Page:Tales in Political Economy by Millicent Garrett Fawcett.djvu/47

 now be obtained as the result of a few hours' exertion. The corn-growers, so far as they are corn-consumers, will profit as much as all the rest of us in obtaining food as an almost free gift, as it were, from nature; every mouthful of bread which they eat in future will represent only a hundredth part of the sacrifice of labour and abstinence which was required to produce the wheaten bread. They will also share to the full the advantage which the discovery of the plantain-tree gives us in obtaining a new beverage, a much needed means of replenishing our clothing, and in preparing a great variety of vegetable food. It is true they will not obtain as much as they expected for their standing crops. But they will obtain something, and the increased wealth with which these plantain-trees have suddenly endowed us will enable us to give more in exchange for what we want than we could otherwise have done. There is no fear that our home-grown wheat will be wasted. As the demand for bread has been satisfied in a cheaper market, let me recommend those who are the possessors of wheat to try if they can-