr. G. L. Steer in his boo) of con!incin( thorou(hness1 3udgment on .erman Africa1 #898/ 3The decision to coloni.e South7-est 'frica could after all mean nothin( less than this/ that the nati!e tribes -ould ha!e to (i!e up their lands on -hich they had pre!iously (ra.ed their stoc) in order that the -hite men should ha!e the land for fora(in( their o-n.3 The 4ereros and 4ottentots -ere the chief peoples concerned in this appropriation. ,t -as be(un -ith a harsh oppression of both peoples1 particularly of the prouder and more -arli)e of the t-o1 the 4ereros. Cne of their chieftains described the German methods in -ords1 a(ain quoted from Mr. Steer3s boo)1 -hich is my (uide in this chapter/ 3Cur people -ere bein( robbed and decei!ed ri(ht and left by German traders. Their cattle -ere ta)en by force. They -ere flo((ed and ill7treated and (ot no redress. ,n fact1 the German police assisted the traders instead of protectin( us. >ery often one man3s cattle -ere ta)en to pay other people3s debts. ,f -e ob+ected and tried to resist1 the police -ould be sent for and1 -hat -ith flo((in(s and threats of shootin(1 it -as useless for our poor people to resist. ,f the traders had been fair and reasonable1 li)e the old 5n(lish traders1 -e -ould ne!er ha!e complained. %ut this -as not tradin( at all. ,t -as only theft and robbery.3 The 4ereros rebelled in #8:41 and fou(ht accordin( to their sa!a(e code1 calculated to call for reprisals. They -ere defeated and1 to finish the -or)1 General !on Trotha issued an order of total e termination1 the >ernichtun(s7 %efehl. This is ho- it ran/ 3,1 the (reat (eneral of the German soldiers1 send this letter to the 4erero nation. The 4ereros are no lon(er German sub+ects. They ha!e murdered and robbed1 they ha!e cut off the ears and noses and pri!y parts of -ounded soldiers1 and they are no- too co-ardly to fi(ht ... The 4erero nation must no- lea!e the country. ,f they do it not , -ill compel them -ith the bi( tube. Within the German frontier e!ery 4erero1 -ith or -ithout a rifle1 -ith or -ithout cattle1 -ill be shot. , -ill not ta)e o!er any more -omen and children1 but , -ill either dri!e them bac) to your people or ha!e them fired on. These are my -ords to the nation of the 4ereros. The (reat General of the Mi(hty 5mperor1 !on

Trotha.3 %y the end of #8:< official e termination had reduced the 4erero people from 8:1::: to #<1:::. ,n Cctober #8:4 the 4ottentots also rebelled and -ere partly e terminated. 's to the human result upon the $rotectorate of the policy1 Leut-ein1 the German historian of the south7-est1 declared/ 3't the cost of se!eral hundreds of millions of mar)s and se!eral thousand German soldiers -e ha!e1 of the three business assets of the $rotectorate1 minin(1 farmin( and nati!e labour1 destroyed the second entirely1 and the last as to t-o7thirds.3 %efore the Germans -ere themsel!es conquered in the Great War1 the condition of the nati!es is thus summed up by Mr. Steer/ 3Cfficially still1 the nati!e -as a State serf1 (uilty of serf7li)e offences. Cut of 419<= con!ictions a(ainst nati!es1 in the $rotectorate bet-een # Ganuary #8#9 and 9# March #8#41 91#=? -ere for desertion1 ne(li(ence1 !a(rancy1 disobedience1 insolence1 la.iness and contra!ention of the $ass la-s2 crimes not of man a(ainst man1 but of the sla!e a(ainst his boss.3 This did not include the punishments of 3>Qterliche KPchti(un(31 or paternal punishment1 allo-ed to the German master o!er their serfs1 -hich led Go!ernor Seit.1 in order to a!oid a further nati!e re!olt1 to threaten in #8#2 3to -ithdra- labour supplies from those I-ho ra(e in mad brutality a(ainst the nati!e1 and consider their -hite s)in a charter of indemnity from punishment for the most brutal crimesI.3 'fter the Great War1 South7-est 'frica -as allotted as a Mandated Territory to the 6nion Go!ernment of South 'frica. ,n the "ameroons the Germans adopted the same policy1 but it did not lead to any rebellion and annihilation such as that of the 4ereros. The policy -as to hand o!er the land and the nati!es1 as and -hen required1 to (reat German commercial companies. Go!ernor Gas)o !on $utt)amer -as the chief support of these companies and he carried out the (o!ernment -ith German efficiency in their interests. 3'dministrati!e recruitment3 -as the name under -hich the nati!es -ere used precisely and only as the planters and traders needed them. 't first rubber -as the chief source of -ealth1 but -hen the ener(etic $utt)amer in #@8< sa- the coffee1 cocoa and banana plantations on the nei(hbourin( Spanish island of Fernando $o1 he initiated estates for these products upon the lo-er lands of the lofty pea) of ;amerun. "oncessions -ere (i!en by $utt)amer to German companies1 and plantations -ere opened out on land ta)en from the 'fricans in possession1 -ho -ere induced to -or) for the planters by bein( left sufficient plots on -hich to (ro- their o-n food.

The demand for portera(e no- increased to carry the products of the neplantations1 as -ell as the rubber1 to the coastal ports. Men -ere ta)en from their farms and families by 3administrati!e recruitment31 to carry loads on ceaseless +ourneys1 the police actin(1 as in South7-est 'frica1 on behalf of the planters and in no -ay protectin( the nati!es. For the sa)e of the planters1 #: per cent of the population -ere forced to be their serfs. $utt)amer3s e actions1 financial machinations and pri!ate life -ere rooted out by the Social *emocrats in Germany. 4e -as dis(raced and dismissed in #8:?1 but so -ealthy and influential had the planters become that his policy continued to dominate in order to )eep the labour mar)et full1 -hich the disease and hardship due to portera(e in particular depleted. ' better spirit pre!ailed or -as enforced upon the German "olonial Ministry. ' German medical ser!ice -as or(ani.ed to chec) the loss of labour due to diseases1 the most feared of -hich -as sleepin( sic)ness. Some little official attention -as also paid to education. Cne thousand children -ere to be found in (o!ernment schools in #8#4 and there -ere 4:1::: in German and 'merican missionary schools. There -ere reforms but minor reforms. 's far as they -ent1 they -ere for the (ood of the nati!es1 but 3administrati!e recruitment3 remained. The nati!es -ere still the serfs of their masters and discipline -as enforced by se!ere paternal punishments. $lanters -ere accused of the 3physical and moral annihilation3 of the nati!e1 and it -as not until the fatal year of #8#4 that the "olonial Minister1 *r. Solf1 -as able to announce a doctrine ne- to the Germans/ 3The colonies -ill prosper -ith the nati!es and for the nati!es1 not in spite of them and a(ainst them.3 'fter the Great War the Mandate for the (o!ernment of the German "ameroons -as di!ided into t-o. The (reater share -as (i!en to the French1 the lesser to the %ritish. The French no- ruled a population of 214::1:::2 the %ritish one of @::1:::. The conquest of the third colony1 Tan(anyi)a1 -as due to *r. ;arl $eters. Cf *r. $eters1 Mr. Steer -rites/ 3Cf all the German pioneers 4an(man $eters -as the most unprincipled and bloody. , ha!e not -ritten of his cruelties1 because , do not re(ard him as typical of the old German colonists2 none but Trotha -as as foul as the merciless doctor. %ut e!idently the 0a.is of #894 held him to be typical2 nay more1 a prototype. Their propa(anda has pursued him -ith praise in the fi!e years since they (ummed a memorial to him on their en!elopes13 for his portrait fi(ures on a stamp1 -hich celebrated Germany3s "olonial +ubilee in #8941 and is placed as the frontispiece of Mr. Steer3s boo).

,n #@@@ *r. $eters acquired Tan(anyi)a by -hat Mr. Steer calls 3a no!el piece of international theft1 to -hich all ci!ili.ed po-ers -ere parties3. For ten years $eters conquered and en+oyed his po-er sadistically. Then his han(in(s and shootin(s of nati!es and the flo((in( of his concubines became )no-n to the Social *emocrats of the Reichsta(. ,n #@8? he -as brou(ht to trial before the German "olonial *isciplinary "ourt. 4e -as dismissed from the (o!ernorship and too) refu(e in 5n(land. 0e!ertheless1 the hatred -hich he had aroused amon(st the nati!es did not subside. Too many German bullies remained behind2 too many nati!e chiefs had been robbed. Cne called M)-a-a rebelled2 and -as defeated. 4is German conquerors cut off his head and actually sent it as a trophy to %erlin. ' special clause -as inserted in the Treaty of >ersailles -hich ordered its return to his tribe. ' more serious rebellion1 that of the Ma+i7Ma+i1 of the combined tribes of the south1 ra(ed for t-o years. The Germans1 failin( to o!ercome the 'fricans in the field1 destroyed their !illa(es and crops by fire. Thousands of 'fricans died of star!ation and the entire south of Tan(anyi)a -as de!astated. Money became fri(htened and so1 in #8:?1 *r. *ernbur(1 an able business man and ban)er1 -ho had been (i!en the ne- appointment of first Secretary of the "olonies1 left for 5ast 'frica to institute reforms and to endea!our to turn the hatred of the 'fricans into their natural tolerance1 if not affection. >ery shortly after his arri!al1 he announced publicly/ 3, sa- too many -hips in the hands and on the tables of the planters and coloni.ers.3 4e attempted to permit the nati!es to be free producers1 as -ell as to free those -ho -ere in German employment1 limitin( forced labour to public -or)s and payin( it for its -or). The planters -ere rendered bitterly hostile by these humanities1 and succeeded in enforcin( *ernbur(3s resi(nation. ,n practice1 therefore1 the sei.ure of land1 forced labour1 flo((in(s and imprisonment continued until the Great War. 'fter the Great War1 the Mandate for Tan(anyi)a -as allotted to %ritain. The $ermanent Mandates "ommission of the Lea(ue of 0ations brou(ht a redempti!e spirit into (o!ernance. 6nder the first clause of their charter1 they -ere to be the trustees of the material and moral well4being of the natives . 5ach Mandatory $o-er had to present an annual report for acceptance and su((estions by the "ommission. Reports and comments -ere made public. The old7time secrecy -hich -as able to screen offences -as made impossible. Mr. Steer1 in his chapter on 3Mandates3 Wor)31 (i!es a most mo!in( account of the impro!ement of the lot of the sons of the soil1 -hich had once formed the territories of the German northerners.

Cf South7-est 'frica1 he states/ 3,t has multiplied by ten1 the amount of land in the hands of the nati!e in German days1 and it has enabled him to )eep herds of cattle and sheep a(ain1 a tribal necessity of -hich Germany cruelly depri!ed him.3 The mandated nati!es are e!en better off in the south7-est than are the nati!es in the 6nion2 the former1 for e ample1 ha!e to pay no poll7ta -hich often forces the 'fricans into industry -here their -a(es ne!er rise2 their tribal institutions ha!e been restored and the chiefs in the far north actually share in the responsibility of (o!ernment. The -hite men1 -ho no- direct the country1 are men of the 6nion and1 therefore1 !ersed by e perience in the type of land of the south7-est as also in the nati!e character. 0o (ross cruelties no- occur1 and1 did they do so1 they -ould be reported in the annual reports to the $ermanent Mandates "ommission. The (eneral result has been a notable increase in prosperity. ,n the "ameroons under the French Mandate there has been a similar ne- spirit of humanity1 carried out in the -ay that is especial to the French. 5!erythin( local1 social ser!ices1 State ser!ices1 the construction of the -onderful French roads1 education1 public health1 co7operati!e a(riculture1 emanate from the top. The French ha!e no faith in ancient systems and traditions2 that they ha!e destroyed in their (reat French Re!olution of #?@8. They ha!e not therefore set about stren(thenin( the tribal chiefs and restorin( tribal institutions. 3Go!ernors sac) chiefs on any prete t13 says Mr. Steer. 3Tradition to them is a thin( that clo(s.3 With the net-or) of roads -hich the French build1 they introduce speed of communication1 enablin( them to establish centrali.ation in place of the old local administration. Within these limits1 they (i!e the 'fricans freedom1 public ser!ice1 instruction and medical aid. 6nder the Mandate1 French authorities ha!e to publish1 for all -ho -ish to read1 their annual report to the Mandate "ommission1 and it is due to this1 says Mr. Steer1 that the French "ameroons ha!e the ad!anta(e of their nei(hbour1 the non7Mandated French 5quatorial 'frica1 -hose reports are seldom read outside the "olonial Ministry. The officials of the former are spurred by the )no-led(e of the comin( publicity. The consequence is that1 -hereas the "ameroons (ro- in stren(th and population1 5quatorial 'frica -anes in both. 6nder ea(er but careful officials1 the freed nati!es are themsel!es infused -ith ener(y and .eal1 and ta)e a (ro-in( part in production. 3$roduction31 -rites Mr. Steer1 3is balanced nicely bet-een -hite and blac) ... Some crops1 such as cocoa1 -hich -ere e clusi!ely 5uropean1 are no- e clusi!ely 'frican ... $roduction has become so popular a pastime that the sources of -hite labour ha!e dried up.3 This ener(etic spirit has ad!anced hand in hand -ith prosperity1

-ith the result that 3the French "ameroons balance their o-n bud(et2 they ha!e only in the 3thirties borro-ed money from France1 and their total debt is infinitesimal. 0ei(hbour 5quatorial is one of the territories -hich promotes most (loom in the French "olonial Ministry. There is al-ays a colossal deficit. Sometimes it amounts to 9: per cent of the total receipts. There is al-ays a crushin( debt.3 The %ritish in Tan(anyi)a ha!e -or)ed in the opposite -ay to the French. Sir *onald "ameron1 -ho )ne-1 as no one else1 -here1 ho- and to -hat de(ree self7(o!ernment could be de!eloped1 (a!e this succinct account of his %ritish methods/ 3We built from the bottom1 from the common people up-ards on a purely democratic basis1 in distinction from other countries1 -here the tendency has been to in!ert the pyramid and build from the top.3 The spirit of the Mandates -as most acceptable to his humane and understandin( heart. Mr. Steer3s -ords on this are so nobly eloquent that they -ill be quoted in full/ 3The Mandate for Tan(anyi)a1 as for the "ameroons1 destroyed the system of forced labour set up by Germany2 it has assured the nati!e primary ri(hts in the land of his fathers1 and a paramountcy of his interests -here they conflict -ith those of 5uropean settlers 77 -here the German policy -as diametrically opposite2 it has constructed a peaceful nati!e peasantry -here none e isted before2 it has (i!en peace for armed repression2 impartial for rou(h +ustice. 3'bo!e all it has established the natural foundations of nati!e society -here these had been hammered out of si(ht by the German machine. ,t found an oppressi!e and forei(n rule in Tan(anyi)a t-enty years a(o2 in that brief time7 period it has not only restored the nati!e system1 but (i!en it responsibilities of -hich it ne!er dreamed before. The nati!e authorities1 suitably democrati.ed1 spend their o-n money1 hold their o-n courts1 carry out their o-n measures of education1 hy(iene1 and all other forms of local (o!ernment. 3There is no need to compare Tan(anyi)a -ith ;enya or 0yasaland on her northern and south7-estern frontiers. Throu(h the breadth of 'frica south of the Sahara you -ill not find a territory -here the nati!e 'frican has such freedom of self7e pression as in Tan(anyi)a2 or such (rand responsibility2 or responsibility so faithfully borne. When one lifts the !eil of -ishful thin)in( and as)s1 in a clearer atmosphere1 -hat is the purpose of colonial (o!ernment1 clarity demands no stupid ans-er such as ra- materials for the mother country Dseein( that all the colonies of the -orld produce only 9 per cent of the -orld3s ra- materialsE1 or poc)ets for 5uropean in!estment Dseein( that the beneficiaries can only be the fe-E1 or strate(ic po-er Dseein( that if -ar is permanent life is not -orth li!in(E. 0o2 the li(ht shines too hard to7day to admit

e!asion. ,f -e are to remain in tropical 'frica -e are there for the benefit of the people -hom -e rule2 and their benefit is not only to learn and be healthy1 ha!e peace and produce2 the (reatest (ift -e can offer them is the opportunity to mana(e their affairs. That is -hy "ameron +ustly said1 IWe ha!e (i!en bac) their soul to the peopleI.3 The Mandates in the three countries ha!e been carried out in three !aryin( -ays by the 6nion of South 'frica1 the French and the %ritish1 but each method has been inspired by the ne- spirit. ,t is this that has led to their success and prosperity1 for Tan(anyi)a too is prosperous1 3the richest of the former German "olonies3. The1 Mandates1 indeed1 ha!e -or)ed li)e a miracle of social benefit and ci!ili.ation in these three countries1 especially in Tan(anyi)a. ,t is !ery impressi!e and -ill become yet more so to the reader of "hapters 2# and 22 in -hich similar miracles on a (rander scale of ci!ili.ation -ill be described.

Chapter 1* Russ a3 "outh Afr ca3 Austral a

Russia

The land of 5uropean Russia is not complicated. ,t is the direct e tension of %elt 0o. # of 'sia1 described in "hapter =. ,ts sea7coasts are too limited and remo!ed from the open ocean to alter its essential character1 -hich1 -ith its situation bet-een 'sia and 5urope1 directed the history of the Russians. ,ts physical map is1 therefore1 mostly tinted (reen1 indicatin( an ele!ation up to fi!e hundred feet. ,t has t-o irre(ular areas of yello-1 of ele!ation up to t-o thousand feet runnin( north and south2 one to the -est1 the second to the east. The eastern is intersected by a thin strip of li(ht bro-n1 of ele!ation up to fi!e thousand feet1 the 6ral Mountains. These -est and east areas are in latitude =: de(rees +oined by a trans!erse yello- band. The three areas form the -atersheds of Russia3s ri!ers. T-o considerable ri!ers1 the *-ina and the $etchora1 open into the 'rctic Ccean1 but the lar(est Russian ri!ers1 unli)e those of Siberia1 run south. The >ol(a rises from all three -atersheds1 -est1 east and trans!erse1 and runs into the "aspian1 its last section in the "aspian Tract bein( actually belo- sea le!el. The *on rises from the eastern side of the -est yello- area1 and the *nieper from its -estern side1 and also by its bi( tributary1 the $ripet1 from the northern "arpathian Mountains outside Russia. %oth flo- into the %lac) Sea. The *niester1 also enterin( the %lac) Sea1 forms

the south7-estern boundary of Russia. Russia is thus an e tension of the Siberian $lain1 made 5uropean by the 6ral Mountains. South7east Russia1 -ith the "aspian Tract1 is the 5uropean e tension of the 'siatic ;ir(hi. Steppes. Throu(h the Steppe country many 0omads of 'sia passed into 5urope and1 at a later time1 Russians passed into 'sia. 't the time of the last Glacial '(e1 nearly all 5uropean Russia -as co!ered -ith ice. 's the ice receded1 Russia emer(ed in a sodden condition of bo((y lands and la)es1 the abundant -aters of -hich -ere drained a-ay by the (reat ri!ers. ,n the dryin( up of the $ost7Glacial epoch1 Russia slo-ly attained to the condition of bein( habitable to men. 5uropean Russia is no- di!ided into three belts. Firstly there is the northern belt1 -ith its 'rctic tundra cap1 -ith a lon( -inter1 a brief summer and a saturated1 bo((y soil. ,t offers only the most limited opportunities for farmin(. The central belt has a more equable climate than the other t-o. ,ts soil is capable of recei!in( and storin( -ater to a considerable depth1 and it (ets an abundance of -ater in the sprin( from the meltin( of the sno-s. ,ts surface then becomes a sea of mud1 but fi!e or si months of open season follo-s2 the surface dries1 and so becomes culti!able by men. This central belt1 -hich contains the capital and other manufacturin( to-ns1 constitutes the farmed1 but food7deficient area of Russia. For these t-o deficient belts1 Russia is compensated by the third or southern belt1 the food7surplus area. 4ere the season of freedom from sno- lasts up to nine months. 4ere also the e tremes of heat and cold are (reater than are those of the central belt. So dry is it at times1 from the heat and the hot -inds -hich s-eep into it from "entral 'sia1 that it is sub+ect to drou(ht. %ut its soil is rich1 and that of the %lac) 5arth Kone1 immediately south of the middle belt1 is the (ranary of Russia. Russian a(riculture be(an in the middle belt1 the belt of forests. ,t -as not until the rei(n of ,!an ,> D'.*. #<997@4E that the (rain land -as reached. Sir %ernard $ares in his most instructi!e A %istory of Russia1 #8441 states that the Russian peasants -ere peaceful men1 see)in( to culti!ate land -ithout

interference. They -ould clean a piece of land alon( the ban) of a ri!er1 burnin( do-n the trees and di((in( out the stumps. They -ould erect a colony of a fe- houses1 )eepin( close to the ri!er for fishin( and transport. ,n the north they met the Finns1 then entirely unor(ani.ed1 and they established friendly relations1 -ith them. 3The Russian peasant31 says $ares1 3-as a man of peace and he did not come to start ne- conflicts1 but to a!oid them.3 %ut they -ere not left at peace by their rulers at ;ie! and Mosco- for the reason that they -ere the source of the (reater part of the -ealth of a poor country and1 secondly1 because the army -as recruited from them. The chief enemies of the Russian people from about '.*. ##9: to the rei(n of ,!an ,> -ere the 0omadic Mon(ols from 'sia1 -ho passed into Russia throu(h the "aspian Tract. To preser!e themsel!es and their peoples from the Mon(ols1 the Russian rulers relied on the stren(th of the land and its peasants. When ;ie! -as the capital1 the near land -as in the hands of a landed aristocracy1 the far in the hands of pioneer peasants themsel!es. When Mosco- became the centre of the e!entual 5mperor1 land -as (i!en to a second class of superior lando-ners1 -ho -ere allotted it for their lifetime on condition of renderin( military and other ser!ice to the State. 3The conditions of tenure31 -rites $ares1 3stated precisely the number of recruits -ho had to be placed in line. The allotment of land corresponded to this number and -as (raded carefully accordin( to class1 -hich -as practically synonymous -ith military ran)32 and he adds that military ser!ice -as also demanded from the hereditary lando-ners/ 3the patrimonies themsel!es -ere put under the same obli(ation of military ser!ice1 and1 in fact1 all land in Russia came to be held only by the title of ser!ice to the Tsar3. 3's a system of a(riculture31 continues $ares1 3nothin( could be more unsound. The squire -as firstly a fi(hter1 only secondly a squire. 4is absences -ere frequent. 4is efficiency -as rated only by his military ser!ice23 and1 as re(ards the lando-ners of the second class1 they could be mo!ed at -ill1 -hich pre!ented them from acquirin( any permanent interest in their peasants. The peasants -ere bound to the soil1 for the a((ression of the Mon(ols -as 3such as to con!ince the dullest of peasants of the necessity of national defence and of national sacrifices3. 0e!ertheless1 some peasants -ere bold enou(h to see) freedom from the oppression of their rulers and mo!ed east-ards and to the south and south7east. 3Flitters31 Sir Gohn Maynard calls them in his fascinatin( The Russian $easant1 #8491 and it -as the flitters -ho came to constitute the "ossac)s1 or border peasantry1 -ho -ere so po-erful a factor in

the e!entual repulsion and conquest of the Mon(ols. The "ossac)s came to possess1 -rites $ares1 3-onderful military resource and -ere masters at ta)in( co!er. They practically ne!er parted -ith their horses and -ere trained riders from childhood. Their scoutin( tactics -ere those of the Russian army of to7 day. Tall lonely trees -ere used as obser!ation posts2 different points at some distance from each other -ere (arrisoned1 and bet-een them relays of indi!idual "ossac)s patrolled1 ne!er dismountin(3. Such men1 therefore1 en+oyed a freedom not (i!en to the more central peasants. 5!en -hen the Mon(ols -ere subdued by ,!an ,>1 the hea!y burdens of the Russian peasants -ere not lifted. The dan(er to the Russian )in(dom then shifted from the south and east to the -est1 as 5urope ad!anced in ci!ili.ation and military stren(th. The !irtual serfdom of the peasants1 se!ere accordin( to their relati!e pro imity to Mosco-1 -as continued1 and1 in #=481 a code of la-s -as issued -hich 3finally confirms the establishment of serfdom1 -hich henceforth becomes a state institution3. 0ot e!en $eter the Great D'.*. #=@27#?2#E1 -ho in physical stren(th1 -ill1 (enius and ener(y -as perhaps the (reatest of all 5uropean rulers1 could rela the oppression of the peasants. ,t -as he1 abo!e all1 -ho reali.ed that Russia -as lost in the stru((le a(ainst 5uropean a((ression1 unless her bac)-ard people -ere 5uropeani.ed. So1 thou(h 3$eter -as far closer to the Russian peasant than any Tsar before him or since31 his !ast e penses forced him to increase the -ei(ht of the peasants3 chains. Flitters to the freer south and south7 east increased (reatly in numbers1 and some passed o!er the 6rals into the land1 familiar in character1 of the Siberian $lain. 's time passed1 the freein( of the peasants from serfdom in order to promote the ad!ancement of by far the lar(est number of the Russians became more and more ur(ent1 and e!entually an 'ct of 5mancipation -as passed in #@=#. ,t -as in many -ays ineffecti!e1 and the final sta(e of release came -ith the So!iet Re!olution and the "ollecti!e Farms of Lenin and Stalin. 6nder the "ollecti!e Farms the medie!al tempo of farmin( -as transformed into modern farmin( of an ad!anced )ind. Sir Gohn Maynard1 in his si teenth chapter1 (i!es a full account of these collecti!e farms1 -ith their ad!anta(es and difficulties1 their tractor machines1 their economics1 their lac) of sufficient manure1 their associated -or) on the lar(e farms1 their personal -or) on their pri!ate farms. From this account of the soils and their o-nership it -ill be seen that t-o forms of erosion could ha!e been -itnessed in 5uropean Russia. The first -ould occur from the destruction1 -ithout afforestation1 of the forests upon the slopes and -atersheds of the hi(her land1 if the land itself -as o-ned by men -ho

-ere an ious to (et the most -ealth from the soil -ithout adequate return. When the forest had been destroyed on the slopes and -atersheds1 sheet and (ully erosion -ould occur o-in( to hea!y rain or meltin( sno-. The ri!ers -ould1 in the -et periods1 then be in flood and bear top7soil to the sea2 later on1 in the summer season1 their profitable streams -ould d-indle. Such a dominance of money did1 indeed1 occur in historical Russia1 particularly in the se!enteenth1 ei(hteenth and nineteenth centuries. Mr. Gac)s3 pronouncement1 in The Ra e of the 'arth1 on this cause of erosion is one -ith -hich -e are already familiar. The peasants of Russia -ere serfs2 all the profits of farmin( -ent to enrich a landed aristocracy. We are told/ 3The lando-ners3 aim -as to (et the ma imum out of the soil in the shortest time -ith the least e penditure of labour and impro!ements. Sheet erosion -as e treme1 thou(h (enerally unnoticed and not associated -ith the ne- (ullies that continued to brea) up the land.3 Fortunately for Russia1 the primiti!e farmin( of the serfs -as !ery slo- in e tension. Thou(h marshes and la)es dried up and the streams of (reat ri!ers flooded and d-indled1 there -as a tempo !ery much less than that of the 6nited States under the era of the machine. "onsequently1 loss of the Russian soil -as far from reachin( the disastrous ma(nitude of that of the 'merican soil. When the serfs of Russia -ere emancipated in #@=# and became possessors of much of its soil1 there -as no halt in this form of erosion. The peasants -ere (i!en the poorest eroded land and they1 therefore1 set to -or) to e tend the culti!ation of the slopes. Their method of plou(hin( -as in lon( strips up and do-n the slopes to the tops of the -atersheds2 the hollo-s bet-een the rid(es became first -ater courses and then (ullies and so erosion -as increased. 5!en under the So!iets1 no halt -as called to the destruction of forests o-in( to the need of timber in e chan(e for the machines from forei(n countries -hich the ne- manufacturin( to-ns of the 6.S.S.R. required. So much for the first form of erosion1 namely1 sheet and (ully erosion. The second form of erosion is -ind erosion. This -ould affect the third or southern belt of Russia1 both the rich %lac) Soil Kone and the land of the Steppes. 4ere is -hat Ma+or La-1 "ommercial 'ttache in St. $etersbur( in #@821 reported upon this belt1 once protected by belts of forests/ 3,t is certain that those forests do not no- e ist 1 and that the blac) soil country is often scour(ed by de!astatin( blasts from the Steppes1 and not infrequently ba)ed by prolon(ed drou(hts.3 Wind erosion and floods -or) their ha!oc and 3smite the soil -ith perpetual barrenness3.

This erosion at len(th aroused alarm in the Russian aristocracy and1 in the ei(hteen7nineties1 many shelter belts of trees -ere planted to brea) the force of the hot -inds upon the top7soil 3on such a spectacular scale and -ith such e cellent results that a special (o!ernment commission -as appointed to study afforestation3 DWhyte1 in The Ra e of the 'arthE. The sudden stride of the 6.S.S.R. into the modern era1 -ith its reliance upon machines1 made the tractor7plou(h in particular a symbol of moderni.ation. ,t became the !isible ima(e of the inner belief in the machine as a sa!iour1 and -here!er the tractor -ent it -as heralded as a propa(andist. 0e!ertheless1 it had its intrinsic dan(ers. Messrs Gac)s and Whyte1 in the Technical #ommunication 1o. :; of the &m erial ,ureau of Soil Science 1 #89@1 discussed this dan(er and quoted the Russian $rofessor ;orne! as sayin(1 -ith re(ard to both forms of erosion/ 3't the present day there are hu(e areas in the 6.S.S.R. -here1 o-in( to the e cessi!e brea)in( up of the topo(raphy1 -hole territories1 formerly under profitable a(riculture1 are no- occupied by immense ra!ines and infertile -astes.3 To this the t-o authors added/ 3The tractor7plou(h is the enemy of the (rass land in dry areas1 but is indispensable to the propa(andist of Russian a(riculture. Thou(h fore-arned by the e perience of other countries1 it is difficult to ascertain if the authorities are a-are of the dan(er of mechani.ation.3 "ertainly1 by the year #89@1 the So!iet authorities had put tractors upon the land on a !ery !ast scale. Whereas1 accordin( to 'ppendi ,,, of the Trade 6nions of the 6.S.S.R. Dquoted in the Fabian 5ssay on <ur Soviet Ally1 #849E1 in #8#9 no tractors -ere in use in the Russias2 in #89@ there -ere used1 upon the scientific1 mechani.ed1 collecti!e farms1 no less than four hundred and ei(hty7three thousand tractors. The potential threat of erosion in such numbers is enormous1 as the consideration of the other three of the four (reat e amples of modern erosion1 South 'frica1 'ustralia and the 6nited States1 -ill sho-. The -ar and its demands ha!e concealed the threat and e!en made it one that had to be concealed. 0o account of the de(ree of ne- erosion can1 therefore1 be (i!en.
South Africa

South 'frica is described by Mr. Whyte1 in The Ra e of the 'arth1 under the italici.ed sub7headin( of The Transformation of South Africa into Semi4desert in the Twentieth #entury. The a(ricultural -ealth of South 'frica is chiefly pastoral. The natural !eld and the ;arroo pro!ide animal fodder1 thou(h in

fa!oured localities special (rasses and forei(n crops are (ro-n. %ut this natural !e(etati!e co!er has deteriorated and 3erosion has already transformed parts of the richest pastoral areas in the country into semi7desert. "onsiderin( that the lu uriance and e cessi!e -etness of the !eld in the Cran(e Free State -ere pre!iously an obstacle to pastoral farmin(1 the rapid appearance of the disastrous consequences of erosion is !ery remar)able. ,t occurs in all parts of the 6nion1 either as an actual or probable menace1 and is predominantly a pastoral problem.3 4e then continued -ith this important para(raph/ 3The (reat uncertainties of the South 'frican climate1 and the suddenness -ith -hich the country -as opened up after the disco!ery of (old1 ha!e contributed lar(ely to the rapid acceleration of erosion. To-ards the end of the nineteenth century it -as reali.ed that serious o!erstoc)in( -as ta)in( place1 but public attention -as not focused on the dan(er until the *rou(ht ,n!esti(ation "ommittee issued its final report in #829. 6ntil then the opinion had been (ainin( (round that the climate -as becomin( drier and the rains more torrential. The report pointed out that there -as no proof of a definite and recent climatic chan(e1 but that erosion -ould account for the dryin( up of ri!ers and -aterholes1 the fallin( -atertable and the increasin(ly disastrous effects of drou(hts and hea!y rains. The "ommission concluded that the erosion -as caused chiefly by deterioration of the !e(etati!e co!er brou(ht about by incorrect !eld mana(ement1 and that all efforts to impro!e the latter -ould ha!e a beneficial effect on the former.3 South 'frica -as ta)en from the *utch by the %ritish in #@#2.
Australia

,n the speed -ith -hich fertility of the soil is bein( lost1 'ustralia is belie!ed to surpass e!en the 6nited States. This is the opinion of Mr. 5. S. "layton of the *epartment of '(riculture1 0e- South Wales1 -ho -as sent to study erosion and anti7erosion measures in the 6nited States for the better defence of his o-n country. ,n &nvestigations <verseas1 #89?1 he -rites/ 3There is no doubt that -e 'ustralians are in a process of transformin( the semi7arid areas into desert at a more rapid rate than in the 6.S.'.3 'ustralia is1 in short1 bein( threatened -ith becomin( to the %ritish 5mpire -hat Libya became to the Romans. The loss of soil from rapid deforestation and burnin( of !e(etati!e co!er and from o!er(ra.in( is se!ere. 3'ppro imately t-o7thirds of the area co!ered by the 'lpine -oody shrub type has been completely cleared by the action of fire13 -rites Mr. R. >. %yles of the

catchment area of 'ustralia3s (reatest ri!er1 the Murray1 in ,ulletin =: of the #ommonwealth ,ureau of 5orestry. 4e continues/ 3The or(anic layer1 -ith no co!er to protect it and no li!e roots to hold it1 dries up and is blo-n a-ay2 the loose sandy soil is in its turn blo-n a-ay1 lea!in( the final product1 bare (ranite roc)s and stones -ith no !e(etati!e co!er.3 The once constant ri!er has become inconstant and its -ater is intermittently turbid in place of the ori(inal constant clarity. 3,n thirty years the land about it has become desert1 accordin( to the testimony of men -ho ha!e nurtured cattle there all their li!es.3 The ea(erness for -ealth in a country that does not nestle to the heart as does the homeland destroys the permanence of its (ifts to men. There is no real ecolo(ical lin) bet-een the -hite man and its nature1 nor habit and tradition -hich e presses it. They do not feel that -hen they burn or tear its !erdure they are tearin( at their o-n home fields1 at somethin( -hich is an eternal associate of their o-n1 and their ancestors3 and their descendants3 li!es. ,t is land and land can (i!e -ealth1 but it is not motherland1 and1 until that human term and -hat it implies in the fullest sense becomes bred in the bone1 it -ill not be real1 and the land will not be ro erly treated. ,t is the heart1 faith1 sentiment that ultimately prompt action. So in the drier parts of 'ustralia there are thousands of acres of li(htly stoc)ed pastoral country1 -hich are sufferin( from erosion and -here men1 li)e fifth columnists1 ha!e helped the central desert to ad!ance. 0ot only is the fertility of these undulatin( lands bein( depleted at an alarmin( rate1 but the -etter1 ri!erine districts near the sea are also in many parts (ra!ely affected by erosion1 due to the same ea(er speed to clear the land1 as has already done so much harm to the ri!erine area of the (reat Murray Ri!er. Finally1 there are the rabbits1 introduced from %ritain to this1 to the -hite man and rabbits1 ne- -orld. ,n $am hlet 1o. ;> of the #ommonwealth of Australia there is an incomparably !i!id picture of these pests (i!en by Mr. F. 0. Ratcliffe. ,n a -ay1 the four7le((ed immi(rants from %ritain beha!e li)e the t-o7le((ed from the same country. When the (oin( is (ood and there is abundant pasture1 the rabbits do not act as if they -ere part of a country in balanced equilibrium1 but as pitiless ra!a(ers of its soil fertility. They re!el in the rich har!est and they multiply out of all countin(1 as if the future must be a repetition of the past. ,n numbers they eat up the pasture and dri!e the hun(ry sheep to de!our saltbush. They o!erreach their (ood fortune. Then come the hard times of a drier season. They are hun(ry1 so hun(ry that they e!entually eat all and any food -ithin reach and e!en beyond the ordinary reach of their )ind. They eat the surface plants. They climb. They burro- into the earth and

(et at the roots of the hardy acacia scrub. They ta)e all that is abo!e and belothe soil and (i!e it no chance of re(eneration. Then comes a drou(ht1 and the rabbits die in heaps under the !ery ea!es of the settlers3 houses or -here!er man7made shade can shelter them from the pitiless sun. So the rabbits1 too1 fail to fit into the balanced life -hich nature had lon( established in 'ustralia1 before they -ere brou(ht out -ith the intention of pro!idin( food1 not destroyin( it1 for the -hite settlers. The %ritish first settled in 'ustralia a century and a half a(o. The %ritish anne ed 0e- Kealand1 the islands of the 3emaciated s)eleton3 threat mentioned at the end of "hapter #?1 in #@4:1 +ust o!er a century a(o.

Chapter 2+ The 4n ted "tates of Amer ca

:f all countries in the -orld1 that -hich is most typical of modern pro(ress2 that -hich1 at its initiation1 announced the (ift of liberty to e!ery man to pursue -ealth -ithin the limit of the la- and has permitted the (reatest liberty of thou(ht and action on the part of its inhabitants of all ran)s2 that -hich has encoura(ed (enius or a!idity to de!elop themsel!es most freely in the belief that the accretions of )no-led(e and -ealth1 -hich -ould accrue1 -ould be of ultimate benefit to the community and to humanity as a -hole2 that -hich has produced the (reatest business achie!ements and made itself the nation -ith the -idest scientific equipment and the most s)ilful practical technique2 that -hich rushed for-ard into the ne- -ith such speed and ea(erness that the old has been for(otten2 that upon -hich nature has no- -ritten most broadly and definitely her (rim +ud(ment in terms of erosion of the soil2 that -hich1 -ith its accustomed1 heroic practicality1 is no- surpassin( all nations similarly stric)en in the !i(our and thorou(hness of its measures to oppose this life7destroyin( menace2 is the 6nited States of 'merica. ,n 'pril #82@1 the '(ricultural *epartment of the 6.S.'. published "ircular 0o. 991 by Messrs. 4. 4. %ennett and W. R. "hapline. The circular bore the title of Soil 'rosion? A 1ational (enace. ,t is di!ided into t-o parts1 a (eneral consideration of the loss of soil due to erosion by the first author1 and of the erosion of (ra.in( lands by the second. ,t consists of thirty7fi!e pa(es and contains thirty7fi!e photo(raphs1 and he -ho loo)s and reads1 especially if it is his first intimate meetin( -ith the question1 finds a (raphic re!elation of the (reatest rebellion of our time1 the rebellion of the earth itself. The fi(ures of

destruction (i!en are colossal1 and -hen one loo)s at the photo(raphs and sees these fi(ures embodied in !isual reality1 the effect is so impressi!e that one understands ho- it is that this short pamphlet in particular assembled the !oices cryin( in the -ilderness and made them startle into attention the (o!ernments of the -orld. Mr. %ennett1 after a fe- preliminary remar)s1 (i!es an e position of the 5igures on Soil Wastage/ 3The amount of plant food in this minimum estimate of soil -asta(e by erosion D#1<::1:::1::: tons of solid matter annuallyE amounts to #2=1:::1:::1::: pounds1 on the basis of the a!era(e compositions of the soils of the country as computed from chemical analyses of 9@8 samples of surface soil collected by the %ureau of Soils. This is more than t-enty7one times the annual net loss due to crops remo!ed. The amount of phosphoric acid1 nitro(en and potash alone in this annually remo!ed soil material equals <41:::1:::1::: pounds. 0ot all of this -asted plant food is immediately a!ailable1 of course2 but it comes principally from the soil layer1 the main feedin( reser!oir of plants1 and for this and for other reasons it is +ustifiable1 doubtless1 to consider the bul) of it as essentially representin( lost plant food1 -ithout any quibblin( about part of it ha!in( potential !alue only.3 ,t is impossible to (et a succinct method of thin)in( out the meanin( of fi(ures so colossal. Cne can put them before oneself in some such -ay as this/ There are #2:1:::1:::1::: pounds of plant food lost by #2:1:::1::: people. The permanent loss of plant food1 therefore1 is at the rate of #1::: pounds per person in the 6.S.'. 's each person eats about #1::: pounds of food a year as plant substance or as animal substance deri!ed from plant substances1 one can (et some sort of equi!alent conception as to -hat this means. 0or is this all. The destruction is proceedin( at an 3e!er7increasin( rate3 as -e shall see in the ne t quotation from Mr. %ennett. "learly such a system of treatment of land cannot indefinitely continue. Cne recalls a(ain here the prophetic -ords of $rofessor Shaler of 4ar!ard uttered thirty years before the publication of this pamphlet/ 3,f man)ind cannot desi(n and enforce -ays of dealin( -ith the earth -hich -ill preser!e the sources of life1 -e must loo) for-ard to a time 77 remote it may be1 but clearly discernible 77 -hen our )ind1 ha!in( -asted its (reat inheritance1 -ill fade from the earth because of the ruin it has accomplished.3 There is somethin(1 too1 parado ical about these millions and thousands of millions of fi(ures1 attached to somethin( so (eneral to man as the soil1 that allies them to those of the money system of the same period. Farmers create -hat men eat1 but in doin( so create life7stran(lin( erosion and deserts. ,n the

money system1 financiers create money for men3s li!elihoods1 but in doin( so they also create life7stran(lin( debts and financial deserts. The !ast accumulation of ne(ati!e money1 as national and municipal debts1 runs into fi(ures comparable to those concerned -ith ne(ati!e soil. The t-o seem to ha!e a definite )inship. Bet urban peoples still !ie- both their food methods and their money methods -ith a scarcely sha)en trust. '(ain the split mind (i!es e!idence of itself. There are further fi(ures. The loss of phosphorus1 potash and nitro(en alone1 -ithout rec)onin( other soil foods1 is estimated at 21:::1:::1::: dollars a year1 -hich is the better portion of the %ritish national re!enue before the -ar of #8#47#@. Mr. %ennett1 -ritin( in #82@1 -hich he denotes as a time of mea(reness of fundamental data of 3-hat is (oin( on at an e!er7increasin( rate31 states/ 3That some #<1:::1::: acres or more of formerly tilled land has been utterly destroyed by erosion in this country is but an insi(nificant part of the story1 for it is the less !iolent form of erosional -asta(e1 sheet erosion1 that is doin( the bul) of the dama(e to the land. Land depreciation by this sloprocess of planin( off the surface is of almost incalculable e tent and seriousness1 and since the denudation does not cease -hen the subsoil is reached1 there must be in the near future1 unless methods of land usa(e are !ery radically chan(ed1 an enormous increase in the abandonment of farm lands.3 0ine years later Mr. 5. S. "layton of the '(ricultural *epartment of 0eSouth Wales1 after his study of erosion in the 6.S.'.1 came bac) -ith the momentous fi(ures/ <:1:::1::: acres of culti!ated land destroyed1 <:1:::1::: acres seriously eroded and about to be abandoned1 #::1:::1::: acres -ith loss of much of the topsoil1 out of 8@?1:::1::: acres1 the total of a(ricultural land in the States. Finally the 6nited States *epartment of Soil "onser!ation Ser!ice published a map -ith !arious shadin( to sho- the areas of sli(ht and se!ere -ind erosion1 and sli(ht and se!ere sheet erosion due to -idespread mo!ement of thin sheets of -ater. The unshaded non7eroded areas contrast -ith a -idespread pre!alence of shade. The abo!e fi(ures of Mr. "layton are certainly not belied by the map. The fi(ures of loss in the 6.S.'. are1 indeed1 incredible1 in that the mind cannot (rasp that a country of incalculable national -ealth and fertility1 almost -ithin a century can be thrust into such dan(er. This is but a paraphrase of Mr. %ennett3s o-n summary/ 3To !isuali.e the full enormity of land impairment and de!astation brou(ht about by this ruthless a(ent is beyond the possibility of the mind ... 'ny 'merican of li!e ima(ination )no-s that the people of the 6nited States -ould -illin(ly spend 2:1:::1:::1::: dollars to redress the -ron(31 had it been due to a forei(n foe. %ut because it is an inner fault of 'merican

thou(ht1 because the sun1 the -ind and the rain1 the natural conditions of earthly life1 are concerned1 the people scarcely heed it. So Mr. %ennett ends his part of "ircular 99 -ith the -ords/ 3' little is bein( done here and there to chec) the loss 77 an infinitesimal part of -hat should be done.3 Then comes the !isual e!idence1 the photo(raphs from many of the States. ,n the first photo(raph one sees a slopin( cotton field sho-in( shallo- channels caused by rain bet-een the ro-s of plants. When hea!y rains came and the e tensi!e field had only a li(ht co!er of youn( plants1 then more -ater ran alon( these channels bet-een the plants than -here the soil -as held by the roots of the plants. This is sheet erosion2 some -ater sin)s into the soil1 but some runs a-ay -ithout sin)in( in. The runnels collect to(ether and form a (ully. The ne t photo(raph sho-s the result of (ullies1 -hich ha!e collected to(ether to one channel in the Green!ille fine sandy loam. The channel is a chasm #:: feet deep1 -ith precipitous sides1 frin(ed by forest trees. Where it no- is1 there stood a school7house forty years a(o. There follo- further pictures of erosion due to rain and meltin( sno-. There is one of a -ide1 laterally e tendin( (or(e in the Mississippi >alley2 one of cornfields co!ered -ith a blan)et of coarse sand deposited on it by the erosional -aters of hea!y rain2 arable land in ;ansas so cut up by (ullies that it could no lon(er be plou(hed and -as (i!en o!er to pasture2 bald patches on the rich1 blac) soil of ,o-a1 -ashed a-ay by sheet erosion and sho-in( the clay beneath2 smooth fields in Te as split by (ullies as a flat (lacier is split by cre!asses2 rollin(1 hilly country of 0orthern "alifornia1 once forested but nocomplete desert1 -ith no topsoil and -hat is left of subsoil slashed by (ullies2 a spacious hilly area in "alifornia left desolate of (ro-th by fire and -ater2 in >ir(inia erosion follo-in( a fe- drops on slopes -hich should ne!er ha!e been cleared2 in "olorado1 farm buildin(s cau(ht and undermined by a -ide stream1 the natural obstructions to the free flo- of -hich the o-ners of the buildin(s had themsel!es remo!ed2 -a(on trac)s startin( erodin( streams1 -hich -ill e!entually lead to the loss of a !alley full of rich soil2 drift-ood and other debris from hills made barren by fire and deposited by flood upon a youn( orchard2 -ind erosion due to tramplin( of an e cess of cattle in dry 0eMe ico2 !e(etation destroyed by smelter fumes o!er thousands of acres in 'ri.ona. The last picture of all is one that cheers the heart after so much -itness of destruction. ,t is one of 3abundant and e cellent feed and a ma imum of -atershed protection31 in Montana. ,t sho-s a -ell7-atered1 hilly country bearin( tall fir trees1 borderin( upon spaces of rich (rass1 and in the fore(round1 a floc) of feedin( sheep. The land and its co!er are (ood and man himself +oins in its life7cycle -ith his (ood floc).

0e!ertheless1 Montana ta)es its share of the famous (ra.in( (rounds of the 0orth7West1 -here it is said that <@1:::1::: acres are no- only able to feed one7fifth of the number of animals they -ere once able to support. %ut it is in Montana3s nei(hbour1 the $acific 0orth7West1 that somethin( !ery positi!e has arisen1 an action of ne- !alues in )eepin( -ith the a-a)enin( of 'mericans to the primal !alue of a sheltered soil1 protected by a continuous o-nership of those -ho -ill care for it on small7si.ed farms. Cnce a(ain the land is to be the centre of homes1 a homeland. ,n the $acific 0orth7West flo-s the (reat "olumbia Ri!er1 across -hich ha!e been placed t-o dams1 the %onne!ille and the Grand "oulee. These t-o hu(e dams -ill produce more electric po-er than the #41:@212@21::: )ilo-att7hours turned out by the t-o hundred and si ty electric plants in the State of 0eBor). What to do -ith this enormous amount of ener(yA There enters into this question somethin( stran(e and ne- to accustomed industrialists. They -anted a !ast factory community near the %onne!ille *am itself. %ut there -ere eyes of a (reat leader loo)in( upon this mi(hty dam before him and loo)in( also beyond it -ith the !ision that e tends -hat is seen into the realms of the future. ,n September #89?1 it -as this leader1 $resident Roose!elt1 -ho deli!ered a speech of dedication beneath the dar) cra(s of the "olumbia Gor(e1 the ri!er of -hich in its chan(e no- foretold a chan(e for the mi(hty stream of the 'merican people. The 0orth7West1 consistin( of the States of Washin(ton1 Cre(on1 ,daho and the section of Montana -est of the crest of the Roc)ies1 offers an opportunity1 said the $resident1 3to a!oid some of the mista)es and -asteful e ploitation of resources that ha!e caused such serious problems in other parts of the country3. The 0orth7West should not be a land of ne- 3$ittsbur(s3. The $resident continued/ 3,t is because , am thin)in( of the nation and the re(ion fifty years from no- that , !enture the further prophecy that as the time passes -e -ill do e!erythin( to encoura(e the buildin( up of smaller communities of the 6nited States. To7day many people are be(innin( to reali.e that there is an inherent -ea)ness in cities -hich become too lar(e1 and inherent stren(th in a -ider (eo(raphical distribution of the population.3 The Grand "oulee1 no- nearin( completion1 in addition to pro!idin( po-er1 -ill irri(ate #12::1::: acres. These acres are to be (i!en to families and small culti!ators. They are bein( protected a(ainst combines and other lar(e7scale

operations. These types of land7o-nership are forbidden. Land1 held in defiance of this limitation1 -ill (et no -ater from (o!ernment canals. Families1 -ho ha!e been dri!en by erosion from the -estern (ra.in( lands and mi(rated from the no- famous *esert %o-l1 -ill here find land. Some are doin( so no-. The amount of land allo-ed to be held is limited to ei(hty acres for a family and forty acres for a sin(le man. The purpose of the Grand "oulee is to ta)e care of as many families as possible. The partnership of family and soil is to be re!i!ed. %ut there is to be somethin( more on this irri(ated land. There are to be small industries ser!ed by electric po-er. Men and -omen1 -ho -or) at these industries1 -ill also be able to ha!e )itchen (ardens1 and thereby -ill carry out -hat Mr. Stuart "hase proposed se!eral years a(o for the 0orth7West1 small farms -hich -ill act as 3anchors to -ind-ard31 if at any time industry fails. 5!eryone in this area -ill ha!e the opportunity to (ain soil7sense. The land as food producer -ill be the basis of society and -ill be its associate. Many small industries dotted about the 0orth7West -ill ser!e the countryside as once did !illa(e crafts. Cther industries -ill de!elop for industrial purposes the ramaterials of the local farms. ,ndustry -ill be truly distributed2 it -ill administer to the comfort and happiness of the people on the land as its primary ob+ect1 and act as the means of e ternal trade as its secondary ob+ect. The dicta1 indeed1 of the 0orth7West1 -ill be those so concisely e pressed by 0apoleon at St. 4elena/ 3'(riculture is the soul1 the foundation of the ;in(dom2 industry ministers to the comfort and happiness of the population2 forei(n trade is the superabundance2 it allo-s the due e chan(e of the surplus of a(riculture and industry ... Forei(n trade1 -hich in its results is infinitely inferior to a(riculture1 -as an ob+ect of secondary importance to my mind. Forei(n trade ou(ht to be the ser!ant of a(riculture and home industry2 these last ou(ht ne!er to be subordinated to forei(n trade.3 The cost of the electric po-er of the %onne!ille *am is (o!erned by 3posta(e7 stamp rates3 all alon( its transmission line of 2?< miles2 the industry farthest from the dam pays for its po-er at the same rate as the industry that is nearest. This mandate -as not directed a(ainst industries and factories as such1 but a(ainst industries and factories compounded into places li)e $ittsbur(1 "hica(o and *etroit. The fear of the (reat metropolitan city is so in(rained in the thou(ht of the people1 -rites Mr. Richard 0euber(er in 5ree America1 'u(ust #84:1 in a quite triumphant article from -hich , ha!e ta)en my information1 that durin( the stru((le o!er the %onne!ille po-er rates1 the -ords of $resident Gefferson D#?497#@2:E appeared in many local papers/ 3, !ie- (reat cities as pestilential to the health1 the morals and the liberty of man)ind.3 That sayin(

-as directed a(ainst financial and industrial ma(nates1 ambitious politicians and dema(o(ues1 -ho arise in cities and only by cities are made possible. The lo(ical end of metropolitan ci!ili.ation1and its most complete1 one7piece form1 is totalitarianism -hich is confessedly and in action 3pestilential to the liberties of man)ind3. ,n this scheme in the $acific 0orth7West1 men and -omen ha!e no- the opportunity to combine manufacture -ith a home partnership -ith the soil. The soil1 once a(ain no-1 and yet more in the future1 -ill be their associate and instructor. There is a (randeur about the scheme1 -hich belon(s to a (reat country that can still re!i!e its epic character. There is another illustration of the redempti!e spirit in the 6.S.'. -hich stirs hope and admiration no less than the story of the Grand "oulee. ,t is the story of a complete education of the children and people in the local soil. ,t -as called forth in an area of the 6nited States by the (reat catastrophes of the *ust %o-l and the floods in the basin of the Mississippi Ri!er and e!entually united all classes of the inhabitants. ,t is described in a pamphlet issued by the 6.S. *epartment of '(riculture in Cctober #84:. $upils and teachers used their o-n local land as te t7boo). They -al)ed o!er the land and -ith their eyes learned to reco(ni.e the symptoms of misuse1 to disco!er the causes1 and to -or) out the principles of (ood use. ' miniature -hirl of dust led to the study of -ind erosion and the *ust %o-l. The results of a flood and the loss of !aluable cotton land led to the study of the -atershed1 its inter7 relationships and the deli!ery of -ater from a forested area to the irri(ated land belo-. C-in( to the -ar , ha!e not as yet been able to procure the pamphlet itself1 but , ha!e read a re!ie- in &ndian 5arming1 Ganuary #8421 -hich quotes !erbatim from the pamphlet. ,t is so important and encoura(in( that , am reproducin( the quotation in full. 3%asic concepts and bodies of sub+ect matter -ere needed 77 an understandin( of the -ater cycle1 the beha!iour of the soil and -ater1 the (ro-th of !e(etation. These -ere obser!ed and understood and related to the daily life of human bein(s. "hildren (ained some understandin( of the hydrolo(ic cycle in the simple story of the raindrop. Grass as a necessary food for li!estoc) -as )no-n to e!en the smallest child in the south7-est. 4o- (rass (re-1 ho- it reproduced1 ho- o!er7(ra.in( and tramplin( destroyed it1 led quite lo(ically to such statements as/ IThe co-boys should not let the cattle eat in one place too lon(.I Sustained use of timber on forest land -as e pressed as the necessity for lar(e trees1 middle7si.ed trees1 and little trees. 4uman use1 human needs1

human plans and solutions1 -ere the core of each study. 3"hildren ha!e a -ay of tal)in( about matters that really interest them. >isits by pupils to demonstration areas ha!e led to !isits by parents. $arents ha!e -ritten letters to schools e pressin( their interest and pleasure upon learnin( that the children are studyin( land use. ,n sections -here this type of education -as (oin( on1 the technical men reported an added interest in the districts and a (reat facility in obtainin( a(reements3 Dpresumably for the better use of land and -ater by farmers and local authoritiesE. 3The educational superintendents1 super!isors1 departments of education lent e!ery facility1 ad!ised1 too) o!er -here possible. The technical staff of the Soil "onser!ation Ser!ice conducted tours1 learned to adapt their lan(ua(e to children3s understandin(1 frequently -rote for us e positions in lucid1 simple lan(ua(e. The material on human sur!eys1 from our section of conser!ation economics1 supplied information about the population1 its use of land1 its economic and social problems. Teachers1 reco(ni.in( that soil conser!ation -as of (reat interest to their community1 that it helped in the !itali.in( and sociali.in( of the -hole school pro(ramme1 thre- themsel!es into the pro(ramme -ith ori(inality and ea(erness. 3Cur brief e periment has sho-n that land plannin( and use has an immediate interest for e!ery school1 and that teachers1 pupils1 parents1 and State officials are ea(er to ha!e a part in it. ,t is one of the (reat problems before us to7day. ,t has to do -ith subsistence1 -ith food1 clothin(1 shelter1 ta es1 and -ith many other problems -hich are a daily part of the home1 community and the nation.3 5!eryone concerned1 it must be noted1 becomes interested. ,t is a call to all from their !ery ori(in itself1 and each man1 -oman and child1 all creatures of the earth1 ea(erly respond to it. &t is a construction of the children+s minds and a reconstruction of their elders+ minds in terms of the soil . Mr. %ennett sums up his sur!ey of the soil of the 6nited States -ith these fateful -ords/ 3'fter 41::: years of buildin( dy)es and di((in( (reat systems of canals1 the Bello- Ri!er bro)e o!er its ban)s and brou(ht death to a million human bein(s durin( a sin(le (reat flood. *urin( one flood that (reat ri!er1 )no-n in "hina as Ithe scour(e of the sons of 4anI1 chan(ed its channel to enter the sea 4:: miles from its former mouth.

30o one1 of course1 -ants anythin( remotely li)e this to ta)e place in this country1 but Icomin( e!ents cast their shado-s beforeI. That the (reatest flood of -hich -e ha!e reliable records came do-n the Mississippi in #82? -as a prophetic e!ent. G. 5. Martin3s statement about erosion as an enemy to a(riculture 77 I,t is !ery unli)ely that any other industry could suffer such losses and sur!i!eI 77 is prophetic. That bare land1 at the Missouri '(ricultural 5 periment Station1 -as found to be -astin( #9? times faster than land co!ered -ith blue (rass on a slope less than 4 per cent (radient is prophetic. That many millions of acres of cut7o!er land lie bare and desolate and e posed to the ra!a(es of fire and erosion1 -ith but pitifully little done to-ards reforestation1 is prophetic. That minimum estimates sho- that the rate of plant7food -asta(e by erosion is t-enty7one times faster than the rate at -hich it is bein( lost in crops remo!ed1 is prophetic. 3These shado-s are portents of e!il conditions that -ill be acutely felt by posterity. Shall -e not proceed immediately to help the present (eneration of farmers and to conser!e the herita(e of posterityA 3The -riter1 after t-enty7four years spent in studyin( the soils of the 6nited States1 is of the opinion that soil erosion is the bi((est problem confrontin( the farmers of the nation o!er a tremendous part of its a(ricultural lands. ,t seems scarcely necessary to state the perfectly ob!ious fact that a !ery lar(e part of this impo!erishment and -asta(e has ta)en place since the clearin( of forests1 the brea)in( of the prairie sod1 and the o!er7(ra.in( of pasture lands. ' little is bein( done here and there to chec) the loss 77 an infinitesimal part of -hat should be done.3 These -ords did not fall on deaf ears. The $resident and "on(ress -ere deeply stirred and fi!e years after the publication of "ircular 0o. 991 the Tennessee >alley 'uthority too) control of the !alley of the Tennessee Ri!er and its tributaries1 an area belon(in( to se!en different States and of no less si.e than that of 5n(land and Scotland. This -as the first ans-er of the Go!ernment of the 6nited States to the question of the "ircular/ 3Shall -e not proceed immediately to help the present (eneration of farmers and to conser!e the herita(e of posterityA3 ,t -as the first radical attac) on the 3little that is bein( done here and there to chec) the loss 77 an infinitesimal part of -hat should be done3. To help the understandin( of this (reat pro+ect1 it is ad!isable to recall ho- in Tan(anyi)a1 under the (uidance of Sir *onald "ameron1 in order to a!oid the erosion follo-in( upon the -holesale destruction of forests harbourin( the

tsetse fly1 (eolo(ists1 plant ecolo(ists and -ater sur!eyors -ere called to(ether to fit farmers in a manner understood by them to the local character of the water su ly as a whole. 5ach ri!er -ith its catchment area -as made into a nati!e7(o!erned entity1 and t-enty7si such entities combined in one 6nion. What the tsetse fly forced upon the discernin( mind of Sir *onald "ameron1 the de!astation and po!erty of the Tennessee Ri!er area forced upon the mind of the (reat $resident of the 6.S.'.1 Mr. Roose!elt1 and a stron( follo-in( of members of "on(ress. The story has been told -ith a comprehensi!eness -orthy of the theme by the "hairman of the T.>.'.1 Mr. *a!id Lilienthal1 in his boo)1 The Tennessee @alley Authority1 #844. The story be(ins -ith the natural unity of the Tennessee >alley area1 -ith its forested catchment areas of mountains and !alleys1 and the !aried and interloc)in( animal and !e(etable life they maintained. The forest7co!erin( protected the soil a(ainst hea!y rainfall1 let the rain7-ater filter throu(h the soil and return by the clear Tennessee Ri!er to the Mississippi and the sea. Then came the White Men1 lords of creation and of the ne(roes1 -ho accompanied them. They sur!eyed the land and found it suitable for t-o (ood money crops1 cotton and tobacco. There -ere also many fine1 saleable timber trees upon the mountainous rid(es and slopes2 there -ere minerals -orth smeltin(2 there -ere s-ift1 clear ri!ers1 -hich1 if harnessed by dams1 -ould yield electric po-er for the machines of the manufacturies. These prime!al mountains and !alleys -ere full of promise in a land of promise. Men set to -or)1 each indi!idual or (roup for their se!eral purposes1 and so the primal unity of the !alley -as destroyed. 't first1 the land li!ed up to the title1 land of promise1 but little by little1 the land -as abused and rebelled. The time came -hen the hill7farmers found their land scored -ith (ullies1 the farmers on the plains their fields coated -ith silt from floods. The e ploiters of timber1 ne(lectin( afforestation1 sa- their stoc) depleted and barrenness ta)e its place. 4ard7-ood fuel no lon(er -as enou(h to ser!e the furnaces of the smelters of ore1 and the fumes of their o!ens )illed e!en the thin !e(etation -hich attempted to co!er the deforested land. Finally1 the o-ners of dams found their pipes bloc)ed by the silt of mur)y floods1 and electricity no lon(er leapin( from the dynamos -hich the piped -ater dro!e. The ri!er itself -as thic) -ith silt1 local na!i(ation upon it -as destroyed and1 in flood1 farmland -ashed a-ay. 5ach -as an enemy to the other1 and1 before the Tennessee >alley 'uthority too) o!er the -hole !alley1 the inhabitants -ere the most po!erty7stric)en and bac)-ard of any people in the 6.S.'. They

-ere in the front ran) of the eroders and de!astators1 to -hom Mr. %ennett attributed the results of his t-enty7four years3 study of the soils of the 6.S.'. The outloo) -as as ominous as it could -ell be. The sole hope -as to alter the !ery principles and methods of the usa(e of the !alley as a -hole and reintroduce those of the unity of nature1 -hich had been i(nored and fra(mented. This -as the -or) -hich "on(ress allotted to the Tennessee >alley 'uthority on that momentous date1 #@ May #899. ,n the brief space of ten years1 the T.>.'. ha!e erected si teen dams1 some of them amon(st the bi((est in the -orld1 and ta)en o!er and modified the fi!e e istin( dams1 and made them into one system of re(ulation of the ri!ers under their central control. They ha!e no- become masters of the ri!ers and their floods1 and in #8421 -hen torrents came ra(in( do-n a lar(e part of the catchment area of the mountains1 they conducted them safely into controlled channels. They protected the Tennessee >alley as a -hole and its 41<::1::: inhabitants. They ha!e planted a million trees (ro-n in their nurseries and locally suitable to the soil. They ha!e introduced contour plou(hin(1 terraced culti!ation1 farmers3 -oodland and a balanced economy of le(umes1 clo!er1 rotations1 pi(s1 poultry and cattle upon 2:1::: demonstration farms1 in the midst of the 22<1::: farms -ith #19<:1::: people li!in( upon them in family farms a!era(in( ?< acres. They manufacture phosphates1 disco!ered by their e perts as the present7needed artificial manure1 and Mr. Lilienthal calls it in results 3the almost ma(ic phosphate3. They ha!e1 -ith their mi(hty dams1 created cheap electric po-er -hich (i!es each person 214:: )ilo-att hours compared to the a!era(e of the 6.S.'. of #1<9: )ilo-att hours1 or #2:1:::1:::1::: man hours for a sin(le re(ion. This has increased hea!y and li(ht industries1 and1 as a -ar consequence1 it -as lar(ely because of this po-er that1 in #8491 the 6.S.'. -as able to build its hu(e fleet of bombers for use in 5urope and the South $acific. They ha!e made a stretch of 4=4 miles of the ri!er na!i(able -ith a depth of si feet and they -ill soon ha!e a stretch of =<: miles -ith a depth of nine feet. Lastly1 the number of fish in the ri!er and its reser!es has been increased fifteen times. To effect these great harmoni0ing ractices, the T.@.A. had to ossess new harmoni0ing rinci les. They had to re(ard the inter7relation and independence of the different factors of nature in place of seein( nature as a battle in -hich each li!in( type is set in open and secret enmity to other types in the bitter stru((le for sur!i!al and priority. Mr. Lilienthal illustrates and discusses1 in a !ariety of aspects1 the chan(e -hich -as necessary1 not only in "on(ress itself1 but in e!ery sentient

inhabitant of the Tennessee >alley. 4ere are some fe- of his -ords/ 3"on(ress in creatin( the T.>.'. bro)e -ith the past. 0o sin(le a(ency had in this -ay e!er been assi(ned the unitary tas) of de!elopin( a ri!er so as to release the total benefit from its -aters for the people ... The T.>.'. 'ct -as nothin( inad!ertent or impromptu. ,t -as rather the deliberate and -ell7 considered creation of a ne- national policy. For the first time in the history of the nation1 the resources of a ri!er -ere only to be Ien!isioned in their entiretyI2 they -ere to be de!eloped in that unity with which nature herself regards her resources 77 the -aters1 the land1 the forests to(ether1 a Iseamless -ebI 77 +ust as Maitland sa- Ithe unity of all historyI1 of -hich one strand cannot be touched -ithout affectin( e!ery other strand for (ood or ill. 36nder this ne- policy1 the opportunity of creatin( -ealth for the people from the resources of this !alley -as to be faced as a sin(le problem. To inte(rate the many parts of that problem into a unified -hole -as to be the responsibility of one a(ency. The Tennessee >alley3s resources -ere not to be dissected into separate bits that -ould fit into the +urisdictional pi(eon7holes into -hich the instrumentalities of (o!ernment had by custom become di!ided. ,t -as not conceded that at the hour of creation the Lord had di!ided and classified natural resources to conform to the or(ani.ation chart of the federal (o!ernment. The particular and limited concerns of pri!ate indi!iduals or a(encies in the de!elopment of this or that resource -ere disre(arded and re+ected in fa!our of the principle of unity. What God had made one1 man -as to de!elop as one.3 The T.>.'. controls and bears the responsibility of the dams1 the electric po-er1 ad!ice to the farmers1 the fittin( of industry to the -hole1 and (eneral super!ision and plannin(. Cther-ise the (reatest possible share has been (i!en to the people of the !alley by decentrali.ation. 3' man -ants to feel that he is important3 is the ma im that directs this. 3The !ery essence of the T.>.'.3s method in the underta)in( -as at e!ery hand to use directly1 and to encoura(e and stimulate1 the broadest possible coalition of all forces. $ri!ate funds and pri!ate efforts1 on farms and in factories2 state funds and state acti!ities2 local communities1 clubs1 schools1 associations1 co7operati!es 77 all ha!e had ma+or roles. Moreo!er1 scores of federal a(encies ha!e co7operated3 77 here a list of t-enty is (i!en 77 3the list1 if complete1 -ould include most national a(encies.3 The farmers themsel!es decide as to -hich farms shall be demonstration farms. The distribution of electric po-er is directed by the farmers1 the industries1 the municipalities1 the States. The e perts li!e amon(st the people and are one -ith them. Labour is ta)e primarily from the people of the !alley2 others chosen by merit are directed to e pert -or). 0o inducements are allo-ed to industries

located in other re(ions to mo!e to the Tennessee >alley. Responsibility is distributed. The T.>.'. mana(ement is responsible to "on(ress1 yet it is a separate authority1 and its separation underlined in that neither its mana(ement nor its staff are permitted any share in politics e cept that of !otin(. The same separation is aimed at bet-een the mana(ement and the staff2 its members are encoura(ed to act and ta)e responsibilities and not -orry about mista)es. ' li)e relation e ists bet-een T.>.'. and local bodies and associations1 -ho are (i!en and readily accept action and responsibility for their localities. Mr. Lilienthal himself terms it Democracy on the (arch. The results ha!e a-a)ened the )eenest interest1 not only in the 6nited States itself1 but in other countries of the -orld1 'n impo!erished and fear7stric)en people in ten years ha!e become prosperous1 confident1 -ell fed1 -ell clothed. They are happier and better citi.ens. Cne principle of ser!ice to the soil is missin( from Mr. Lilienthal3s boo)1 the rule of the return of -hat is ta)en from the soil1 after use1 to the soil1 by -hich1 in particular1 the "hinese ha!e maintained their soil for so many centuries. There is one oblique reference to it in the statement that1 if cotton7seed oil7mills made money1 Tennessee cattle could be fed -ith the cotton7meal ca)es they no- e port for sale. ,f they did this1 3as much as @: per cent of the fertili.in( !alue of the meal -ould be returned to the soil rather than continuously drained by e port3. Cther-ise1 the T.>.'. is a -onderful re7disco!ery of almost for(otten la-s. 4o- (reat this re7disco!ery may become1 -e shall no- see in the story of a )in(dom in 5urope1 -hich -as1 one mi(ht say1 e cept for electric po-er1 all Tennessee >alley and more.

Chapter 21 A 5 ngdom of Agr cultural Art n #urope

,t is refreshin( 77 and an essential restoration of the mind 77 to turn from the dismal tale of farmin( under modern ci!ili.ation and to re!ie- in its place a )in(dom of a(ricultural art in -estern 5urope. Such a )in(dom can be found1 but one has to (o bac) a thousand years to find it. Further1 apart from this lon( inter!al of time1 there are other distances bet-een this (reat a(ricultural society and the society of modern 5urope. The race -hich directed this society is no lon(er to be found in 5urope. Moreo!er1 the reli(ious faith -hich directed it is

no- only to be found in a fe- mountainous areas of eastern 5urope. ,n its racial and reli(ious characteristics1 then1 this society -as stran(e to 5urope1 yet1 in spite of this stran(eness1 perhaps because of it1 it did for a period attain to a fullness of civili0ation not reached by any other 'uro ean eo le . This )in(dom -as that of the 'rabs in Spain1 -hich be(an -ith their in!asion under Taric) in '.*. ?## and came to an end -ith the fall of Granada in #4?2. ,ts period of harmony by no means e tended for the -hole of this term of se!en and a half centuries. The story of its achie!ements has been related by Mr. S. $. Scott in the three lar(e !olumes of his %istory of the (oorish 'm ire in S ain1 published in $hiladelphia in #8:41 -ith a -ealth of detail collected durin( a period of 3more than t-enty years3 in -hich 3this -or) en(a(ed the attention of the author3. $articularly notable is the account in the thirtieth chapter of the a(riculture on -hich this flourishin( empire -as based1 and by -hich it supported a population belie!ed (reatly to e ceed that of the united populations of 5n(land1 France1 Germany and ,taly of that time. The fi(ures (i!en are some #<1:::1::: to 2:1:::1::: for the four countries compared to some 9:1:::1::: in 'rabic Spain. The account of this -onderful a(riculture e istin( in the *ar) '(es of the rest of 5urope -ill be so stran(e to many readers1 that they may feel that it is beyond the ran(e of their credibility. The reason of this is that in 5n(lish education the influence of 'rabic culture is entirely left out. We are tau(ht a lot about the Gree)s and Romans1 but nothin( about the 'rabs1 as intellectual leaders of 5urope. Mr. Scott himself is -ell a-are of the special educational default -ith -hich -e are no- concerned. 4e be(ins his thirtieth chapter -ith some bitter -ords1 to sho- that he anticipated the incredulity -ith -hich his account -ould be met. 3,n all the !ast domain of historical inquiry31 he -rote1 3there is probably no sub+ect -hich has been treated -ith such studied ne(lect1 -ith such fla(rant in+ustice1 as the ci!ili.ation of the 'rabs in the Spanish $eninsula. ,ts story has been -ritten in the ma+ority of instances by the implacable enemies of those -ho founded and promoted it. Theolo(ical hatred has lent its potent aid to the pre+udice of race and the en!y arisin( from conscious inferiority to deny or belittle its achie!ements.3 Cf ho- bitter this theolo(ical hatred could be a sin(le e ample must suffice. 5ulo(ius1 a learned Spanish priest1 disco!ered by his studies or in!ented the )no-led(e that Mohammed announced to his follo-ers that three days after his death he -ould be raised by the an(els to hea!en2

3instead of this1 do(s de!oured his rottin( corpse3. This e ample is ta)en from the -ell7)no-n boo) of S. ;huda %a)sh on &slamic #ulture1 #8:<. When one thin)s of the re!erence -ith -hich Mohammed spo)e of Gesus in the ;oran and the same re!erence -hich he transmitted to his follo-ers1 one can see on -hich side the bitter reli(ious hatred lay. "onsequently1 in !ie- of this ne(lect and pre+udice1 Mr. Scott1 in a list of 3'uthorities consulted in the $reparation of this Wor)31 (i!es no less than se!en hundred and three1 co!erin( fourteen different lan(ua(es. Some of these numerous boo)s are concerned -ith the 'rabic culture and history as a -hole. ,n the sphere of science and thou(ht for e ample1 William Lec)y1 in his %istory of Rationalism1 #@=<1 paid this tribute to the 'rabs/ 30ot till the education of 5urope passed from the monasteries to the uni!ersities1 not till Mohammedan Science bro)e the sceptre of the "hurch did the intellectual re!i!al of 5urope be(in.3 Mr. Gohn William *raper1 in A %istory of the &ntellectual Develo ment of 'uro e1 #@?<1 -rote in the same strain. ' more recent -riter than Mr. Scott1 Mr. Robert %riffault1 in The (aking of %umanity1 #8#81 finally summed up the relation of the 'rabic Sciences to those of 5urope in the follo-in( -ords/ 3The debt of our science to that of the 'rabs does not e ist in startlin( disco!eries or re!olutionary theories ... Science o-es a (ood deal more to 'rab culture1 it o-es its e istence ... What -e call science arose in 5urope as a spirit of inquiry1 of ne- methods of in!esti(ation1 of the method of e periment1 obser!ation1 measurement1 of the de!elopment of mathematics in a form un)no-n to the Gree)s. That spirit and these methods -ere introduced into the 5uropean -orld by the 'rabs.3 Cne need not1 therefore1 be surprised that these same 'rabs produced in the homeland of ,ra)1 in Spain and else-here a (reat system of farmin( on -hich to support their brilliant ci!ili.ation. Many of the boo)s quoted in Mr. Scott3s list bear testimony to their farmin( art. , -ill confine myself1 ho-e!er1 to couplin( the quotations from t-o -ell7)no-n French authors in his list. Cne is from Monsieur Gusta! le %on3s La #ivilisation des Arabes1 #@@41 3The 'rabs had e!en a (reater aptitude for a(riculture than for letters and arts. What means of irri(ation are no- found in 'ndalusia -ere made by them32 the other from Monsieur SRdillot3s %istoire .)n)rale des Arabes1 #@??/ 3,n short they had irri(ated and culti!ated the land so e cellently that it -as befittin( to call 'ndalusia a (arden.3 Mr. Martin 4ume1 -ritin( three years before Mr. Scott and not quoted by him1 summari.ed the farmin( art of the Spanish 'rabs in these -ords/ 3'(riculture and horticulture -ere de!eloped to an e tent ne!er heard of before.3

Mr. Scott also (i!es in his list ori(inal -or)s on Spanish farmin(. Cne of these -or)s that escaped the attempted total destruction of the literature of the 'rabs by their fanatical conquerors is The ,ook of 5arming1 by ,bn7'l7'-am1 or to (i!e him his full 'rab name1 'bu Kac)aria Bahya %in Mohammed %in 'hmed ,bn '-am1 -ho li!ed in Se!ille in the si th century of the Mohammedan era. Mr. Scott quotes him in his list under the French translation of his -or)1 Le Livre de l+Agriculture1 2 !ols.1 $aris1 #@==. This boo) -as also translated into Spanish in #@:21 and into 6rdu in #82?1 in t-o !olumes in each case. ,t -as not translated into 5n(lish at the time of Mr. Scott1 nor1 as far as , )no-1 has this (ra!e omission in 5n(lish scholarship yet been corrected. The 'rabic MSS.1 ho-e!er1 repose in the %ritish Museum Library1 as -ell as in the libraries of Leyden1 $aris and the 5scorial. ,bn7'l7'-am also has his list of one hundred and se!en authorities upon the !aried aspects of farmin(1 and1 since the 'rabs -ere (reat translators1 he quotes freely not only from 'rabic -riters1 but from Gree)1 Latin1 $ersian1 0abathean and other a(ricultural e perts1 as -ell as e perts on the allied sub+ects1 botany1 .oolo(y1 chemistry1 mechanics and meteorolo(y1 etc. 4is translator into 6rdu1 moreo!er1 emphasi.es that he -as a !ery cautious student1 a true scientist1 in short. This is -hat his translator -rites/ 3The peculiar quality of this boo) is that1 -hene!er the author quotes the statement of an e pert1 he first tests it by personal e periment. Where he had not the opportunity to !erify a statement by e perimentation1 he tells his readers that1 thou(h he has been unable to do so1 he has such faith in the !eracity of his informant1 that he has copied his statements into his boo). This precaution -hich is absent in other boo)s1 has (reatly increased the !alue of the -or) of ,bn7'l7'-am.3 ' !ery reliable man1 then1 is this Spanish7'rabic scholar. Mr. Scott himself (i!es the follo-in( epitome of The ,ook of 5arming/ 3The (reat -or) of ,bn7'l7'-am1 of Se!ille1 a !ast monument of industry and erudition embracin( e!ery concei!able branch of the sub+ect1 sho-s to -hat e traordinary perfection the science of a(riculture had been carried in the t-elfth century by the Spanish Mohammedans. ,t treats1 in a comprehensi!e and e hausti!e manner1 not only of the methods found by the e perience of centuries to be the best adapted to the so-in( and har!estin( of (rain1 to the plantin( and culti!ation of orchards1 to the propa(ation of edible and aromatic plants2 but it also1 -ith infinite minuteness of detail1 describes the breedin( and care of e!ery species of domestic animals1 their qualities1 their relati!e e cellence1 their defects1 their habits1 their diseases. ,t discourses at len(th upon the different breeds of horses and upon the rearin( of that useful animal so

pri.ed by the 'rab. ,t e plains the details of artificial incubation1 a process borro-ed from 5(ypt. ,t directs ho- to produce in (eese the abnormal hepatic conditions -hich induce the foie gras1 that artificial delicacy so dear to the epicure1 and a thousand years a(o1 as to7day1 an in!aluable ad+unct to fashionable (luttony. ,t teaches the different methods of coo)in( and the preparation of !arious confections1 +ellies1 syrups and s-eetmeats of e!ery description. The manufacture of -ine1 so ri(idly forbidden to the Moslem1 and -hose immense consumption had already1 in the time of the ;halifate1 scandali.ed the pious1 is detailed in all its sta(es in this remar)able boo). ,n it are (i!en recipes for cordials of many )inds1 coolin( be!era(es and hydromel. ,t also prescribes the rules by -hich the household of the farmer should be (o!erned1 and defines the reciprocal duties of employer and employee. ,n e!ery operation of rural life and domestic economy1 it enforces by repeated admonition the necessity for cleanliness1 system and order.3 , ha!e dealt at some len(th -ith the credibility of Mr. Scott3s account of the 'rabic a(ricultural system in Spain1 because1 thou(h in the ,ndustrial 5ra1 -hich be(an some hundred and se!enty years a(o1 -e ha!e made !ast strides in the sciences and ha!e far outstripped their initiators the 'rabs1 -e ha!e1 at the same time1 not ad!anced but dan(erously receded in the reco(nition that our complicated ci!ili.ation must for our safety and prosperity be founded upon the soil and its preser!ation. Where the 'rabs accomplished a success and brilliancy in all the factors of social life1 -e ha!e chan(ed our a(riculture into a Rape of the 5arth. ,t has lost its national meanin( and the lo!e and re!erence of the people it supports. To con!ert readers in this contention1 , sa- no better -ay than to acquaint them -ith ' ;in(dom of '(ricultural 'rt in 5urope and 'n 4istorical Reconstruction1 and con!ince them of their reality. The a(ricultural system of the Moors in Spain -as1 -rites Mr. Scott/ 3the most comple 1 the most scientific1 the most perfect1 e!er de!ised by the in(enuity of man. ,ts principles -ere deri!ed from the e treme Crient1 from the plains of Mesopotamia1 and from the !alley of the 0ile 77 those (ardens of the ancient -orld -here1 centuries before the da-n of authentic history1 the culti!ation of the earth had been carried to a state of e traordinary e cellence. To the )no-led(e thus appropriated -ere added the results obtained from in!esti(ation and e periment1 from the introduction of forei(n plants2 from the adoption of fertili.in( substances2 from the close and intelli(ent obser!ation of the (eo(raphical distribution and climatic influence.3 0o culti!ators had a more profound )no-led(e than this people of the !alue of -ater. They1 li)e the (reat ri!erine peoples1 from -hom they deri!ed so much

)no-led(e1 reali.ed that the ro er use of water was civili0ation. Without its -ust and conservative distribution, the true -ustice and magnanimity of civili0ation do not really e!ist. %y the art of distributin( -ater 3a considerable portion of the country -hich had ne!er been sub+ected to tilla(e because of its aridity became suddenly metamorphosed1 as if by the -and of an enchanter. %arren !alleys -ere transformed into flourishin( orchards of oli!es1 oran(es1 fi(s and pome(ranates. Roc)y slopes -ere co!ered -ith !erdant terraces. ,n districts -here1 accordin( to ancient tradition1 no -ater had e!en been seen1 no- flo-ed noisy ri!ulets and broad canals. Where marshes e isted1 the rich lands they concealed -ere drained1 reclaimed and placed under thorou(h culti!ation. Cn all sides -ere !isible the -or)s of the hydraulic en(ineer 77 -hich supplied the necessary moisture to the fields by e!ery de!ice then )no-n to human s)ill 77 the reser!oir1 the -ell1 the sluice1 the tunnel1 the siphon1 the aqueduct.3 Water -as lifted to hi(her le!els by $ersian -heels1 of -hich in a fe- square lea(ues there mi(ht be fi!e hundred1 some -ith diameters of se!enty feet. Grades -ere ascertained by the use of the astrolabe. 3The public -or)s constructed for irri(atin( purposes -ere on a (i(antic scale. The artificial basin near 'licante1 elliptical in shape1 is three miles in circumference and fifty feet deep2 the dam at 5lche is t-o hundred and si ty7four feet lon(1 fifty7t-o feet hi(h1 and a hundred and fifty feet -ide at the bottom2 that o!er the Se(ura1 near Murcia1 is se!en hundred and si ty feet lon( and thirty7si feet in hei(ht. The aqueduct at Manesis1 in >alencia1 is se!en hundred and t-enty feet lon(1 and is supported by t-enty7ei(ht arches. The principle of the siphon1 familiar to the 'rabs ei(ht hundred years before it -as )no-n in France1 -as utili.ed to a remar)able de(ree in the Moorish hydraulic system. The len(th of the cur!e in the (reat siphon at 'lmonora is fi!e hundred and se!enty feet2 the diameter of the latter is si feet1 and it passes ninety feet under the bed of a mountain stream. The subterranean aqueduct at Mara!illa1 -hich -aters the plain of 6r(el1 is a mile lon( and thirty feet in diameter2 that of "re!illenta1 north of Cr)uela1 is fifty7fi!e hundred and si ty7fi!e feet lon( and thirty7si feet in diameter. 'll of these under(round conduits are cut throu(h the solid roc). The masonry of the reser!oirs is of the finest description1 and the cement made use of has become harder than stone itself. "ontin(encies are pro!ided for -ith some s)ill and foresi(ht that no o!erflo- occurs1 and no dama(e e!er results1 e!en in the time of the (reatest inundations. The e cellence of construction of these massi!e -or)s of 'rab en(ineerin( is demonstrated by the fact that they ha!e needed practically no repairs in a thousand years.3 The distribution of the -ater -as (o!erned by a peculiar code of la-s1 perfect

familiarity -ith -hich -as only to be obtained by those -or)in( for their li!elihood under its direction. With a -ise trust in local (o!ernment1 the e ecution of these la-s -as presided o!er by a Tribunal of the Waters1 the members of -hich -ere chosen by the farmers themsel!es. This Tribunal sathat there -as no -aste2 theft -as hea!ily punished2 disputes and !iolations of the re(ulations came under its +urisdiction. 3Gud(ment -as rendered after consultation1 and from it there -as no appeal. The most e alted ran)1 the (reatest -ealth1 the most distin(uished public ser!ice1 did not confer e emption from the +urisdiction of the court or affect the impartiality of its decrees. The noble -as summoned to its bar -ith little more ceremony than the sla!e ... The -isdom of these re(ulations is demonstrated by their lon(e!ity. 3,n the distribution of -ater the measurement -as by !olume1 a certain quantity bein( allotted to a stated area durin( a (i!en period of the day or ni(ht at inter!als of ten to fifteen days. The sides of the canals -ere pro!ided -ith flood (ates1 )ept under loc) and )ey1 by -hich the ad+oinin( fields could be submer(ed at the proper time. *rains carried the surplus bac) into the ori(inal channels1 so that there -as the least possible loss.3 Such -as the -ay in -hich -ater -as used so as to ma)e a (reat society of people possible and durable. ,t is of profound si(nificance1 but it is seldom )no-n by modern men of e!en -ide education. Bet there is no )no-led(e more entirely needed by modern 5urope. What is the use of a (lutted treasury of )no-led(e1 -hile it is1 at the same time1 defective in the vital knowledge-hich the 'rabs possessed. ,n the second (reat precept of the art of a(riculture1 the rule of return1 the 'rabs -ere as effecti!e as they -ere in the )no-led(e of -ater. The same care and economy -ere obser!ed in fertili.in( the soil1 -hich the requirements of a dense population ne!er permitted to rest1 -rites Mr. Scott1 and continues/ 3Manure and dust -ere collected from the hi(h-ays. The contents of se-ers and !aults -ere preser!ed1 desiccated1 and1 min(led -ith less po-erful substances1 -ere used to supply the impairment consequent upon incessant culti!ation. 'shes1 the burned and pul!eri.ed seeds of fruits1 the blood and bones of slau(htered animals1 all played an important part in the intelli(ent and systematic treatment of the rich and producti!e !alleys of the south1 -hose surface1 restin( on an impenetrable subsoil of clay1 required continued reno!ation. The curious and minute in!esti(ations of the s)illed a(riculturist had determined the best composts1 the most ad!anta(eous modes of applyin( them1 the )ind of !e(etation to -hich they -ere especially adapted.

3Manures -ere deposited in stone reser!oirs contri!ed to pre!ent e!aporation or lea)a(e. 0othin( -as -asted2 e!ery substance a!ailable for the fertili.ation of crops -as carefully preser!ed1 the different !arieties bein( separated and applied to such soils as e perience had tau(ht -ere most producti!e under their use.3 The third (reat precept of the art of a(riculture -as follo-ed by the 'rabs in the preference for independent small holdin(s. 36nli)e the policy adopted under the Roman and Gothic dominations1 there -ere fe- lar(e estates. The land -as di!ided into small tracts1 and for that reason -as much more thorou(hly tilled ... 5!ery indul(ence and encoura(ement -as afforded by the la-s to the Moorish culti!ator. The independence so necessary to the successful prosecution of a(ricultural pursuits1 he en+oyed to the utmost de(ree compatible -ith the social order. For the most part1 he himself instituted the re(ulations of husbandry1 -hich -ere enforced by ma(istrates ta)en from his class and of his o-n selection. 4is ta es -ere not oppressi!e. The producti!eness of the soil1 the equability of the climate1 ne!er permitted his labours to (o unre-arded.3 ' fourth -as the use of terraced culti!ation. 3,n localities unfa!ourable to culti!ation the deficiencies of the soil -ere supplied by untirin( industry. Walls of ponderous masonry supported terraces -here the !ery cliffs -ere made producti!e1 and -here only a bush or !ine could be planted the narro- space -as utili.ed. 0ot only -ater1 but loam and fertili.in( materials -ere brou(ht from (reat distances.3 The culti!ators -ere also encoura(ed to ad!enture upon ne- paths. 3The unri!alled e cellence of the a(ricultural methods employed by the Spanish Mohammedans -as1 in lar(e measure1 due to their profound botanical )no-led(e.3 %otanists -ere dispatched to 5(ypt1 Mesopotamia1 ,ndia1 the 5ast and e!ery quarter of the (lobe1 to collect seeds of useful plants and fruits for e perimental culti!ation. 3Gardens for the propa(ation of both nati!e plants and e otics -ere established in the en!irons of all the (reat cities1 and the results of intelli(ent obser!ers -ere re(ularly tabulated for the public benefit ... ,n all the multifarious duties of his occupation the Moorish horticulturist possessed e pert )no-led(e.3 C-in( to this scientific )no-led(e and the )een ad!enture of the naturalists1 the 'rabs introduced into 5urope the stra-berry1 lemon1 date1 quince1 fi(1 mulberry1 banana1 pistachio1 almond1 rice1 sesame1 buc)-heat1 spinach1 aspara(us1 mace1 nutme(1 pepper1 caper1 saffron1 coffee1 cotton1 su(ar7 cane1 thou(h accordin( to *r. 4. 4int.e1 in his boo)1 .eogra hie und .eschichte der 'rn/hrung1 some fe-1 such as lemons1 quince1 almonds and mulberries1 appeared on the tables1 if not on the fields1 of the Romans at the

time of the 5mpire. %otanical )no-led(e and -idespread education1 shortly to be described1 therefore combined to promote these e cellent results. The treatises on a(riculture and horticulture dealt -ith e!ery aspect of culti!ation. The culti!ators -ere1 thereby1 made familiar -ith the mo!ement of the sap1 the difference of se in plants1 and the process of artificial fecundation. They in!ested plants -ith the conditions of acti!ity and repose1 of motion and sleep. They follo-ed no less than ei(ht methods of (raftin( and protected the (rafts by in(enious de!ices from the in+urious effects of the sun. They )ne- ho- to preser!e fruits and (rains in subterranean chambers he-n out of the roc). ,n all a(ricultural matters1 in brief1 )no-led(e -as stren(thened and -idened by s)illed a(ricultural literature. There -as the same s)ill and )no-led(e in the rearin( of cattle and horses1 in the breedin( of sheep and the culture of bees1 -hich attained to the hi(hest de(ree of proficiency. The 'rab horse lost none of its speed and endurance for bein( bred and reared in Spain. The abundant1 sil)y fleece of the merino sheep -as due to a peculiar method by -hich floc)s -ere tended. ,mmense floc)s -ere dri!en t-ice a year bet-een the slopes of the $yrenees and the plains of 5stremadura1 by -hich means they secured both fresh and continual pastura(e and freedom from the drou(hts of summer and the storms of -inter. Lastly the lo!e of flo-ers -as a passion amon( the Spanish Muslims. Mr. Scott -rites/ 3's they -ere the (reatest botanists in the -orld1 so no other nation approached them in the perfection of their floriculture and the ardour -ith -hich they pursued it.3 Whether they -ere culti!ated solely for their beauty and perfume or -hether they also culti!ated them1 because1 as has been seen in "hapter #=1 they help in their especial -ay to preser!e the culti!ation of the soil1 Mr. Scott does not say. %y this fine farmin(1 the food of the people -as pro!ided1 but1 o-in( to !arieties of climate and in spite of the (reat system of irri(ation1 bad years -ould occur. To secure the people a(ainst hun(er at such times1 the e port of (rain -as forbidden 77 as laid do-n in the ;oran 77 and the surplus of (ood har!ests -as deposited in (ranaries he-n in the roc). Forests of oa) -ere also carefully preser!ed for the sa)e of their acorns1 -hich furnished a coarse but nutritious diet at time of e tremity1 -hen famine other-ise threatened. Such a -ide and complete a(ricultural factor of a human life7cycle1 as the 'rabs of Spain created1 must necessarily (i!e a -holeness and health to the

other factors of ci!ili.ation. "onsequently1 in e!ery other art1 there occurred the same prosperity and e cellence as those -hich distin(uished the art of the soil. Cf their other arts1 Mr. Scott -rites -ith a fer!our no less inspired by their adequacy than it is by the adequacy of the culti!ation of the soil. 4e describes the or(ani.ation of the traffic of commerce by land and by sea2 the mar)ets and fairs2 the principles of equitable dealin( in business transactions and in dealin( -ith other nations1 as laid do-n by ,slamic la-2 the ports and the (reat centres of manufacturin( and mercantile acti!ity situated on the Mediterranean Sea2 the sil) factories and the factories of iron and copper utensils of 'lmeria2 the potteries of 'ndalusia2 the leather -or) of "ordo!a1 the capital2 the sil)s of Se!ille2 the paper of Oati!a2 the steel of Toledo2 the te tile fabrics of Lusitania and 'ndalusia2 the (lass7-or) at 'lmeria1 -hich -as the teacher of later (lass7 -or) in >enice2 the +e-ellers of Granada2 the mats and bas)et -or) of 'licante2 the mills of Murcia and Sara(ossa2 the linens of Salamanca2 the musical instruments of Se!ille2 and the -ines1 the use of -hich scandali.ed the orthodo Moslem1 to -hom into icants of any )ind -ere forbidden. 'bo!e all these accomplishments of labour -as the passion for literature and )no-led(e. The (reat monarchs of the (reat period1 from '.*. ?<<1 -hen 'bd7 al7Rahman , founded the Cmmeyade *ynasty in Spain1 to the death of 'l7 4a)em ,, in '.*. 8?=1 -ere not only patrons of literature1 but -ere themsel!es personally distin(uished as authors. 'bd7al7Rahman , himself1 amidst a life of ine haustible ad!enture1 from prince to be((ared outcast and from outcast e!entually to )in(1 -as a real lo!er of literature and art1 and a poet of unusual ability. 4e culti!ated the public taste by periodical literary contests1 and attracted the most accomplished scholars and poets to his side1 not only by material re-ards1 but by his friendship and the en(a(in( !ersatility of his comprehensi!e (enius. 4ad Leonardo da >inci li!ed in his time1 he -ould ha!e found the royal friend1 -orthy of his consummate (enius1 -hom he sou(ht for in !ain in ,taly and France. The successors of this (reat man -ere -orthy successors1 indeed1 one can hardly belie!e ho- there came into bein( a series of monarchs1 not of education only1 but of that hi(h de(ree of culture -hich alone can be promoted and nourished by an in-ard passion for it. Such men ha!e filled thrones in many lands -ith (reat benefit to their peoples. %ut the Cmmeyade *ynasty in 5urope certainly -as unique in the number of its monarchs of hi(h culture. ,t reached its pea) in the rei(n of the monarch re(arded as the (reatest of the 'rab )in(s of Spain1 'bd7al7Rahman ,,,1 and his son 'l74a)em ,,1 the monarch -ho in himself represented the hi(hest personal culture possibly reached by a

monarch. 3The prominent features of the character of 'l74a)em31 -rites Mr. Scott1 3-ere his lo!e of learnin(1 his profuse but al-ays +udicious liberality1 and his profound re!erence for the doctrines of the ;oran and the la-s of the 5mpire. The fe- military operations he -as called upon to direct sho-ed no -ant of !i(our1 and su((ested that in a less peaceful a(e he mi(ht ha!e obtained the laurels of a successful (eneral. 4is de!otion to literature amounted to a passion. 0o monarch of -hom history ma)es mention has equalled him in the e tent of his )no-led(e or the number and di!ersity of his literary accomplishments.3 4e (athered to(ether an unequalled library1 -hich required forty7four !olumes for the catalo(ue alone. 3With the contents of most of these -or)s 'l74a)em is said to ha!e been familiar1 and1 indeed1 many of them -ere enriched by notes and comments -ritten by his o-n hand. The title7pa(e of each !olume bore not only the name of the author1 but also his (enealo(y1 as -ell as the date of his birth and his death1 all collected and preser!ed by the indefati(able industry of the royal scholar.3 4is prodi(ious memory2 his po-ers of acquisition2 his critical acumen2 his talent for composition2 and the capacity -hich could abstract from the administration of public affairs of a (reat monarchy sufficient time for literary underta)in(s 77 that1 under ordinary circumstances1 could only be accomplished in a lifetime of constant study1 are mar!ellous and incredible. For 'l74a)em -as an historian of appro!ed merit1 as -ell as an impartial critic and a !oluminous commentator. 4e -rote a history of Spain1 no- unhappily lost1 -hich -as considered a hi(h authority in its time1 and -hose reputation -as uni!ersally admitted to be independent of the presti(e -hich it -ould naturally deri!e from the name and ran) of its author. Such -as his erudition that in )no-led(e on obscure points of (enealo(y and bio(raphy he -as -ithout ri!al1 e!en in the learned court of "ordo!a2 and his fund of historical information -as so profound1 and his +ud(ment so accurate1 that his opinions -ere respected and unquestioned by the most accomplished scholars of the Mohammedan -orld. 's may be con+ectured1 a prodi(ious impulse -as imparted to education by this e traordinary patrona(e of letters. The accumulated -isdom of 'frica1 'sia and 5urope -as to be found at "ordo!a ... 5ducation -as reduced to a system1 -hose re(ulations -ere enforced -ith military precision.3 Lin(uists e hausted e!ery source of )no-led(e. 0ot only did they translate the masterpieces of Gree) and Roman literature1 but they familiari.ed themsel!es -ith $ersian1 "haldaic1 4ebre-1 "hinese1 4indu and Sanscrit -or)s. This education and 3the absolute intellectual liberty -hich there e isted -as1 indeed1 considered a reproach by i(norant Moslems of less enli(htened lands1 -ho could not understand the association -ith heretics and the toleration of infidels2 but in Spain1 -here a system of uni!ersal education had been established1 and -as enforced as -ell by la- as by the influence of public opinion1 this inestimable

pri!ile(e -as thorou(hly appreciated3. 5ncoura(ed by the patrona(e of royalty 3the mental de!elopment of the masses ad!anced -ith (i(antic strides3. 3,n "ordo!a alone there -ere @:: public schools frequented ali)e by Moslems1 "hristians and Ge-s ... There -as not a !illa(e -ithin the limits of the 5mpire -here the blessin( of education could not be en+oyed by the most indi(ent peasant.3 Women +oined in this ad!ance. 3The e alted position occupied by -omen under the 'rab domination in Spain (a!e them an influence and in!ested them -ith an importance1 else-here un)no-n in the Mohammedan -orld.3 "hemists1 botanists1 biolo(ists1 astronomers1 mathematicians1 physicians and sur(eons lifted science to a le!el it had ne!er pre!iously reached in 5urope. 5n(ineers co!ered the land -ith roads1 canals and public -or)s2 lastly architects brou(ht into bein( the e quisite buildin(s1 the palaces1 colle(es and mosques1 -hich the reli(ious fanaticism of the "hristian conquerors later destroyed to(ether -ith the libraries and their boo)s. ,n the education of this (reat period1 the farmers had their full share. ,n all the principal to-ns there -ere schools of a(riculture. From them the culti!ators learnt to preser!e fruits and to protect their fields a(ainst no ious insects. They learnt meteorolo(y and could foresee atmospheric chan(es -ith effecti!e accuracy. ,n all the multifarious duties of farmin( they possessed an e pert )no-led(e. ,t -as in this period and supportin( it that 3a(riculture -as brou(ht to such e cellence as seemed to ma)e any further impro!ement impossible3. The best indications of 'rabic Spain as a pro7life ci!ili.ation are those of population. 3,t has been estimated by competent authorities that the sub+ects of 'bd7al7Rahman ,,, numbered at least thirty millions. Great as -as the e tent of the metropolis1 incredible as -as her -ealth1 superb as -ere her en!irons1 many of the other cities of the 5mpire1 -hile they could not ri!al her po-er and (randeur1 shared the enormously profitable benefits of a ci!ili.ation in -hich "ordo!a en+oyed a -ell7deser!ed pre7eminence. The dominions of the ;halif included ei(hty municipalities of the first ran) and three hundred of the second2 the smaller to-ns -ere innumerable. 'lon( the ban)s of the Guadalqui!ir alone stood t-el!e thousand !illa(es. So thic)ly -as the country settled that the tra!eller usually passed1 in the space of a sin(le day3s +ourney1 no less than three lar(e cities in the midst of an unbro)en succession of to-ns and hamlets. 0othin( comparable -ith the opulence and splendour of the (reat pro!incial capitals -as to be seen outside the $eninsula. Se!ille contained fi!e hundred thousand inhabitants2 'lmeria an equal number2 Granada four hundred and t-enty7fi!e thousand2 Mala(a three hundred thousand2 >alencia t-o hundred and fifty thousand2 Toledo t-o hundred thousand.3

The effect of the final e pulsion in #=:8 of the Moriscoes1 Muslims -ho remained in Spain after the "hristian conquest and -ere compelled to become con!erts to "hristianity1 is described by %uc)le in his classic %istory of #ivili0ation in 'ngland1 #@=#1 in these -ords/ 3The effects upon the material prosperity of Spain may be stated in a fe- -ords. From nearly e!ery part of the country1 lar(e bodies of industrious a(riculturists and e pert artificers -ere suddenly -ithdra-n. The best systems of husbandry then )no-n -ere practised by the Moriscoes1 -ho tilled -ith indefati(able labour. The culti!ation of rice1 cotton and su(ar1 and the manufacture of sil) and paper -ere almost confined to them. %y their e pulsion all this -as destroyed at a blo-1 and most of it -as destroyed for e!er. For the Spanish "hristians considered such pursuits beneath their di(nity. ,n their +ud(ment1 -ar and reli(ion -ere the only t-o a!ocations -orthy of bein( follo-ed. When1 therefore1the Moriscoes -ere thrust out of Spain1 there -as no one to fill their place2 arts and manufactures either de(enerated1 or -ere entirely lost1 and immense areas of arable land -ere left unculti!ated. Some of the richest parts of >alencia and Granada -ere so ne(lected1 that means -ere -antin( to feed e!en the scanty population -hich remained there. Whole districts -ere suddenly deserted1 and do-n to the present day ha!e ne!er been re7peopled.3 The population of Madrid1 continues %uc)le1 fell from some 4::1::: to 2::1:::2 Se!ille3s population decreased by three7quarters and her #=1::: looms d-indled to under 9::2 Toledo -itnessed the disappearance of her sil) manufactory1 -hich employed 4:1::: people1 and up-ards of <: -oollen manufactories shran) to #92 %ur(os became deserted and lost e!erythin( but its name. ,n %uc)le3s (rim -ords1 3Spain1 numbed into a death7li)e torpor1 spell7 bound and entranced by the accursed superstitions -hich preyed on her stren(th1 presented to 5urope a solitary e ample of constant decay3.

Chapter 22 An 6 stor cal Reconstruct on

The ,slamic ci!ili.ation in Spain1 of -hich an account -as (i!en in the pre!ious chapter1 formed a si(nificant part of -hat -as1 perhaps1 the most remar)able reconstruction of man)ind in history. 'n outline of it can best be (i!en1 if it is di!ided into three periods1 that of its initiation1 that of its institution1 and that of its achie!ement.

The Initiation

The period of initiation -as that of the life of its founder1 the prophet Mohammed. Mohammed -as born in Mecca in '.*. <?: as a member of the leadin( tribe of Mecca1 the ;oraish. 4is father dyin( before he -as born and his mother -hen he -as si 1 he came under the tutela(e of his (randfather1 'bd7al7Muttalib. 4is (randfather died -hen he -as thirteen1 and he -as then confided to the family of a poor but affectionate uncle1 'bu Talib. Mohammed (re- up to be a quiet1 meditati!e man1 ta)in( little or no part in public affairs1 but by his humanity and +ustness earnin( for himself the name of The Trusty. Then1 -hen o!er forty1 upon a ni(ht of meditation1 he heard a >oice commandin( him/ 3"ry/ in the name of the Lord.3 4e obeyed and henceforth became a Messen(er cryin( in the name of the Lord. ,n Mecca his messa(e -as to denounce the idolatry -hich constituted the reli(ion of the people1 and in its place to teach the -orship of 'llah1 the one and only God. This aroused the fury of the ;oraish a(ainst him and his disciples. The latter escaped to Bathreb1 or Medina1 the "ity of the $rophet1 as it became named. Mohammed remained behind amon(st his enemies. *isco!erin( a +oint plan to murder him1 he also fled from Mecca to Medina. This 4e(ira or Fli(ht too) place in '.*. =22 and from it dates the Mohammedan calendar. ,n Medina the reli(ion he tau(ht -as simple. 4e preached that there -as but one God1 the unity of li!in( thin(s1 the brotherhood of man1 )indness to -omen and children1 (entleness to animals1 alms for the poor1 and the !alue of prayer. 4is preachin( and person -on the hearts of the people of Medina. 4e -as made the "hief Ma(istrate1 -ith po-er to carry into practice -hat he tau(ht. 't that time1 -rites 'meer 'li Syed1 in A Short %istory of the Saracens1 #8::1 3there -as no la- or order in any city of 'rabia3. Medina itself -as torn by a feud bet-een t-o principal tribes. Mohammed reconciled the t-o tribes1 abolished all tribal distinctions1 and (rouped the inhabitants of Medina under one (eneric name1 'nsar or 4elpers. 4e issued a "harter1 by -hich all blood7 feud -as abolished and la-lessness repressed. 5qual ri(hts -ere (ranted to the Ge-s1 of -hom there -ere many in and about Medina1 and -ho1 on their part1 bound themsel!es to help the Moslems in defendin( the city if attac)ed. The ne t step in his mission -as to unite the peoples of 'rabia1 but in this he -as hindered by the bitter enmity of his o-n tribe1 the ;oraish of Mecca. The

Meccans1 in the first year of the 4e(ira1 attac)ed the Moslems and -ere defeated. ,n the third year1 the Meccans1 under the command of 'bu Sufian1 the son of Cmmeya1 -hose descendants -ere to become the Cmmeyade "aliphs of the early 'rabic 5mpire1 -ere successful1 but their losses -ere so (reat that they did not !enture to attac) Medina itself. ,n the fifth year of the 4e(ira the Meccans -ith an army of #:1::: besie(ed Medina1 but1 in spite of the treachery of the Ge-s1 -ho too) the side of the Meccans in the sie(e1 the Moslems1 o-in( to the defensi!e s)ill of Mohammed1 -ere !ictorious. This !ictory freed Mohammed for his -or)2 its fame and the presti(e1 -hich Mohammed (ained1 both as teacher and as (eneral1 led to his ac)no-led(ement by tribe after tribe throu(hout 'rabia. ,n the se!enth year of the 4e(ira1 the Meccans attac)ed one of these tribes. Mohammed (athered to(ether an army of #:1::: men and entered Mecca as a conqueror. 0e!ertheless1 at the si(ht of the city and of familiar but hostile faces1 he treated the Meccans as brothers. 5 ceptin( four criminals1 all -ere for(i!en and accepted ,slam. Mohammed himself shattered the idols of Mecca -ith the cry/ 3Truth is come1 dar)ness departeth3. The ninth year of the 4e(ira1 )no-n as the Bear of *eputations1 -itnessed the (eneral acceptance of ,slam by the tribes of 'rabia. Mohammed dealt -ith them in the same liberal spirit as he had sho-n to the Meccans. 3' -ritten treaty (uaranteein( the pri!ile(es of the tribe -as often (ranted13 -rites 'meer 'li1 but in order to promote the chan(e of heart that -as Mohammed3s especial mission1 3a teacher in!ariably accompanied the departin( (uests to instruct the ne-ly con!erted people in the duties of ,slam1 and to see that e!ery e!il practice -as obliterated in their midst3. Mohammed had no- fulfilled his mission by unitin( all 'rabia. 4e died on @ Gune '.*. =921 at the a(e of si ty7t-o. The actions1 character and teachin( of Mohammed made so profound an impression upon his contemporaries that the total effect of his personality formed the basis of the ,slamic la- and ci!ili.ation. The chief source of that la- -as the ;oran1 but the ;oran did not co!er all the (ro-in( needs of the 'rabic 5mpire that so s-iftly follo-ed upon the death of Mohammed. 4ence1 in addition to the ;oran1 e!ery detail that could be recalled by contemporaries and especially by those most near and dear to him and -ith -hom it -as his habit to consult in questions not actually re!ealed to him -as carefully recorded. ,n Medina1 he had been the final +ud(e1 the spiritual leader of reli(ion1 and the temporal leader1 -ith the duties and po-ers of an essential so!erei(n1 (i!en to him1 in complete trust in The Trusty1 by the people. 4ence1 in the formation of the ,slamic la-1 his inspired utterances in the ;oran1 his

discourses1 his decisions after consultations1 his e pressed appro!als1 his tacit a(reements by (esture1 his +ud(ments1 his actions1 -ere all brou(ht into ser!ice as (uides of conduct for pious Moslems by the ,slamic le(alists and reli(ious "aliphs. From them -ere deri!ed the fundamental or fi ed la-s1 fundamental and fi ed because they -ere deri!ed from the $rophet of God. ,slamic la- controlled e!ery aspect of the life of a Moslem1 but for simplification of this !ast sub+ect it -as di!ided into cate(ories1 ran(in( from the fe- obli(atory or prohibited thin(s as determined by the ;oran and the %adith or the traditions of the $rophet1 to the limited number of the appro!ed or disli)ed1 and the unlimited number1 -hich -ere left to e!erybody3s common sense. %y7la-s -ere made by the le(alists to ad+ust chan(es and circumstances1 -hich time brou(ht about1 but they -ere )ept -ithin the orbit of the fundamental la-s. Cnly in cases of e treme emer(ency could a fundamental la- be abro(ated1 and then only for the duration of the emer(ency. 0e!er1 therefore1 in history has any man been so intimately identified -ith a ci!ili.ation as -as Mohammed -ith that of ,slam1 -hich endured as an empire until the sac)in( of %a(hdad by the Tartars si and a quarter centuries after the death of Mohammed. 's this ci!ili.ation produced a truly remar)able reconstruction of man)ind in a(riculture1 manufacture1 trade1 )no-led(e1 art and other departments of human society1 the s irit of Mohammed3s precepts become peculiarly important at a time such as the present1 -hen a further reconstruction is so ur(ently needed. This spirit has been admirably told for readers of 5n(lish by 'meer 'li Syed1 in The S irit of &slam1 #822. ,ts chief character1 to my mind1 can be put in homely lan(ua(e/ Mohammed -as the first statesman to introduce decency of human conduct in every de artment of society . 4e left no class of human bein(s out of his thou(ht. 4e -as1 , feel1 unquestionably the (reatest humane1 constructi!e statesman in history. 'meer 'li1 ho-e!er1 does not (i!e a !ery e plicit account of Mohammed3s attitude to -ar1 -hich is of such !ital concern to men in these days. So1 before ta)in( up his re!ie-1 it -ill be -ell first briefly to consider Mohammed3s attitude to -ar. ,t has been admirably told by Mr. Marmadu)e $ic)thall in an article entitled 3War and Reli(ion3 in the &slamic Review ,ook Series. Firstly1 Mohammed reco(ni.ed the necessity of -ar in the collecti!e life of man)ind1 for the reason that/ 3,f it had not been for 'llah3s repellin( some men by others1 the -orld -ould ha!e (one to badness2 but 'llah is a lord of

)indness in creation3 D;oranE. To repel bad men -as1 therefore1 the reason for (oin( to -ar and it -as for this reason that e!ery capable Moslem must be prepared to (o to -ar1 if called upon to do so. ,t -as not conscription1 but a sacred duty1 pro!ided that the -ar -as a holy -ar or 3ihad. Then 3fi(htin( is en+oined upon you1 and it is a thin( hateful to you. %ut it may be that you hate a thin( -hich is (ood for you1 and it may be that you lo!e a thin( -hich is bad for you2 God )no-s best and you do not )no-13 said the ;oran. War -as en+oined a(ainst (ra!e in+ustice1 3to defend the -ea) man1 and for -omen and for children1 those -ho say/ ICur Lord1 ta)e us out of this city -hose people are oppressors. Ch1 send us from Thy presence a befriender2 oh1 send us one -ho can help usJI3 D;oranE. Retaliation a(ainst a((ressors -as commanded. 3;ill them -here!er you find them and dri!e them out of the places from -hich they dro!e you out. $ersecution is more cruel than )illin(. 'nd do not fi(ht them round the sacred mosque1 unless they attac) you there. 'nd if they do attac) you1 )ill them. Such is the re-ard of (raceless people3 are the -ords of the ;oran. %ut on no account -ere the Moslems to be the a((ressors. 3Fi(ht in the -ay of 'llah a(ainst those -ho fi(ht a(ainst you1 but do not ori(inate hostility. Truly 'llah lo!es not the a((ressor.3 %y the spread of ,slam1 therefore1 Mohammed hoped to abolish the brutality or e!en e istence of -ar. Throu(hout the ;oran1 -rites Mr. $ic)thall1 3the -ord ItreatyI means a sacred compact1 a solemn co!enant1 -hich to brea) is impious13 and he adds1 from a -ide )no-led(e of ,slam not possessed by any other 5n(lishman/ 3With ,slamic nations1 treaties ha!e al-ays had this sacred character. , cannot recall a sin(le instance of a Muslim po-er e!er consciously brea)in( a treaty1 thou(h they ha!e the ri(ht to thro- the treaty bac) if they fear treachery.3 'ctual treachery -as to be treated -ith the se!erest punishment1 such as -as inflicted upon the Ge-ish traitors of Medina. Lastly1 Moslem soldiers -ere forced to obser!e correct or decent conduct. The sanctity of the soil -as to be respected. Moslems1 in!adin( a country1 -ere forbidden to destroy fields of corn1 or palms1 or any fruit trees1 or to slau(hter cattle e cept in case of ur(ent need. 3*estroy not the means of subsistence13 -as Mohammed3s command. Similarly 3the quiet people31 as the old Moslem +urists called the unarmed inhabitants1 -ere to be respected. They -ere not to be )illed2 they -ere not e!en to be molested2 neither they nor their houses -ere to be plundered. 3$lunder is no better than carrion13 said the $rophet. That1 ho-e!er1 -hich -as left on the field of battle1 -as la-ful booty. Finally1 enemy combatants -ere to be respected. 3,f they desist Dfrom fi(htin(E1 then

Dthere should beE no hostility e cept to e!il7doers3 D;oranE. For the e!il7doers1 there -as the la- of retaliation. 's they had done1 so should it be done to them. 0o-1 under the (uidance of 'meer 'li1 -e -ill re!ie- Mohammed3s relation to conquest. ,n this no statesman e!er used the quality of clemency to those forced to ac)no-led(e his authority -ith more effecti!eness. To those -ho accepted ,slam1 he ordained all the pri!ile(es and freedom associated -ith that sacred name1 meanin( as it does Surrender to 'llah or God. To those -ho submitted1 but -ished to )eep their o-n faith other than that of idolatry1 he presented the utmost tolerance. They -ere allo-ed to pursue their o-n customs and their reli(ious faith1 pro!ided they paid the not onerous ta es and obeyed the other ci!ic duties imposed upon them by their 'rabic rulers. They -ere e empted from military ser!ice1 payin( an especial ta in lieu of it. Their lands -ere not ta)en from them. The precedent of this tolerance -as set by the "harter1 -hich the $rophet (ranted to all "hristians in the si th year of the 4e(ira. The spirit of it -as "hristian in its best sense1 since Mohammed al-ays re(arded Gesus as the Teacher most a)in to him in time and teachin(. 3,n this "harter31 -rites 'meer 'li in his %istory of the Saracens1 #8::1 3the $rophet undertoo) himself1 and en+oined on his follo-ers1 to protect the "hristians1 to (uard them from all in+uries1 and to defend their churches1 and the residences of their priests. They -ere not to be unfairly ta ed2 no bishop -as to be dri!en out of his bishopric2 no "hristian -as to be forced to re+ect his reli(ion2 no mon) -as to be e pelled from his monastery2 no pil(rim -as to be detained from his pil(rima(e2 nor -ere the "hristian churches to be pulled do-n for the sa)e of buildin( mosques or houses for the Moslems. "hristian -omen married to Moslems -ere to en+oy their o-n reli(ion and not be sub+ected to compulsion or annoyance of any )ind on that account. ,f the "hristians should stand in need of assistance for the repair of their churches or monasteries1 or any other matter pertainin( to their reli(ion1 the Moslems -ere to assist them.3 ,n pre7Mohammedan 'rabia1 the -omen -ere the chattels of the men. 3,n both the 5mpires1 the $ersian and the %y.antine31 -rites 'meer 'li in The S irit of &slam1 3-omen occupied a !ery lo- position in the social scale. Fanatical enthusiasts1 -hom "hristendom in later time canoni.ed as saints1 preached a(ainst them and denounced their enormities.3 Then1 -hen the family1 and -ith it the -hole social fabric1 -as fallin( to pieces on all sides1 Mohammed introduced his reforms and 3enforced1 as one of the essential teachin(s of his creed1 Irespect for -omenI.3 Mohammed raised -omen to a le(al and economic equality -ith the stron(er se . 4is precepts and the e!entual fi ed la-s on di!orce -ere stri)in(ly +ust to

-omen1 thou(h he himself e pressed his stron( disappro!al of di!orce1 in that it brou(ht e!il and hardships upon the children. So also1 as re(ards property1 the ri(hts -hich he (a!e to -oman1 in spite of the later deterioration of their status under $ersian and %y.antine influence1 -ere and are such as e!en no- ha!e not been fully attained in most Western countries. Mohammed3s aim -as to enable -omen to become indi!iduals in the State1 and this independence he (a!e them by allo-in( them to o-n property1 to possess that -hich they earned by their o-n efforts1 to ha!e their share in the -idely spread inheritances left by their fathers1 husbands and other near )insfol)1 to be (i!en marria(e settlements from their prospecti!e husbands in their fa!our1 and to possess the ri(ht to act in any le(al matters concerned -ith these ri(hts -ithout any inter!ention on the part of their fathers or their husbands. To the best of his po-er 77 and his po-er -as (reat in spite of the opposition of the times 77 he -as the emancipator of -omen. Follo-in( his precept of the brotherhood of men1 Mohammed stro!e for the betterment of the sla!es. Sla!es formed a lar(e part of e!ery society of the time. 3The1 "hurch itself held sla!es31 -rites 'meer 'li of the "hristian attitude to sla!ery1 3and reco(ni.ed in e plicit terms the la-fulness of this baneful institution.3 Thou(h Mohammed himself abhorred sla!ery and tau(ht that no action -as more acceptable to 'llah than the freein( of a sla!e1 he did not attempt the total abolition of a custom so deeply rooted in the economic life of society. What he did do -as to infuse the -hole question -ith the spirit of brotherhood and thereby he entirely altered the character of sla!ery. 4e pro!ided funds out of the public treasury to enable sla!es to purchase their freedom -ithout interference from their masters2 he ordered that they could purchase their liberty by the -a(es of their ser!ice2 in many -ays he opened up the path of liberty. 4e ordained decency of conduct to sla!es1 -ho -ere to be treated by their o-ners -ith the same )indness that they sho-ed to )indred and nei(hbours. The sla!e mother -as not to be separated from her child1 nor the father from the son1 the husband from the -ife1 the relati!e from the relati!e. There -as to be e"uality of food bet-een sla!es and their o-ners1 and equality of dress. They -ere only to be addressed in terms of affection and not -ith -ords implyin( a.de(raded position. 3The -hole tenor of Mohammed3s teachin(31 says 'meer 'li1 3made Ipermanent chattelhoodI or caste impossible2 and it is simply Ian abuse of -ordsI to apply the -ord sla!ery1 in the 5n(lish sense1 to any status )no-n to the le(islation of ,slam.3 %y abolishin( all distinctions of race and colour1 blac) and -hite1 citi.ens and soldiers1 sub+ects and rulers1 Mohammed (a!e an equal humanity to sla!es. 3,n the field or in the (uest7chamber1 in the tent or in the palace1 in the mosque or in the mar)et1 they min(led -ithout reser!e and -ithout contempt.3 ,n so far then as sla!ery

continued1 Mohammed made it a social condition within the brotherhood of man. Moslem sla!es could rise to hi(h positions in a state. Many -ere to become )in(s2 others became (o!ernors of pro!inces1 (enerals1 famous men of learnin( and reli(ion. *ealin( -ith the chief of economic difficulties1 that of the distribution of -ealth so as to a!oid the e tremes of the !ery rich and the de(raded poor1 Mohammed displayed the rarest -isdom of statesmanship. This -as e!idenced in the Aakat1 the rules of inheritance1 and the abolition of usury. The story of that (reat economic -or) has recently been retold by Mr. M. 4amidullah1 in the second number for #82= of the quarterly1 &slamic #ulture1 in an article entitled 3,slam3s Solution of the %asic 5conomic $roblems.3 Mohammed1 in the ;oran1 frequently declared that it is for God to pro!ide a li!elihood to e!ery creature/ 3We ha!e (i!en you po-er in the earth and appointed you therein a li!elihood.3 ,t -as the duty of the State1 by means of the Ka)at1 or Gro-th7ta 1 to ensure this li!elihood. Ka)at -as a ta on all property o-ned beyond a certain ma imum and -as meant1 as Mohammed said/ 3To be ta)en from the rich amon( them in order to be (i!en to the poor.3 'nd if the treasury -as not sufficient to supply the needs of the poor1 the ruler could compel the rich to do so. The poor man he defined as one 3-ho finds not the -here-ithal to ma)e himself independent3. Ka)at -as of t-o )inds1 Sadaqah1 or the ta on the (ro-th of capital (oods and the Tithe or ta on the surplus produce of the soil. 3The Ka)at is only for the poor and needy3 -as the command of the ;oran1 3for those -hose hearts are to be reconciled3 Dmen -ho had become impo!erished by acceptin( ,slamE 3and to free the capti!es and debtors1 and for the cause of God1 and for the -ayfarer2 a duty imposed by God.3 Mr. M. 4amidullah points out some of the particular !irtues of this ta and the balance it effected bet-een rich and poor. ,t (a!e the -or)ers a certain security and thereby increased their producti!e efficiency1 and it +ustified the prohibition of be((in(1 stealin(1 and indolence by the ;oran. 's all superfluous -ealth -as re(arded as producti!e and -as1 therefore1 ta ed1 -hether it -as put to use or left unused1 it pre!ented employers ta)in( unfair ad!anta(e of labourers1 for1 if the latter -ent on stri)e1 the idle money and property of the employers continued to be ta ed. ,t pre!ented deliberate or careless hoardin(1 for the hoard -as ta ed. 3Let not those -ho hoard up that -hich God has besto-ed upon them of 4is bounty thin) that it is better for them. 0ay1 it is -orse for them13 -ere the -ords of the ;oran. 4oardin( for the sa)e of the

family -as li)e-ise forbidden1 for the ;oran declared/ 3'mon( your -i!es and your children are enemies for you1 therefore be-are of them. Let not your -ealth nor your children distract you from the remembrance of God.3 35stablish -orship and pay the Ka)at13 are the constantly repeated dicta of the ;oran. 0o rich man could be a Moslem -ithout payin( the Ka)at. Finally the $rophet belie!ed that so (reat -ould be the prosperity resultin( from a (reater equali.ation of -ealth that a time -ould come -hen people offer Sadaqah and there -ill be none to ta)e it3. The second of Mohammed3s measures to pre!ent the lar(e accumulation of -ealth in a fe- hands lay in the principles of inheritance. $ri!ate property could be accumulated in a man3s lifetime -ithin due restrictions1 but at his death it -as -idely distributed amon(st his offsprin( and )indred1 and thus lar(e indi!idual fortunes -ere dispersed amon(st many indi!iduals. The third measure -as the forbiddance of usury or 3interest on money31 as the dictionary defines it. So the money of ,slam did not come into e istence -ith interest attached to it1 -hich -ould load the sacred duties of farmin( and trade -ith debt at the outset. Cnly the ori(inal sum of a money loan -as to be repaid1 other-ise the interest on a loan -ould ma)e it destructi!e. ,n one of his most searchin( and prophetic sayin(s1 Mohammed sei.ed upon this truth/ 3'lthou(h interest brin(s increase1 yet its end tends to scarcity.3 Money -as to assist trade by the method of partnership. ,t -as not to be hoarded nor lent out at interest. ,t must be used for trade or spent in alms1 said the ;oran1 3so that the Ka)at due on it do not s-allo- it up3. %y means of partnership the ender or partner too) his share of the success or failure of the enterprise. 3They say trade is +ust li)e interest7ta)in(1 -hereas God permitteth tradin( and forbiddeth interest.3 Genuine partnerships -ere encoura(ed to further trade1 manufacture and farmin(1 but debenture7holders and commercial loans -ere ruled out as destructi!e. The imposition of the Ka)at and the prohibition of interest forced money into use and into the promotion of a (eneral prosperity -hich resulted from its use. 5conomic ran)s and occupations did not affect the (eneral freedom of the indi!idual. ,slam destroyed money as a standard of social distinction. ' man -as -ealthy accordin( to the (ood he did to others. Money7-ealth had only a limited !alue1 -hereas !irtue could not be measured but by the (ood to man)ind that follo-ed from it. Three ta es -ere attached to the products of the crust of the earth1 the tithe1

the rika01 -hich assi(ned one7fifth of the products of mines e clusi!ely1 li)e the tithe1 to the poor1 and the khara-1 a le!y for the (eneral -elfare of about 27 #H2 per cent on the output of the land due irrespecti!e of -hether the o-ner culti!ated the land or not. 'ccordin( to ,slam1 land is a (ift to all men1 and all men are united by the bond of their terrenity in their dependence for sustenance upon the soil. Bet all could not o-n land. So the land -as not sociali.ed1 but its products -ere sociali.ed by these ta es. Throu(h them the poor -ere (i!en their measure of independence1 and the (eneral -elfare -as (i!en an economic basis in the land. 's the soil depended upon the use of e!erythin( that nourished it1 so the soil1 in its turn1 -as made to (i!e nourishment to all1 and to produce the social balance that belon(ed to it as an inte(ral factor of the life7 cycles of man. %ased on the limitation of the soil3s products1 the economics of ,slam dictated a limitation to the acquisiti!eness of indi!idual men. 's an out(ro-th of this1 Mohammed3s instructions on leisure -ere also directed so that people3s attention -as di!erted to other thin(s than the ma)in( of indi!idual fortunes. Throu(h learnin(1 ser!ice1 and the call to prayer fi!e times in the day1 people3s leisure -as directed to self7culti!ation1 -hereas their -or)in( hours -ere directed to the culti!ation and distribution of material (oods. This -as possible1 sums up Mr. 4amidullah1 because ,slam -as a reli(ion and not an economic or(ani.ation. With this independence that ,slam (a!e to the indi!idual1 labour -as ele!ated as a (eneral duty and both commerce and farmin( -ere announced to be meritorious in the eyes of the Lord. The pursuit of the culti!ation of the soil -as re(arded by labourers and rulers ali)e as a sacred duty2 Mohammed himself plou(hed his o-n land. The contemptuous sneer1 -hich turned the Latin aganus or !illa(er into agan1 and the man of the heath or field D'n(lo7 Sa on haeth or heath1 Gothic haithi or fieldE into heathen1 -as utterly forei(n to the sanctity1 -ith -hich Mohammed and ,slam endo-ed the duties of both. 4a!in( freed -omen from their traditional subordination to the stron(er se 1 sla!es from their i(nominy1 the poor from their destitution1 and farmin( and labour from their subordination1 Mohammed turned to the liberation of men3s minds from i(norance. 4e made education incumbent upon e!ery Moslem1 male and female1 and sou(ht thereby to influence the minds of all men by the passionate emphasis he laid upon the !alue of )no-led(e to humanity. 'meer 'li describes this passion in these noble sayin(s of the $rophet/ 3'cquire )no-led(e1 because he

-ho acquires it in the -ay of the Lord performs an act of piety2 -ho spea)s of it1 praises God2 -ho see)s it1 adores God2 -ho dispenses instruction in it1 besto-s alms2 and -ho imparts it to its fittin( ob+ects1 performs an act of de!otion to God. ;no-led(e enables its possessor to distin(uish -hat is forbidden from -hat is not2 it li(hts the -ay to 4ea!en2 it is our friend in the desert1 our (uide to happiness2 it sustains us in misery2 it is our ornament in the company of friends2 it ser!es us as an armour a(ainst our enemies. With )no-led(e1 the ser!ant of God rises to the hei(hts of (oodness and to a noble position1 associates -ith so!erei(ns in this -orld1 and attains to the perfection of happiness in the ne t.3 4e -ould often say1 3The in) of the scholar is more holy than the blood of the martyr31 and he repeatedly impressed on his disciples the necessity of see)in( for )no-led(e 3e!en unto "hina3. 34e -ho lea!es his home in search of )no-led(e -al)s in the path of God. 4e -ho tra!els in search of )no-led(e to him God sho-s the -ay to paradise.3 Cur scholar1 'meer 'li Syed1 finally (i!es this summary of the teachin( of Mohammed in Medina/ 3,slam (a!e to the people a code -hich ho-e!er archaic in its simplicity1 -as capable of the (reatest de!elopment in accordance -ith the pro(ress of material ci!ili.ation. ,t conferred on the State a fle ible constitution1 based on a +ust appreciation of human ri(hts and human duty. ,t limited ta ation1 it made men equal in the eye of the la-1 it consecrated the principles of self7(o!ernment. ,t established a control o!er the so!erei(n po-er by renderin( the e ecuti!e authority subordinate to the la- 77 a la- based upon reli(ious sanctions and moral obli(ations. IThe e cellence and effecti!eness of each of these principlesI1 says 6rquhart1 IDeach capable of immortali.in( its founderE (a!e !alue to the rest2 and all combined1 endo-ed the system -hich they formed -ith a force and ener(y e ceedin( those of any other political system. Within the lifetime of a man1 thou(h in the hands of a population -ild1 i(norant and insi(nificant1 it spread o!er a (reater e tent than the dominions of Rome. While it retained its primiti!e character1 it -as irresistibleJI3 With their personal e perience of these and other ,slamic precepts in action in the microcosm of Medina1 the 'rab leaders -ent forth upon their (reat reconstruction of many millions of oppressed men.
The Institution

%efore tellin( the story of the institution of this reconstruction1 it is1 ho-e!er1 essential to (i!e a brief description of the conditions of the masses1 in -hat 'meer 'li1 -hose -ords , choose as better than my o-n1 names the West and the 5ast. 4is 5ast does not include the (reat farmin( country of "hina1 -hich1

since it seems man)ind tends to be similarly affected at any one period1 -as also en(a(ed in a reconstruction of the Tsin( Tien system under the Tan( *ynasty D'.*. =#@78:<E after a lon( period of di!ided States and Tartar conquests. 3,n the West as in the 5ast31 -rites 'meer 'li1 3the condition of the masses -as so miserable as to defy description. They possessed no ci!il ri(hts or political pri!ile(es. They -ere the monopoly of the rich and the po-erful1 or of the sacerdotal classes. The la- -as not the same for the -ea) and the stron(1 the rich and the poor1 the (reat and the lo-ly. ,n Sassanide $ersia1 the priests and the landed proprietors1 the *eh)ans1 en+oyed all the po-er and influence1 and the -ealth of the country -as centred in these hands. The peasantry and the poorer classes (enerally -ere (round to the earth under a la-less despotism. ,n the %y.antine 5mpire1 the cler(y and (reat ma(nates1 courtesans and other nameless ministrants to the !ices of "aesar and proconsul1 -ere the happy possessors of -ealth1 influence and po-er. The people (ro!elled in the most ab+ect misery. ,n the barbaric )in(doms 77 in fact1 -here!er feudalism had established itself 77 by far the lar(est proportion -ere either serfs or sla!es. >illeina(e or serfdom -as the ordinary status of the peasantry.3 The first thirty years of the story from '.4. ## to '.4. 4: of the Mohammedan calendar1 -ere occupied -ith the settlement of $ersia1 ,raq1 Syria1 $alestine and 5(ypt. 6nder Cmar1 the second "aliph1 in '.4. 2#1 occurred the @ictory of @ictories at 0eha-and1 in -hich the $ersians1 -ho outnumbered the 'rabs by si to one1 -ere totally defeated. 5(ypt1 too1 -as conquered. C-in( to these !ictories1 the precepts of Mohammed affected the fate of many millions of people. %y the fire -hich Mohammed li(hted1 masses of lo-ly and oppressed men1 as -ell as men of po-er and -ealth1 -ere -armed and enli(htened to a ne- life. "on!inced that the stability of the 5mpire and its material de!elopment depended upon the prosperity of the a(ricultural classes1 -rites 'meer 'li in A Short %istory of the Saracens1 Cmar 3too) immediate steps to settle the peasantry securely in their possessions. IThey -ere released from the (allin( oppression of the lar(e land7o-ners2 their assessments -ere re!ised and placed on a stable basis2 the bro)en aqueducts -ere restored and ne- ones built ... 5(ypt1 Syria1 ,ra)1 and Southern $ersia -ere measured field by field1 and the assessment fi ed on a uniform basis. The record of this ma(nificent cadastral sur!ey forms a !eritable Icatalo(ueI1 -hich1 beside (i!in( the area of the lands1 describes in detail the quality of the soil1 the nature of the produce1 the character of the holdin(s.3 The Ka)at (a!e independence to the poor1 but the

rich -ere not oppressed1 thou(h shorn of their e cesses to promote a (reater equali.ation of -ealth. There -as no communistic di!ision of their lands nor -ere they ta)en by the 'rabs. The land7holders )ept their estates1 sub+ect to a fi ed ta . 3Liberty of conscience -as allo-ed to e!eryone1 and the Moslems -ere ordered not to interfere -ith the reli(ion of the people. Those -ho adhered to the old faith recei!ed the desi(nation of Aimmis Dthe protected people or lie(e menE. The sole inducement to proselytism1 if inducement it could be called1 consisted in the fact that -hereas the Moslems11 -ho -ere liable to be called at any time to ser!e in the army1 contributed only a tithe to the State1 theAimmis paid a hi(her ta in consideration of bein( e empted from military ser!ice.3 0e!ertheless this 3a0ia1 or poll7ta 1 -as in no -ay onerous. When Cmar died in '.4. 291 after a rei(n of ten years1 Cthman -as elected "aliph. Cthman -as a member of the Cmmeyade family of Mecca1 of the clan of the ;oraish that had sho-n itself most acti!e in its hatred of Mohammed. The a(ed Cthman -as elected to the "aliphate by the intri(ues of the Cmmeyades. They then (ot themsel!es appointed as (o!ernors of the pro!inces2 sei.ed the land2 sub!erted the precepts and actions of Mohammed and the first t-o "aliphs of the Republic1 'bu %a)r D'.4. ##7#9E and Cmar D'.4. #9729E1 both the early con!erts and de!oted companions of Mohammed1 treated the conquered peoples as satellites and sla!es1 and enriched themsel!es by oppression. This aroused the intense hatred of the true Moslems and led to an insurrection in -hich Cthman1 at the a(e of ei(hty7t-o1 -as slain in '.4. 94. 'li1 the belo!ed adopted son and later son7in7la- of Mohammed1 -as elected as the fourth and last "aliph of the Republic. 0o man -as more re!ered or trusted by the Moslems than he1 not only because of his intimate association -ith the $rophet1 but because he -as 3the truest7hearted and best Moslem of -hom Mohammedan history has preser!ed the remembrance3 DMa+or CsbornE1 and1 because both before and durin( his "aliphate he so stoutly upheld the doctrines of Mohammed and1 in Cthman3s rei(n1 upheld and e tended the practical impro!ements of Cmar throu(h his ener(y and presti(e. Then1 -rote the French historian SRdillot/ 3Cne -ould ha!e thou(ht that all -ould ha!e bo-ed before this (lory so pure and (rand2 but it -as not to be.3 The Cmmeyades -ere the chief cause of the failure of 'li and it -as throu(h their intri(ues that he -as assassinated after a brief rei(n D'.4. 9474:E. They1 the Cmmeyades1 -ere supported by tribal chiefs1 -ho had been lar(ely -ea)ened in authority by Mohammed3s reliance on the assured and faithful Moslems of Medina.

The all7too7human hatred of these reactionaries may seem to ha!e its +ustification in their deposition from free and arbitrary authority. %ut their fury and tenacity1 of -hich the modern reader can scarcely form a conception1 all students are a(reed1 had their ori(in in the !ery roots of the pre7Mohammed conditions of the 'rabian people. From the !ery earliest times blood7feud had been bitterly acti!e amon(st the tribes and consummated in the hatred that e isted bet-een the nomadic 'rabs of the desert and the farmin( people of the more fertile south of 'rabia bordered by the 'rabian Gulf and )no-n as Bemen. 3This blood7feud31 -rote the *utchman1 Reinhart *o.y1 in his %istoire des (ussulmans d+'s agne1 translated into 5n(lish by Mr. F. G. Sto)es1 #8#91 3has endured for t-enty7fi!e centuries2 it can be traced bac) to the earliest historical times1 and is far from e tinct to7day.3 To the question -hy it preser!ed its bitterness -ith such e traordinary tenacity for so many centuries1 *o.y -rote/ 34anded do-n from (eneration to (eneration in spite of community of lan(ua(e1 la-s1 customs1 modes of thou(ht1 reli(ion1 and1 to some e tent1 of1 ori(in 77 since both races -ere Semitic 77 -e can only say that its causes are ine plicable1 but that it is Iin the bloodI.3 0e!ertheless1 it may be1 as -e ha!e seen in "hapter =1 that the hostility lay in the ultimate relation of the t-o peoples to the soil1 farmin( and trade on the one hand and nomadism on the other1 and in the tenacity that characteri.es the Semitic peoples. Whate!er the true e planation is1 this passion for feud and tribal independence runs1 as a rebellious and anarchical spirit1 throu(h the pa(es of 'rab history. ,t brou(ht about the failure of 'li3s coura(eous attempt in Cthman3s and in his o-n short rei(n to uphold and re7establish the precepts of Mohammed2 it led to his assassination by Cmmeyade intri(ue2 it brou(ht the Cmmeyades to the headship of the Moslem -orld1 the cruel persecution of the family of Mohammed and the sac) of the sacred city of Medina2 it foiled the $eriod of "onquest of the Cmmeyades and brou(ht about the defeat of the Moslems by the "hristians at Tours on the ban) of the Ri!er Loire2 it too) its part in the disinte(ration of the ;in(dom of Spain2 it promoted the disinte(ration of the Saracenic 5mpire of the 'bbasides and caused it to fall to pieces before the assault of the nomadic Mon(ols. 3,t led31 says 'meer 'li1 3not only to the end of the Republic1 but also to the do-nfall of the Saracenic 5mpire.3 To7day1 it seems to the 5uropeans1 that the 'rabs are pre!alently nomadic. The Cmmeyade *ynasty1 -hich follo-ed the assassination of 'li1 -ith its capital at *amascus1 endured for ninety years. Cnly one "aliph of the dynasty1 Cmar ,,1 stro!e to re7enact the precepts of Mohammed. 4e1 li)e 'li1 -as

assassinated. The Cmmeyades -ere themsel!es destroyed by the 'bbasides1 the descendants of 'bbas1 the uncle of the $rophet. Cne1 'bd7al7Rahman1 escaped to Spain and there founded the (reat Spanish *ynasty of the Cmmeyades.
The Achievement

The 'bbasides ruled from '.*. ?<: to '.*. #2<@1 -hen their capital1 %a(hdad1 -as sei.ed by the nomadic Mon(ols under 4ula(n1 the "aliph1 and @::1::: inhabitants butchered -ithin a -ee)1 and the (reat system of irri(ation destroyed. ,t -as under the 'bbasides that the (reat tas) of reconstruction -as accomplished. Mansur1 their second "aliph1 -as the first of a series of brilliant "aliphs1 equal to that of the contemporaneous dynasty of the Cmmeyades of Spain. The story of the de!elopment of the ci!ili.ation of the Moors has many resemblances to that of the 'bbasides1 for both carried out the statesmanship of the fi ed ,slamic la-s. The 'bbasides brou(ht the era of conquests to an end. They renounced further -arli)e enterprises1 and de!oted themsel!es to the de!elopment of the land1 the prosperity of the peasants1 the promotion of commerce1 the construction of roads and cara!anserai1 the establishment of charitable institutions1 the spread of education1 and the stimulation of literature and the arts. The system of irri(ation1 -hich the 'bbasides e tended and amplified1 -as one of the most -onderful in the -orld. Cnly time7honoured "hina and ,slamic Spain had anythin( to compare -ith it2 in actual fact1 the 'bbaside irri(ation -as superior to that of the "hinese1 for it had control of the -hole of the t-o (reat ri!ers1 the Ti(ris and 5uphrates1 -hereas the "hinese had no control o!er the sources of their (reat ri!ers. The spirit and practice of the (reat ri!erine ci!ili.ation of %abylon -ere re!i!ed. Throu(hout the -hole 'bbaside 5mpire the -or) of promotin( a(riculture -as re(arded as a reli(ious duty1 and the art of culti!ation -as de!eloped and maintained -ith reli(ious .eal. Mansur first abolished the payment of the Cmmeyade money7ta upon (rains and replaced it by a payment in )ind. 4e e tended this principle to other crops1 and1 in the case of the most fertile of lands1 the produce7rates -ere fi ed at t-o7fifths of the -hole. Remission of ta es -ere frequent at times of stress e!en in the rei(ns of his most se!ere successors. %y thus follo-in( the true economics of the soil1

the prosperity of the peasants -as at once implanted and the soil itself conser!ed as the basis of the State. The method of land ta ation -as1 ho-e!er1 not uniform throu(hout the 5mpire. 3,n %abylonia1 "haldea1 ,ra)1 Mesopotamia and $ersia there -ere numerous lando-ners and peasant free holders31 -rites 'meer 'li in his %istory1 3-hose rents -ere permanently fi ed upon the basis of a(reements entered into at the time of the "onquest. 0o !ariation could be made in the ta le!iable from them1 and they -ere thus protected from all harassment. The same boon -as en+oyed by the !illa(e communities of 0orthern $ersia and ;horasan.3 ,n a brief time1 under this +ust care1 the countryside of ,ra) and Southern $ersia had the appearance of a !eritable (arden. %et-een %a(hdad and ;ufa especially1 it made a settin( of !erdure for a number of prosperous to-ns1 flourishin( !illa(es and fine !illas. There -as a teemin( population. 'ccordin( to the -riter of the article 3,ra)7'rabi31 in the ##th 5dition of the 'ncyclo aedia ,ritannica1 quoted by Mohammed Fadhel Gamali1 *irector of 5ducation1 Ministry of 5ducation1 %a(hdad1 in his boo)1 The 1ew &ra"1 #8941 it -as perhaps fi!e hundred times as (reat as -hat 3it usually contains31 in its present decadence. ' further feature of the (reatest !alue to farmin(1 -ith its essential character of locality1 -as the principle of self7(o!ernment1 that freedom for local customs and traditions on -hich Mohammed laid such stress. The 'bbasides spread this precept throu(hout their dominions. 3The (o!ernment carried its policy of non7 interference -ith the separate communities sometimes to the e tremest !er(e1 to the detriment of its o-n interests. 5ach !illa(e1 each to-n administered its o-n affairs1 and the (o!ernment only interfered -hen disturbances arose1 or the ta es -ere not paid.3 %ut so !ital -as the land1 and so stupendous the system of irri(ation -hich nourished it1 that the construction of ne- canals and the cleansin( and repair of old ones -ere entirely in (o!ernmental hands1 as also -as the maintenance of an efficient ri!er police. The cost of the ne- canals -as borne by the State1 that of cleansin( and repair -as shared by the State and the recipients of the -ater. The -or)ers on the land opened up by the ne- canals1 consequently started their -or) -ithout the shac)les of a debt that had to be paid off. The benefit to the ne- farmers -as primary1 and1 from their produce1 they paid the usual ta es for the maintenance of the State1 -hich itself repaid them -ith so many benefits. ,n this -ay the soil -as dominant and money the ad+u!ant. With the same ma(nanimity as they besto-ed on the soil1 the 'bbasides de!eloped the precepts of Mohammed on )no-led(e. 'cademies1 colle(es and

schools -ere e!ery-here established2 education -as opened to all1 urban and rural2 the education of the -omen proceeded on parallel lines -ith that of the men. This .eal for )no-led(e -as de!eloped to the hi(hest pitch1 as 'meer 'li1 in The S irit of &slam1 -rites/ 36nder the 'bbasides -e find them Dthe MoslemsE the repositories of the )no-led(e of the -orld. 5!ery part of the (lobe is ransac)ed by the a(ents of the "aliphs for the hoarded -ealth of antiquity2 these -ere brou(ht to the capital1 and laid before an admirin( and appreciatin( public. Schools and academies sprin( up in e!ery direction2 public libraries are established in e!ery city for e!ery comer2 the (reat philosophers of the -orld are studied side by side -ith the ;oran. Galen1 *ioscorides1 Themistius1 'ristotle1 $lato1 5uclid1 $tolemy and 'pollonius recei!e their due meed of appreciation. The so!erei(ns assist at literary meetin(s and philosophical disquisitions. For the first time in the history of humanity a reli(ious and autocratic (o!ernment is obser!ed to ally itself -ith philosophy1 preparin( and participatin( in its triumphs.3 What this .eal for )no-led(e meant for farmin(1 -e ha!e already seen in "hapter 2#. This (reat reconstruction -as to be -itnessed in e!ery country1 -here ,slamic culture -as implanted. ,t -as the same story in $ersia1 Syria1 ,raq1 5(ypt1 Mauritania1 Sicily and Spain. ,t seemed as if there -as somethin( ma(ical1 somethin( beyond all pre!ious conceptions of man1 in the arri!al of ,slam. Spain1 Mauritania1 Sicily and other countries1 pre!iously sta(nant or in decay1 blossomed into acti!e life. ,dris of Medina1 for e ample1 escaped from a false char(e of drun)enness. 4e -on the adhesion of the %erbers of Mauritania and founded the ,driside dynasty. 4e built Fe. and made it his capital. 6nder the ne- spirit Fe. became a famous seat of learnin(1 and the country1 of -hich it -as the capital1 leapt into -ealth and prosperity. Musa1 'bd7al7Rahman and their successors in Spain1 Ma+orca1 Minorca1 Sardinia1 "orsica and a part of Sicily1 in a !ery short time established a ne- culture and prosperity. There is nothin( e actly li)e this in all history. The early Roman 5mpire and the Scientific 5ra are no parallels1 because they both pro(ressed1 as -e ha!e seen1 at the e pense of humble peasantries and the e ploitation of the soil. Cn the other hand1 (ro-th in prosperity in these ,slamic countries occurred in all branches of social life. Farmin(1 manufacture1 trade1 art1 education1 )no-led(e1 all attained a !ery hi(h le!el. They increased in ower and ca acity e"ually 2 they attained a balance amon(st themsel!es1 because they based themsel!es on a hi(hly de!eloped and conser!ed life7cycle1 of -hich the Spirit of ,slam -as the creator.

Chapter 23

Recap tulat on
,n a chapter on Recapitulation desi(ned to sum up the principles of reconstruction by -ay of the soil1 , could ha!e ta)en other ci!ili.ations than those of the period of ,slamic success as a measure of our present needs. Mr. :. F. "oo) of the 6.S. '(ricultural *epartment1 for e ample1 tempts me -ith -ords , ha!e already quoted and -ill here repeat/ 3'(riculture is not a lost art1 but must be rec)oned as one of those -hich reached a remar)able de!elopment in the remote past and after-ards declined.3 This is his conclusion after his e amination of the farmin( system of 'ncient $eru. William $rescott1 in his %istory of the #on"uest of $eru1 #@4?1 (a!e a brief account of that remote farmin(. The land1 he -rote1 -as di!ided into three parts1 one for the support of the national reli(ion and the sic) and infirm1 one for the maintenance of the Royal Family and Go!ernment1 and one 3di!ided1 per capita1 in equal shares for the people3. %y la- each man had to marry at a certain a(e1 and the land -as re7allotted each year and 3increased or diminished accordin( to the number of the members of his family3. 0one -ere allo-ed to be idle 3from the child of fi!e years old to the a(ed matron not too infirm to hold a distaff3. $rescott then discussed this a(rarian la-1 and1 of 5uropean countries that resembled it1 he selected that in Gudaea as 3the nearest approach to the $eru!ian constitution3. 0e!ertheless1 our information1 or mine at least1 of this system of irri(ated fields 3culti!ated -holly by the people31 is so scanty and remote that thorou(h and practical to the hi(hest de(ree as it -as1 it -ould ha!e been qui otic for me to ha!e made it a measure of choice. The same applies to the ri!erine ci!ili.ations of ,raq2 )no-led(e of essential details is lac)in(. These ci!ili.ations collecti!ely offer a stability of the soil of some four thousand years1 but so far off is this period that a(ain it -ould be qui otic to choose ancient ,raq for modern (uidance. ,t is a !ery different matter -ith a far more numerous people of a li)e duration of four thousand years1 the "hinese1 a people -hose farmin(1 ri(ht up to the years precedin( the Great War of #8#47#@1 earned the unstinted praise of that (enius of a(riculture1 $rofessor ;in(. The introductory chapter of his 5armers of 5orty #enturies is a -ell7deser!ed paean to the "hinese farmin(1 carried out in spite of the floods of their (reat ri!ers1 -hich1 risin( in the !ast area of Tibet1 ha!e been beyond their control. Moreo!er1 they ha!e in their history records of se!eral reconstructions by -ay of the soil one of -hich1 that of the Tan(s1 -as

contemporary -ith the ,slamic reconstruction. When their society -as disinte(rated by the incursions and conquests of the Tartars and -hen their land -as de!astated1 the first tas) of a "hinese dynasty after o!ercomin( the 0omads -as the reconstruction of their peasant7farmin( system. ,n the West1 there has been abundant studentship (i!en to the arts of "hina1 and especially to its pictures and ceramics1 but it has i(nored the (reater art1 the art of a(riculture and its reconstruction. Cne student1 ho-e!er1 of the "olumbia 6ni!ersity1 0e- Bor)1 *r. $in(74ua Lee1 has been a fortunate e ception1 and this (ifted author has (i!en accounts of the 4an and other dynastic reconstructions of the system of land tenure of the "hinese sa(es1 of -hich , made use in the third chapter of my Restoration of the $easantries1 under the headin( of 3The First '(ricultural $ath3. The history and character of these reconstructions1 and of "hinese historic farmin( (enerally1 to my mind and to that of the late $rofessor ;in(1 offer a -ide field of in!aluable research to future -estern students1 but that time has not yet come. When it does come it -ill1 doubtless1 re!eal a number of principles of reconstruction by -ay of the soil at present not a!ailable. For these reasons1 therefore1 , ha!e chosen the 'rabic reconstruction1 and for the further reason that they -ere1 accordin( to many scholars1 the initiators of the modern sciences. ,t is true that -e ha!e surpassed their sciences to an immeasurable de(ree1 but the same cannot be said of their arts1 and particularly of their farmin( as a national art. 4ere -e ha!e by no means surpassed them2 on the contrary1 -e are far belo- their le!el. So1 althou(h by their !iolent +ealousies and e tra!a(ances1 such as the "hinese -ere ne!er (uilty of1 the 'rabs e posed themsel!es to their enemies1 -ho destroyed their empire1 and thou(h1 -ith a fatality that seems as ine orable as it is ine plicable1 they ha!e almost re!erted to their ori(inal desert status and to7day no-here e hibit any art of a(riculture for our enli(htenment1 , ha!e chosen their historical reconstruction as the measure of -hat should be possible to us in our present ur(ent need. "onsequently1 to (i!e coherence to my sub+ect before my final chapter1 , propose in this reconstruction to re!ie- the first t-enty chapters of my boo) in the li(ht of chapters 2# and 22. "hapter # discloses the (eneral theme and purport of the boo) as a need to accept the priority of the soil in a sane and sound ci!ili.ation. ,t describes the intimacy and oneness of Man -ith the soil1 -hich forms the initial factor of life7cycles1 in -hich men ha!e their bein(. ,t re!eals the -holeness or health1 -hich arises from a complete adherence to the life7cycle by a brief account of possibly the healthiest people on the earth. ,t (oes on to sho- ho- the human

family con+oined -ith property in the soil1 throu(h -hich the life of the soil and of humanity become !itally inter-o!en. ,t ends -ith an account of the most endurin( association of soil and family in history1 that of the Tsin(7Tien System of the "hinese. The duration of the "hinese family system and the de(ree of positi!e health of the 4un.a both surpass -hat the 'rabs attained. 0e!ertheless1 ,slam attached (reat si(nificance to both family and health. Mohammed asse!erated the sanctity of a(ricultural -or) and coupled -ith it the declaration that the land or other property1 -as in!iolable as lon( as it -as ri(htly used. ,slam1 founded upon the $rophet3s dicta1 embodied them in its fi ed la-s upon the freedom and security of the peasantry and the in!iolability of property ri(htly used. 's re(ards health1 -e )no- that1 at the time of the rise of ,slam and after1 5urope -as frequently de!astated by epidemics. The condition of the to-ns and the homes of the people -as one of e treme filth1 and this condition has lasted amon(st the poor urban classes almost to the present day. ,n many of the most populous capitals of 5urope not a sin(le public bath -as to be found1 and reli(ion itself made personal dirtiness almost synonymous -ith holiness. The practice of ,slam -as the !ery opposite of this. Mohammed himself tau(ht the paramount importance of hy(iene. 4e also placed ri(ht feedin( as the first source of health and decreed that lac) of restraint in food and drin) -as 3the source of all physical ills3. ,slamic ci!ili.ation -as mar)ed by its insistence on bodily cleanliness1 and public baths -ere pro!ided on a liberal scale. *raina(e in to-ns -as efficient -ithout bein( -asteful. 0e!ertheless1 thou(h !astly superior to anythin( in 5urope1 ,slam needed the assistance of the medical art1 -hich it de!eloped to a hi(h de(ree as sho-n by the fame of its Schools of Medicine and its hospitals1 and the )no-led(e of botany1 pharmacy1 chemistry and other branches of medicine1 from -hich much of the modern healin( art is deri!ed. The ne t four chapters1 "hapters 2 to <1 tell the story of Rome and the e!il effect of its capitalistic ci!ili.ation upon the peasantries and family1 upon the food of the poor1 and upon the soil resultin( in its e tensi!e loss throu(h erosion and the formation of marshes. ,slam supported the peasantries1 honoured the family1 dictated that e!en the sla!es should ha!e the same food as their masters1 and too) e!ery care to conser!e the soil. "hapter = is concerned -ith 0omads and Farmers1 and the effect -hich scarcity of the food of the 0omads had upon the ci!ili.ations of the Farmers and the history resultin( therefrom.

"hapter ? brin(s for-ard t-o contrastin( e amples1 the first of the depri!ation of the soil of the Fal)land ,slands under the dominance of modern commerce1 and the second of the reno!ation of the soil of a %altic dairy farm by correct farmin( and ecolo(y. %oth form e amples on a small scale of !ital issues. The local self7(o!ernment in thin(s of the soil -ould ha!e a!oided the first2 the second is in accord -ith the final unity of all li!in( thin(s of Mohammed3s teachin(. "hapter @ (i!es an account of the proper and the -ron(ful uses of urban and rural -astes. ,slamic a(riculture -as1 amon(st other thin(s1 based on the proper use of -astes. "hapter 8 continues this theme and sho-s the reason -hy the cash7ne us leads to the -ron(ful use of -astes. 6nder the (uidance of Cs-ald Spen(ler1 it de!elops the difference in thou(ht and !alues of the countrymen and to-nsmen1 -hich are illustrated by the different character of their ta ations1 the natural character of that of the farmers bein( payment in )ind or farm products1 that of urbans payment in money. This difference -as reco(ni.ed and acted upon by ,slamic ci!ili.ation. The chapter continues -ith further illustrations of the economics of the soil1 includin( an account of the "hinese economics of the use of -ater for the soil1 as (i!en by $rofessor ;in(. ,t concludes -ith a brief description of the disastrous effect of the dominant money !alues upon the fertility and health of the soil. "hapter #: contains the story of the peasantry of 5n(land and the robbin( of the food of the soil by the lords of the manor1 culminatin( in the ruin of the peasantry in the ,ndustrial 5ra by acquisiti!e men. Cnly the peasants of the ,sle of ' holme escaped this fate. The story sho-s especially the entire lac) of decent conduct to-ards rural labour at the introduction of modern capitalism and is the precise opposite of the sacredness that -as besto-ed on all labour by the introduction of ,slamic ci!ili.ation. "hapter ## is the first tale of primiti!e a(riculturists1 those of ;enya1 under the ae(is of commercial farmin(1 so poi(nantly told by Mrs. 4u ley. ,t is a story -ithout redemption1 but not -ithout the retribution of an e traordinarily rapid and de!astatin( spread of erosion of the soil. "hapter #2 is a second story of a primiti!e people in 0yasa lured or forced from their land to ser!e in the ad+acent (old and diamond mines. ,t has an all7too7near resemblance to the fate of the 5n(lish peasantry as told in "hapter #:. The conditions of the miners in the (old and diamond mines -as ne!er as terrible as those of 5n(lish miners

under -hich children of si years1 harnessed to small carts by chains1 dre- coal alon( the passa(es of the mines1 but it -as one -ith a lar(e share of bonda(e1 drun)enness and disease1 under the stress of -hich many (reat and successful social and medical impro!ements ha!e no- been effected. "hapter #9 tells the story of the sal!ation of Tan(anyi)a1 effected by the little tsetse fly1 from the rapid erosion that has !isited ;enya. ,t also contains a most promisin( story of redemption in the proper use of ri!ers1 in -hich1 instead of formin( boundaries of human hostility -ith the ill7effect that such a ri!er as the Rhine in particular has had1 they are made beneficial by bein( used primarily for people on either ban). The last tale of the due effect of dominance of money o!er a primiti!e peasantry is that of our oldest colonies1 the West ,ndies1 in "hapter #?. The hardships and erosion it has caused is made the more (raphic by an account of an uninterfered -ith1 and flourishin( island 77 that of Lomboc) in the 5ast ,ndies. 6nder the ,slamic principles of the treatment of peasants1 none of the disasters of "hapters ##1 #2 and #? could ha!e been brou(ht about2 on the contrary1 the Lomboc)s -ould ha!e been multiplied1 as the results in the Mediterranean Moslem islands sho-. "hapter #4 is a philosophic interlude on the e traordinarily delicate and infinitely !aried nature of our food substances built up from only a feelements1 the most common of -hich are not only earthly but also aerial1 and the need for a -ider conception of them and their nature1 if positi!e mental and physical health are to be attained. "hapter #< is another tale of the effect of the dominance of money. ,t concerns itself -ith Sind and 5(ypt1 and sho-s the dan(er to the allu!ial soil1 of tryin( to force it out of its primal character in order to ma)e t-o blades (ro- -here one or none (re- before. The perennial irri(ation1 -hich has been introduced into 5(ypt and Sind1 has been first financed by money at interest1 and thereby has follo-ed another path than that of ,slam1 in -hich the cost of ne- canals -as borne by the (o!ernment and that of cleansin( and repair alone shared bet-een the State and the recipients of -ater. There -as no interest2 there -ere no ban)ers -ho brou(ht the hu(e sums into e istence out of nothin( and issued them as loans to be repaid -ith interest. The first thin( the ban)ers so- upon the ne- land is debt1 as one mi(ht so- tares amidst the -heat. They enforce (reater producti!e effort upon the land than it -ill bear. 3'lthou(h interest

brin(s increase31 said Mohammed1 3yet its end tends to scarcity.3 This (reat sayin( a(ain pro!es itself true in this modern e ample. %oth in 5(ypt and Sind1 the forcin( of the land out of its natural capacity to ma)e it 3pay31 has already produced scarcity1 throu(h al)alinity. Writin( only from the purely a(ricultural side1 $rofessor ;in( says that in all probability the people -hom our modern ci!ili.ation has supplanted )ne- of this error and had tried and abandoned perennial irri(ation. ,slam -ent further in the interests of soil. 5rom the very start it shut out the men of greed. "hapter #= is a second interlude chapter. ,t is a re!ie- of -hat are )no-n as artificial manures. The introduction of artificial manures -as a fra(mentation1 an incursion of one particular section of scientists into the realm of farmin(. These scientists too) a partial !ie- of the character of the soil. They too) a feof the most important chemical elements of the soil1 and tried to ma)e them into a -hole. They sou(ht to displace natural manure -ith measured doses of these chemicals2 they first dia(nosed the land1 and then prescribed for it. They be(an to be important -hen the quantity of natural manure itself be(an to decrease o-in( to rail-ays ta)in( a-ay horse traffic and sanitation abolishin( the disposal of refuse upon the soil. With motors displacin( horses1 and tractors displacin( horses and o en on the farm itself1 artificials became yet more stron(ly ad!ocated. They ha!e their occasional place in increasin( the amount of produce of underfed land1 and they ha!e been of (reat ser!ice durin( the period of -ar. %ut they ha!e distracted thou(ht from natural manures2 they ha!e helped to hide a-ay the disastrous misuse of -astes. They are a fra(mentation1 a default in philosophic thou(ht upon the -holeness of the association of the dead and the li!in( in farmin(. They ha!e1 therefore1 been accompanied by a farmin( so beset by disease that the scientific farm has become a blend of factory and hospital1 producin( products inferior in health1 quality and taste1 and deterioration of the soil. 'rtificials1 of course1 played no part in the farmin( of the ,slamic ci!ili.ation2 nor1 indeed1 of that of ancient $eru1 nor of any of the (reat farmin(s that men erected in the past. "hapter #@ is the tale of the German "olonies1 in -hich the creed of the ri(hts of the fittest recei!ed almost its final consummation. The latter part of the chapter tells the happy stories of these same colonies under the (uardianship of the $ermanent Mandates "ommission of the Lea(ue of 0ations. *ifferin( in manner1 the three (o!ernments1 those of the 6nion of South 'frica1 of France and of %ritain1 effected a miraculous chan(e by means of principles approachin(1 and in the case of Tan(anyi)a nearly identical -ith1 those of

,slam1 -hen dealin( -ith oppressed peoples of the soil. ,n "hapters #8 and 2:1 the hu(e countries of Russia1 South 'frica1 'ustralia and the 6nited States illustrate the clima of the destruction and death of the soil -hich our modern !alues ma)e ine!itable. ,n spite of their (reat scientists1 all these countries ha!e been placed in (ra!e dan(er o-in( to erosion. ,n Russia erosion1 particularly that due to deforestation1 is of lon(er duration than in the other three countries of later de!elopment. %ut1 -ith Russia3s moderni.ation and especially its almost fanatical faith in the tractor or machine farmin(1 $rofessor ;orne! has had to utter the -arnin(/ 3't the present day there are hu(e areas in the 6.S.S.R. -here1 o-in( to the e cessi!e brea)in( up of topo(raphy1 -hole territories formerly under profitable a(riculture are nooccupied by immense ra!ines and infertile -astes.3 South 'frica has been described by Mr. R. :. Whyte under the italici.ed sub7 headin( of The Transformation of South Africa into Semi4desert in the Twentieth #entury. Mr. 5. S. "layton1 in <verseas &nvestigation1 #89?1 declares/ 3There is no doubt that -e 'ustralians are in a process of transformin( the semi7arid areas into desert at a more rapid rate than in the 6.S.'.32 and.in the -etter1 ri!erine districts many parts are (ra!ely affected by erosion. Finally -e arri!e at that (reat country1 -hich has become the leadin( modern country in the production of food for itself and other countries1 as -ell as of other essential crops for the benefit of all men and its o-n prosperity. Bet in doin( so1 it is fulfillin( the prophecy of its o-n $rofessor Shaler that unless some radical chan(e is adopted1 -e must anticipate a time 3-hen our )ind1 ha!in( -asted its (reat inheritance1 -ill fade from the earth because of the ruin it has accomplished3. The chapter closes -ith an e ample of a (reat a-a)enin(1 a po-erful effort to-ards redemption in the 6.S.'.1 the Tennessee >alley 'uthority1 -hich follo-s the !alues of ,slam in the priority (i!en to local1 a(ricultural )no-led(e1 and the balance and mutuality of all labour1 -hether it be in the factory or on the land.

Chapter 24 Act on
,t may seem boastful on the part of a -riter to say that his sub+ect is -orld7 -ide1 but the -orld1 at one time so !ery lar(e1 has shrun) a (ood deal in these latter days and a number of questions1 once national or local1 ha!e consequently

become -orld7-ide. "ertainly1 if any question has a -orld7-ide si(nificance it is that of the treatment of the -orld3s crust. 'ction1 therefore1 at this present time1 in the reconstruction !ia the soil must ha!e a certain -orld7-ide character attached to it. What1 then1 of a -orld7-ide character can form a means of action in reconstructions !ia the soilA The present has sho-n con!incin(ly -hat1 indeed1 scarcely needed another demonstration1 namely1 that at a time of -ar e!ery nation en(a(ed1 -hate!er its form of society and (o!ernment1 is not hindered by money. 0or is it hindered by unemployment. 't such times there is -or) for one1 and all1 and -or) ta)es precedence of money2 money does not call forth -or)1 but -or) money. The impulse to action is so (reat that it ta)es complete mastery of men and matter. 4ence1 for a reconstruction of the soil1 a !ery -ide impulse -ill ha!e to be called into bein(. ,t is not to be e pected1 of course1 that the impulse -ill ha!e the cohesi!e fury of a people called to -ar1 but it should certainly see) for means that are -orld7-ide in their character. What means of this -ide character are1 then1 fa!ourable to a bi(7scale mo!ementA First and foremost there is the unique positi!e achie!ement of the -ar. The -ar has achie!ed1 as ne!er before1 the technical unity of the world. The spirit of unity is quite a different matter. The ri!en spirit of the pre7-ar times remains1 and as yet there has been nothin( in the plans for the post7-ar period to pro!e positi!ely that it has been radically diminished. This is as one mi(ht e pect. The characteristic of the last fe- decades has been the impro!ement of technique1 to -hich one (reat -ar1 one (reat re!olution1 e pectation of -ar1 and a second (reat -ar ha!e +ointly (i!en an impulse that has been terrific. This technical achie!ement cannot possibly be o!erloo)ed as means to reconstruction. With its -ireless reachin( so many homes and papers1 its multiple air routes and air bases1 its (reat roads1 e!en amidst the supposedly eternal defiance of the mountains of "entral 'sia1 its innumerable mass7made ships1 its thousand in!entions in means of communication1 it has de!eloped a capacity to -eld the -orld to(ether1 such as itself foretells a ne- era. The -orld has been technically transformed into one borderless -hole1 for neither the air nor the ether has frontiers. 6nless1 then1 man)ind is to be o!erta)en by physical de(eneration1 unless a decay of character brin(s -ith it one of those periods of disinte(ration of ci!ili.ation1 -ith -hich historians are familiar and of -hich the decline and fall of the Roman 5mpire has been the classic e ample in the West1 there is no possibility of the future technical disse!erance of the -orld. ,ts technical unity is a fact2 all depends upon the uses to -hich it

is put. ,t may1 for e ample1 be made subser!ient to a re!i!ed pre7-ar money po-er throu(h a continuance of the officialism necessitated by the -ar. ,t may be limited by a !ariety of fra(mentations1 if the di!ided nationalities continue to indul(e their political appetites and ma)e the primary needs of their peoples means to national a((randisement. ,ts use and misuse may1 indeed1 lead to further -ars1 famines and increasin( social chaos. 'll this -ill be possible1 if men continue to i(nore the crust of the earth1 until the uncontrollable increase of the soil3s de!astation sin)s men into despair or forces them1 before it is too late1 to use this tremendous technical po-er for -hat its -ide7-orld capacity seems to be desi(ned1 namely1 the -orld3s terrene sal!ation and not its destruction. Those1 then1 -ho are con!inced of the need of reconstruction !ia the soil1 should not no- allo- themsel!es any laments for the past or indul(e in !ain dreams of a -orld other than it is at this !ery present. They should loo) upon the technical unity of the -orld as a (iant of assistance to the a-a)enin( of the brotherhood of man throu(h the common parent of all1 the soil. They ha!e a messa(e and a means of communication commensurate -ith its !astness. Their messa(e has undoubted prior claims because1 physically1 mentally and morally1 it affects all men -ho tread the earth. ,f they can enforce themsel!es upon the -orld3s -ireless2 if1 by tra!el1 they can reach once distant lands by air7speed1 -hich no- ma)es east and -est and north and south nei(hbours2 if in the -orld3s press they can publish to innumerable readers at one and the same time the more stri)in( ne-s of their mo!ement2 if men of each country can communicate to men of other countries -hat they are doin(1 -hat de!elopments ha!e been accomplished or are e pected1 then they -ill fill the -orld -ith the creed of the soil. There is much to communicate at this day1 as soon as the din of -ar has become silent. This -ill be far more -hen the thou(hts of men are no lon(er directed to the slau(hter of life1 but to the means of its conser!ation. 5ach country -ill need its band of men and -omen to ta)e a part in this neunity of the -orld. The type of men required to form the initial bonds is of the (reatest si(nificance. ,t is at once clear that they must be of a )ind that -as almost !oiceless in the period1 bet-een the t-o (reat -ars1 -hen their contraries1 by con!ertin( soil7fertility freely into money1 -ere 3dra-in( the -hole -orld headlon( to star!ation31 in the -ords of Mr. Gac)s. 6pon their i(norant (reed1 there -as1 says Mr. Gac)s1 at that time only one chec)1 the threat of -ar. Then came the actuality of -ar1 and the (o!ernments of the Great $o-ers en(a(ed in it1 reali.in( at last the paramount and primary character of soil7fertility1 allo-ed it no lon(er to be turned freely into money1 but treated it

as a national armament no less precious than -ere the metals and the chemicals. This dominance of soil o!er money must not be allo-ed to relapse -ith the cessation of the -ar. The lesson then learnt must this time be unforgettable. ' ne- social1 non7military -ar1 indeed1 opens out1 the -ar on behalf of the soil and of the healthy life and physical freedom of men. ,n this -ar1 the soil -ill ha!e1 in the be(innin(1 many opponents. Firstly1 e cept for men of (enius and the capacity it (i!es them to chan(e an outloo) and brea) -ith the personal trammels of the past1 those men -ho rose to hi(h authority before the -ar may be e pected to be opponents1 from the very fact that they rose to authority under the ruinous values of the earth+s devastation . These !alues -ill still be treasured1 because the use of them brou(ht them their public po-er. To pur(e themsel!es of the (ross defect of mind that the !alues entailed1 -ill be beyond their capacity2 -hether they -ish it or not1 the familiar spirits -ill not cease to haunt their thou(hts and actions. Then1 there are aliens and men -ithout any country of their o-n1 -ithout1 in the first case1 any inborn1 nati!e lo!e for the land in -hich they ha!e their refu(e2 in the second1 -ithout any actual )inship of mind1 occupation1 and tradition -ith the soil. With both money is1 of necessity1 the paramount ob+ect1 because the only -orld7-ide ri!al to money is the soil. Such men are dan(erous. 6rban people are li)ely to be opponents at the be(innin(1 for urbans become perforce not indi!iduals so much as mass. ,n small matters they hold the opinions of their set2 in lar(er they are sub+ect to mass7emotion. Their interests and faiths -a and -ane1 are hot and cold. Fed by selected ne-s and spurred by propa(anda1 they are the ob+ects of unfi ed la-s1 each of -hich1 li)e a -a!e on a sandy shore1 -ipes out the impress of its predecessor. Se!ered as they are by modern to-n life from the soil and its creati!e po-ers1 they are alien to fi ed la-s1 by -hich alone its dominance can be maintained. Modern education itself is an opponent and a po-erful detractor of the land1 because the soil is only re(arded in it as somethin( that can be i(nored. 'll education for the youn(1 one can say1 in all ad!anced countries seems to ha!e this profound defect. $ersonally , am best acquainted -ith my o-n education1 that of a public school in 5n(land. The school -as situated amon(st culti!ated fields and ri!erside pastures. Bet ne!er once -as the local character of the land of sufficient si(nificance to be mentioned by the teachers. , reali.ed !a(uely e!en then that our education did not start at the beginning1 not from the soil

and the ri!er from -hich our life be(an1 but from somewhere else1 as if the roots of bein( did not matter in education and could be left in!isible or un)no-n almost for e!er to the instructed mind. ,t tau(ht us to be (entlemen1 somethin( superior to the soil. ,t cut us a-ay at the start from the ,slamic sanctity of the soil. 'nd this sti(ma most of us had to carry throu(hout our li!es1 only the rare sceptic mi(ht escape from its trammels. 5!en -hen the 5mpire3s needs called some of my collea(ues to the char(e of primiti!e a(ricultural peoples1 the sti(ma remained. 36nfortunately most of the 5uropeans -ho come out to this country D0i(eriaE31 stated Mr. G. 0. 4errin(ton1 at a West 'frican '(ricultural "onference in #89@1 3ha!e recei!ed an education -hich is di!orced from rural life and fe- ha!e any )no-led(e of its interest and !ariety1 or the intelli(ent s)ill that rural life entails. This type of education has created a traditional attitude that is !ery difficult to o!ercome.3 ,t has only !ery rarely been o!ercome1 only in (reat sceptics and men -ith rare sympathy for their rural sub+ects1 such as -ere pre7eminent in %ritish ,ndia before the Mutiny1 the four M3s1 Sir Thomas Munro1 Sir Gohn Malcolm1 Sir Mountstuart 5lphinstone and Sir "harles Metcalfe. %ecause of this almost in!incible1 traditional attitude1 our empire o!er rural lands has been one mostly di!orced from rural life and anta(onistic to the soil. ,n addition1 to the famous %ritish public schools1 education in our state schools1 in the 6nited States and other countries1 has had the same tendency. ,n the German 6ni!ersity1 -here , spent ei(hteen months in post7(raduate education1 it seemed to me1 then more a-a)ened to the fault1 to be the same2 men -ith so7 called brains -ere considered to be suited for somethin( better and more lucrative than for -or) upon the land. This profound fault in the education of the ,ndustrial 5ra has -or)ed untold mischief in health1 sanity1 food and the conser!ation of the soil. ,t ma)es education undoubtedly an opponent1 not an ad+u!ant to reconstruction !ia the soil. The ne- men and -omen 77 for the -ar has brou(ht many -omen in direct contact -ith the land 77 -ill be those -ho ha!e been shaped and fashioned by the soil to a serenity1 a sense of the spaciousness of time1 and a capacity of indi!idual +ud(ment. The soil itself has been their te tboo) and printed boo)s only subsidiary. %oo)s -iden the understandin( and (i!e to their students )no-led(e of many chemical and physical properties of the earth3s crust1 but they ha!e not the ma(ic in re!elation of the soil itself. They are !ery !aluable supports and helpers1 but they are not initiators of the sense of )inship. ,nitiation belon(s only to the parent of life. The ne- men and -omen )no- the soil and its creati!e po-ers personally1

learnin( chiefly throu(h their eyes and muscle7sense1 and not throu(h their ears. Their )no-led(e and feelin( for the soil are the same as they are for other li!in( thin(s1 a matter of touch1 smell and si(ht1 a physical response to contact -ith it. ,t is made up of a !ariety of factors2 the feel and si(ht of rain1 sno-1 de-1 sun and -ind2 the characters and purposes of hed(es1 -oods1 fields1 hills1 !alleys and plains1 of insects1 plants1 flo-ers1 -eeds1 all sub+ect to the seasons in their pro(ress throu(h the years. ,t is1 then1 somethin( !ery real1 somethin( !ery !ital1 somethin( that proclaims an ordered multitude of bein(1 far transcendin( the ephemeral life of indi!iduals. 3,t is to the fresh air of the open field that -e belon( by ri(ht13 said Goethe. 3,t is as if the Spirit of God there breathes immediately upon men and thereby a (odli)e stren(th e ercises its influence.3 The ne- men and -omen possess or (ain a health that transcends -hat the practitioners of scientific medicine ha!e tau(ht the public to re(ard as health1 namely1 somethin( that can be acquired by a process of se!erally disco!erin( and puttin( into practice means of escape or reco!ery from diseases in their se!eralty. What -ill be required is not this1 but the positi!e1 -hole health1 -hich e ists in itself quite apart from disease. ,t -ill be required1 because it is a necessary prerequisite of the comprehensi!e simplification -hich the times require. "le!erness there is at the present day in abundance1 for -hen the simplification of positi!e health is mostly absent1 cle!erness finds opportunity in a thousand hydra7headed problems. ,t is for this reason that1 in spite of the numbers of educated1 cle!er men and -omen and in spite of their si(nal ability in dealin( -ith fra(mentary social and political difficulties1 in their lac) of the central understandin( of -hat -as really happenin( in the -orld they failed entirely to a!oid the emer(ence of a series of catastrophes. 4ealth1 therefore1 there must be. ,ts simplification 77 such as healthy fields brin( healthy men 77 of hydra7headed difficulties is essential. 4ealth is1 as Goethe said of truth1 li)e a diamond1 it emits its rays in all directions. %ein( -hole itself1 it brin(s -ith it a li!ely !aluation of the thin(s of health and -holesomeness1 and a ready acceptance of them -ith re+ection of the fra(mentary. ,ts con!ictions are not mere matters of mental persuasion. They are matters of bodily response1 sober in action and hard to oust1 for they are creati!ely positi!e. %y ri(ht choosin(1 they pre!ent the complication of many particulate solutions burdenin( a problem -ith much ar(ument1 for they are attracted to the ri(ht intuiti!ely. The correct terrene life is in reality not nearly so difficult as the -ron(1 because it is sim le in the root meanin( of the -ord1 -hich is unity.

,t is to men and -omen so equipped that the initial (uidance of reconstruction should be entrusted. $o-er comes later1 -hen con!iction of the need has become -idespread. Then po-er -ill be (i!en1 as it -as -illin(ly and freely (i!en by the people to its leaders durin( the -ar. Cf this po-er1 the (reat ur(ency of -ar has pro!ided many !aluable precedents1 the memory of -hich1 it is hoped1 -ill not be permitted to die out -ith the rapidity that affects the day to day memory1 -hich the s-ift transition of e!ents and the concentration on those of the present inculcate in the public. Cf these precedents there are fe-hich surpass that established by Lord Woolton1 Minister of Food in %ritain. 4is is1 to my mind1 a classic e ample of an inspiration to -or)ers in many1 if not all1 countries concerned in these primary matters. Cne only -ishes that reconstruction !ia the soil could be almost a continuance of the -or) done by the *epartments of Food and '(riculture1 -ithout the lon( lapse that seems ine!itable for the initiation of the public to the need for reconstruction. 's to the nature of the -or) of initiation1 it -ill come under some such headin(s as the follo-in(/ #. The restoration of the peasantries and peasant families as the cardinal culti!ators of the soil2 the use of lar(e estates1 -here suitable to particular soils1 forms of culti!ation1 or social conditions. 2. The freedom of the soil from money7po-er. 9. The first claim of the soil upon a country3s -ater2 the local control of its distribution. 4. ' rural education1 -hich is1 locally and (enerally1 a true soil7education. <. 'n education of all urban populations1 -hich be(ins at the be(innin( in the soil and in the life -hich it pro!ides to all men. =. The adoption by both to-n and country of the rule of return. ?. The unity of the healths of the soil1 the plant1 the animal and man. @. The ri(ht of all men to their share of essential foods and -or). 8. The use of modern technique in promotin( and maintainin( the brotherhood of man throu(hout the -orld by the common bond of the soil and its conser!ation. The (ate-ays of chan(e ha!e been thro-n open by the -ar1 and -hen , !enture near them to descry a !ista of the future1 , must confess that , am possessed by a da..lin( !ision of -hich this cruel -ar seems to be the immediate1 creati!e cause. The -ar has brou(ht to(ether1 as allies1 the four $o-ers that ha!e control o!er the four (reatest areas of land upon the surface of the (lobe. These four $o-ers

di!ide themsel!es by nei(hbourhood into t-o pairs1 namely1 "hina and Russia1 -ith a basic similarity soon to be propounded1 the other pair1 connected by the mediate country of "anada1 the 6nited States and the %ritish 5mpire1 the t-o leadin( capitalistic po-ers of the -orld. These four allies form a stran(e con+unction of many differences. There is first the a(ed "hina1 -ith an unequalled history of stability and conser!atism1 notorn asunder by the inroads of modernity. Secondly1 there is Russia1 also an ancient1 historical autocracy1 -hich has recently o!erthro-n capitalism and -ith so fierce an ener(y has created a "ollecti!e State. Thirdly1 there is the 6nited States1 so compact in the spacious unity of their land1 in -hich they endea!oured to shut themsel!es from the troubles of the -orld1 but suddenly aroused to the futility of this isolation by the catastrophe of $earl 4arbour. Lastly1 there is the %ritish 5mpire of dominions so -ide and !aried as to ma)e it the leadin( po-er of the -orld1 but a(hast at the disco!ery of its inability to protect its far7flun( possessions and almost its homeland1 in the early years of the -ar. There are1 then1 apparent infusible differences of need and necessity in the character and circumstance of the four allies1 and especially do they re!eal themsel!es if attempts to effect a fusion are made by the a(ency of politics and politicians. Cne (eneral need1 ho-e!er1 indissolubly binds the four. ,t is to pre!ent the repetition of the present in the future by precludin( the possibility1 no- and for e!er1 of further irruptions of the Teutonic 0ortherners or their pupils of the $acific Sea. 'part from this need it must seem1 to those not instructed in the present terrene state of man)ind1 that (enuine unity -ill find no bond in the manifest differences of character and circumstance of the four allies. Bet there is such a bond1 the bond that ultimately unites all terrene men in an ultimate similarity1 and that bond is the soil. &t is the soil, and the soil alone, which can bind the four $owers together in a reconstruction of life. All four $owers, and with them the rest of the wide earth, are bound together as to their future state by the erilous condition of the world+s soil. 1one can esca e its dangers in the new technical unity of the world. That is the one im erative and vital bond in their con-unction for reconstruction. Let us ta)e the four allies se!erally and see -hat contributions they can ma)e to this fundamental question of life itself and to their o-n particular needs -ith

re(ard to it. The "hinese are by far the oldest people of the allies. Their contribution is that of the accumulated -isdom of four thousand years. 0one ha!e better described this (ift of the historic "hinese and their pupils the ;oreans and pre7modern Gapanese1 than $rofessor ;in( in a partially -ritten (essage of #hina and 3a an to the World1 -hich he proposed to add to his (reat boo) on the 5armers of 5orty #enturies1 but -hich purpose -as frustrated by his death. ,n the part of this messa(e that has sur!i!ed his death1 he -rote/ 3,t could not be other than a matter of the hi(hest industrial1 educational and social importance to any nation1 if it could be furnished -ith a full and accurate account of all those conditions -hich ha!e made it possible for such dense populations to be maintained upon the products of the "hinese1 ;orean and Gapanese soils. Many of the steps1 phases and practices throu(h -hich this e!olution has passed are irreco!erably buried in the past1 but such remar)able maintenance attained centuries a(o and pro+ected into the present -ith little apparent decadence merits the most profound study. Li!in( as -e do in the mornin( of a century of transition from isolated to cosmopolitan national life1 -hen profound read+ustments1 industrial1 educati!e and social1 must result1 such an in!esti(ation cannot be made too soon.3 The practices and the methods1 by -hich these meticulously careful farmers conser!ed the fertility of their soils are no-here better described than in the pa(es of ;in(3s boo). %ut he ma)es no specific mention of the Tsin( Tien System of -hich *r. $in(74ua Lee1 in >olume 88 of the "olumbia 6ni!ersity of 0e- Bor)3s Studies in %istory1 -rote/ 3The -hole history of the (o!ernment administration of a(riculture in "hina coincides -ith the Tsin( Tien System. ,ts !icissitudes1 its crises and its epochs -ere timed by the abolition or re7 establishment of the System ... ,t is fortunate for the economic historian that the Tsin( Tien System is coincident -ith "hina3s political history.3 Bet1 not the "hinese farmers3 de!otion to the rule of return2 not their incomparable and tireless spreadin( of the mud of their numerous canals to the e tent of se!enty tons per acre2 not their careful preser!ation of the humble earth7-orm1 -ho1 said *ar-in1 spreads ten tons per acre of an e!en finer soil than silt upon the fields he studied1 in addition to the other ser!ices he so eloquently eulo(i.es2 not the irri(ation of their carefully le!elled fields2 not the mi ed crops1 -ill form a bond more firmly ri!etin( peasants to peasants than

this Tsin( Tien System. What else1 indeed1 is the 7olkho0 System of the present Russians than the Tsin( Tien System modified to suit their imperati!e duty to pro!ide food and other soil7products for the hundred and more nemanufacturin( to-ns -hich -ere built to (i!e them their place amon(st the modern $o-ers1 and to equip them for the $o-er7-ar1 for -hich their rulers prepared -ith such mar!ellous speedA The Russian farmin( families ha!e the same pri!ate fields handed o!er to them for continuous o-nership and their partial subsistence. The central plot1 immensely lar(er thou(h it is than the ninth field of the "hinese sa(es1 is li)e that ninth field in that it is the State3s plot1 -or)ed co7operati!ely by the Russian farmin( families. Moreo!er1 the !ery dan(ers of the ;ol)ho. System1 in the pressure that perforce -as put upon it for lar(e and speedy returns by the threat of -ar1 -ill find their solution no-here better than in a study of "hinese methods. There can be no stron(er bond bet-een t-o hu(e1 nei(hbourin( terrene peoples1 the "hinese and the Russians1 than this bond of their peasantries. The "hinese themsel!es are also in (reat need of effecti!e bonds -ith their allies. 'nyone -ho has tal)ed to the "hinese leaders1 )no-s ho- ea(erly they loo) to the (reat -ater en(ineers of the %ritish 5mpire and the 6nited States1 for instruction to curb the de!astatin( floods of their (reat ri!ers1 especially the Bello- Ri!er2 to re7forest their barren catchment areas2 to refructify the fertile loess soil1 -hich -as the teemin( home of their first ancestors1 but is no- so miserably (i!en o!er to -aste2 and in a hundred other -ays to assist in the reconstruction of a distrau(ht farmin( people. 0o one of the allies1 then1 has so much to (i!e and so much to recei!e in the bonds of the soil as the "hinese. The Russians are the ne t oldest people of -ide dominions to the "hinese. ,!an ,> D'.*. #<997@4E1 ,!an the Terrible1 is no- heralded as one of the (reatest fathers of the Russian people. With ruthless determination1 he consolidated the Russian lands1 dro!e out the Mon(ols1 made the >ol(a into a Russian ri!er1 anne ed Siberia and made its lands so attracti!e to the Russian peasants that his successor to po-er1 %oris Godouno!1 issued an order stoppin( further mi(rations of peasant families. ,n "hapter #8 -e ha!e seen ho- the Russians had eroded !ast areas of their land more or less from the time of ,!an on-ards and mainly by the destruction of forests in order to open up ne- land. They did not e!en spare the -atersheds and their slopes. %ut the tempo of those days -as far slo-er than that of the modern Russians. Their need of cash for forei(n machinery led to the -holesale destruction of Russian and Siberian forests1 the timber of -hich -as

sold. The Steppe and other and lands did not offer the same inducement1 so1 -hile they -ere de!eloped and arid lands -ere reclaimed -ith sin(ular s)ill1 the forested lands -ere (ra!ely depleted. To the -arnin( of $rofessor ;orne!1 quoted by Messrs. Gac)s and Whyte1 the t-o authors added this comment/ 3The tractor plou(h is the enemy of (rassland in dry areas1 but is indispensable to the propa(andist in the moderni.ation of Russian a(riculture. Thou(h fore7-arned by the e perience of other countries1 it is difficult to ascertain if the authorities are a-are of the dan(er of mechani.ation.3 To -hat de(ree the Russians ha!e de(raded their farmed soil o-in( to the pressure of the -ar cannot yet be )no-n1 but it must be considerable2 it may be1 indeed1 the (reatest loss -hich they as !ictors in the -ar ha!e suffered. That they ha!e much to (i!e and much to recei!e from their allies in terms of the soil is clear. They can (i!e their e perience particularly in the reclamation of arid land2 they can (i!e the picture of land de!eloped under an economic system by -hich the land is de!eloped and farmed -ithout the burden of financial debt1 but -ith the help of their share of the State3s re!enues2 they -ere about to (i!e in their fourth Fi!e7Bear $lan a control of -ater of a stupendous character1 lin)in( to(ether the -aters of the north7flo-in( and south7flo-in( ri!ers1 as -ell as indi!idual ri!ers1 and the same -ith the ri!ers flo-in( east and -est1 perhaps1 to use $rofessor ;orne!3s -ords1 an act 3of the e cessi!e brea)in(7up of the topo(raphy31 the results of -hich can only be estimated by e perience. Bet1 on a small scale1 Mesopotamia once (a!e an e ample of unparalleled success in a lin)in( of ri!ers. So the Russians ha!e much to (i!e in terms of the soil. They ha!e also much to recei!e2 especially from the (reat -or) of the 'mericans of the 6nited States in the reclamation and conser!ation of arid lands1 and the re7(ro-th of forests upon -atersheds. They ha!e1 then1 many bonds to for(e in terms of the soil. The last t-o allies (i!e pictures of the de!elopment of farmin( of land under the dominion of money. The picture that they present has already been sufficiently illustrated in pre!ious chapters as one of pro(ressi!e destruction of life for temporarily successful financial farmin( and ranchin(. They ha!e both pursued the path of Rome -ith a tempo far e ceedin( that of Rome. Cne -riter1 indeed1 has stated that 0orth 'merica -ould1 at the pace set1 be turned into a Sahara -ithin a century. The rude fact is that neither the 'mericans nor the %ritish are yet ci!ili.ed in terms of the soil2 neither has yet learnt the meanin( of the Wisdom of the 5ast. Their use of their dominant money is too often nomadic. They in!est it in land

or other !entures for ersonal rofit and1 -hen profit fails to appear1 the pressed and o!er-or)ed land is abandoned1 and finance transfers itself to other !entures1 e!en such as the help of other countries to arm themsel!es in a preparation to fi(ht the !ery countries and peoples of the lendin( financiers themsel!es. %et-een the financiers and the nomads1 bet-een them and the practitioners of shiftin( culti!ation1 there is1 indeed1 !ery little difference in principle and in !alues in terms of the soil. Cnly the nomads of the past consciously ris)ed much more2 they ris)ed their li!es1 those of their -i!es and children1 their !ery e istence. The financial nomads1 on the other hand1 consciously ris)ed !ery little. They ris)ed much unconsciously2 their o-n li!es by enemy bombin(1 those of their -i!es and children1 their homes and the !ery safety and freedom of the countries in -hich they li!ed. The 'mericans of 0orth 'merica1 and especially the farmers of the 6nited States1 ha!e recently become -oefully a-are and alarmed at the results of nomadism on the soil1 of the free cuttin( do-n of forests1 of o!er7(ra.in( of the deforested land1 of the deep plou(hin( and mechanical farmin( of their prairies1 of the one7year tenures of farms -hich enable men to turn fertility into cash and1 -hen this land is de(raded1 to purchase ne- land in the (reat territories of fertile soil -hich are still theirs. They can ponder o!er special maps1 as -e pondered1 in "hapter =1 o!er the map of 'sia1 and read their fate in its distinctions. Such a special map of the 6nited States is to be found on pa(e <# of Messrs. Gac)s and Whyte3s no- famous -arnin( to the -orld. The land of little or no erosion is -hite1 the lands of erosion are (raded in shades to indicate its character and de(ree. Cne may -ell shudder at the supreme peril of this (reat people1 if one ponders on the human meanin( of this map. The -hite areas are so fe-2 they seem to co!er but a tenth of the map. The rest is eroded lands1 accordin( to their )ind and their de(ree1 to(ether -ith mountains1 mesas1 canyons1 and bad7lands. This !isual e!idence is enhanced by a number of photo(raphs1 -hich terrify the mind1 eased thou(h it is by the )no-led(e that -hat is happenin( points to a dread future1 to -hich our o-n span of life -ill not e tend. 30ot in our time1 : Lord13 but surely enou(h1 in our time1 and to many farmers -ho ha!e -itnessed their farms blo-n a-ay in storms of dust1 3in our time3 -ith a poi(nant reality. '(ainst this tale of home7destruction1 -ith the hauntin( fear it brin(s to farmers of the richest country in the -orld in money1 can no- be set the supreme achie!ement of the Tennessee >alley 'uthority1 -hich has brou(ht about in the !alley3s inhabitants a !eritable resurrection of the human spirit. Mr. Lilienthal does not fail to lay stress on this human chan(e7about and quotes these -ords from an editorial of a ne-spaper of 'labama1 one of the se!en

states/ 3We can -rite of the (reat dam ... of the buildin( of home7(ro-n industry and of electricity at last comin( to the farms of thousands of farm people in the >alley. 9et the significant advance has been made in the thinking of a eo le. They are no lon(er afraid. They have caught the vision of their own owers.3 This (ift of confidence1 one thin)s1 -ill be the outstandin( contribution of the 6.S.'. ,t has already attracted the )een interest of many (o!ernments of South 'merica1 5urope1 the 5ast and South 'frica. %ut1 if the men of the 6nited States ha!e much to (i!e1 they ha!e also much to learn from their 'llies. From the Russians1 they can learn the !alue of sa!in( the soil from the dominance of money2 from the "hinese1 the meticulous conser!ation of the soil1 the full rule of return1 and a(riculture as a national art2 and since they no- ha!e colonies2 from the %ritish1 the ri(ht and -ron( -ays of the treatment of tropical colonies1 and much else. The (ift of the %ritish to their allies is1 indeed1 unique in that they1 -ith their e tensi!e empire1 ha!e been brou(ht into relationship -ith all )inds and !arieties of terrene conditions. The %ritish ha!e the (reatest -orld7)no-led(e2 ran(in( from the many millions of ,ndia and their imperilment due to their relation of the soil1 -hich , ha!e described else-here in my Restoration of the $easantries1 #8982 from the !ast plains of "anada1 -hich share so fully the most dramatic dan(ers of the *ust %o-l of the 6nited States2 from the disasters that are afflictin( her 'ustralasian colonies2 from the erosion and de(radation of the fertile West ,ndian ,slands1 to the little t-in islands of the Fal)lands in the cold -aters of the South 'tlantic. They are1 indeed1 fortunate1 in comparison to their allies1 in that their homeland1 set in a temperate sea and ser!ed by a humid climate1 is almost free from the dan(ers of erosion. The problems of the reconstruction of its misused soil ha!e not the (i(antic proportions of the homelands of the other three. They1 therefore1 -ith the !ast !arieties of their e perience1 can act as bonds not only bet-een the 'llies1 but bet-een them and the -hole -ide -orld. Their )no-led(e of cold1 temperate and tropical soils and their peoples is not yet understandin( enou(h for them to be the bond that is needful1 but at least they possess the lin)s1 throu(h -hich that )no-led(e1 -hen reco(ni.ed and formulated1 can be diffused. With their contact -ith their allies and their contact -ith many lands and their peoples1 -ith their empire7made nei(hbours1 they1 li)e their (reat technical achie!ements1 are ma)in( the -orld one. The meetin( of the Four $o-ers1 then1 has potentially a far (reater meanin(

than the some-hat hac)neyed phrase of a "onference of $o-ers customarily con!eys. ,t is a meetin(1 not of ton(ues and diplomats of the countries they represent1 but of the soil of the -orld and of man)ind. ,t is a meetin(1 not of four (reat $o-ers only1 but of four (reat masses of men all -itnessin( the rebellion of the soil to its human treatment. They are se!erally not "hina1 but the "hinese -ith their forty centuries of farmin(2 not Russia1 but the Russians1 -ho first con+oined (reat tracts of t-o continents in one -hole and -ho are no- testin( -ays of treatin( their soils so as to form the basis of a ci!ili.ation of stability2 not the 6nited States1 but 'mericans1 people of yet another continent1 -ho are (atherin( their forces to(ether to stem the terror of an insulted !ir(in soil2 not %ritain1 but the %ritish1 -ho ha!e been marchin( upon the path of soil destruction so clearly mar)ed out by Rome1 but -ho1 -ith a li)e coura(e and enterprise to that (reat people1 lin) to(ether most parts of the habitable -orld. What a con+unction of opportunityJ The heart almost stops at the thou(ht that1 had the -ar ended as at one time it seemed it mi(ht end1 the future of the -orld -ould ha!e belon(ed to the Germans1 -ho1 shut in their history bet-een their southern and eastern nei(hbours and t-o cold northern seas1 ha!e none of the treasures of e perience -hich the Four 'llies can brin( to reconstruction. %ut to the Four 'llies are opened the (ate-ays of an opportunity to bless the -hole -orld as ne!er before. %eyond the mur) and rubble of the -ar2 beyond the last1 blea) restin( places of millions of heroic men2 beyond the ra.ed homes and shattered to-ns of 3the quiet people32 beyond the scorched acres and barren fields2 beyond the famines and their rei(n of death2 beyond all this horrible or(y of life7destruction1 is seen the !ista of the li!in( earth. as the source of the reconstruction of terrene man)ind. 't the (ate-ays stand sentinels a-aitin( the pass-ord 77 T45 SC,L.