Page:Irish Emigration and The Tenure of Land in Ireland.djvu/189

Rh the less perfect cultivation of 6 acres. In other words, whereas in Ireland it takes four men to raise 15 tons of grain off 24 acres, in England only two men are required to raise 16 tons off 23 acres.

Now, whatever allowance it may be desirable to make for the diversity of conditions under which husbandry is prosecuted in the two countries, or with however light a touch the comparison is applied, it is evident that if the area under cultivation in Ireland were treated with the same skill, energy and intelligence as is employed on the soil of England, a far larger amount of produce might be obtained with a far fewer number of hands. But it is urged that it is unfair to argue that because great economy of labour is practicable on the large farms of England, a similar rule can be applied to the small subdivisions of Ireland. If this were indeed the case, it would be