Appendix I.
The island of Guernsey in the English Channel, only from four to seven miles long, and three to four miles wide, supports a permanent population of 41,000 and an additional visiting population each year of about 30,000 persons. Only 11,623 acres are under cultivation, but if the glass houses and frames were placed in line they would extend for twenty-eight miles, or all around the island, and up the centre for almost its entire length, and would average about 10 feet in width. The farming lands are valued at twelve hundred dollars ($1200) an acre, and are rented at 10 per cent. of their value. The exports of this land in fruits, vegetables, flowers and cattle, amount to more than two and three-quarters millions ($2,752,000) annually. In addition to this, the farmers produce all that the 71,000 persons consume, as well as hay, oats and forage for horses and cattle; and about $500,000 worth of butter, poultry, eggs, pork and beef. At a conservative estimate, the island produces about four and a half millions’ ($4,500,000) worth of farm and garden stuff each year, or a little less than four hundred dollars’ ($400) worth to the acre.
Don’t you think we Americans, with our improved machinery and intelligence, can get much more out of our land—when we try?
If the State of New York were all cultivated and populated at that rate it would produce nearly $15,000,000,000 worth annually and sustain 233,641,473 people, or about three times the population of the entire United States. So we are not going to suffer from “over-population” or “pauper labor” just yet.