ON THE LAND

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 590, 16 February 1929, Page 27

ON THE LAND

The Drift Citywards

NOT TO BE DEPLORED General Effect for Good DURING the past year or so political place-seekers and others have made much of the drift of population from the country to the towns. Tn this. New Zealand is not alone-tl-e movement is world-wide. Despite it, however statistics definitely prove production to be increasing, while the general standard of living of the people in the country shows a decided improvement. The blame, or otherwise, cannot be laid at the door of governments ; it is but a trend of the times.

PROFESSORS Mead and Ostrolenk, of Philadelphia, in their recently publisred work, “Harvey Baum, A Study of the Agricultural Revolution,” touched upon one of the predominating factors in the drift citywards. One of their conclusions is as follows: One man, two horses. 12in. walking plough, can plough 1.6 acres a day. One man. one tractor, 3-bottom gang plough can plough 8 to 10 acres a day. One man, 4 horses. 7ft. hinder, can harveMi. 15 acres a day. One man. one tractor, Bft. binder, <an harvest 25 acres a day. One man, one tractor, lOt't. binder, tan harvest 35 acres a day. These conclusions can be carried to Jfew Zealand. Twenty years ago the development of bush areas was in full swing in most parts of the Dominion. Men were required for scrub cutting bush felling, fencing, grassing and the numerous other jobs connected with pioneering. To-day the swaggie could walk for hundreds of miles without hearing of a job. Most of the development work is done, and, in any case, once the bush is down different methods are used. Proper stocking and the use of fertilisers now take the place of the scrub-cutter and the grass-sower, and give better results. There is little heavy bush coming down. On some of the big sheep blocks where it once required upwards of 50 men to carry on successfully, a mere handful do the work to-day. There is only a very limited demand for the army of more or less unskilled labour that was readily absorbed on the stations in pre-war days. These men are thus thrown back on the towns. On the smaller holdings where dairying and mixed farming is carried. a similar state of affairs prevails. Here machinery and modern methods have done much to reduce the wages bill and remove labour troubles. Yet. all the time, production is steadily increasing, and it is estimated that the modern farmer can handle at least three times as great an area as he could forty years ago, whatever style of farming he favours.

In no country has the drift citywards been greater than in TJ.S.A. The Department of Agriculture there estimated that, disregarding births and

deaths, the farm population has diminished by 4,000,000 since 1920; yet agricultural production has steadily increased. On this point the estimates of Professor Stewart, late of the Agricultural College, Minnesota, are very striking. Basing his conclusions on the movements since 1850 and the present day, he declares, “by 1950 no more farm workers will be required to provide food for a population of 150,000,000 than were required in 1850 for a population of 25,000,000.” This conclusion appears quite reasonable and in accord with the trend

over the past quarter of a century. There has been a drift citywards, hut production has not suifered, and the average standard of living of the country dweller has certainly improved. As in the days of the industrial revolution in England, so now with farming, business efficiency is being applied to the country and, in the process, a certain section of the community is suffering. The general effect certainly appears to be for good.