62 THE SHADOW OF THE WORLD’S FUTURE 
of her very mountainous territory. Spain and Portugal 
live practically within themselves. Great Britain, 
Belgium, Holland, Italy, France and Germany, on 
the other hand, are supporting their populations largely 
by the exchange of industrial products for food-stuffs. 
Before the Great War, Russia and Rumania, and both 
before and since the war, Australia, the Argentine, 
Canada and India have supplied great quantities of 
food-stuffs to the industrial countries, and could prob- 
ably supply much more whenever world-conditions 
are favourable. 
The fallacy of a somewhat common assumption, 
viz., that all countries are virtually living, or can live, 
on their agricultural activity, has been clearly pointed 
out by Prof. East. The crude form of error in esti- 
mates is that a country tilling so many acres is support- 
ing its entire population thereon, and the balance 
untilled could support per unit of area the same 
numbers. Japan, for example, East estimates, feeds 
only 40 millions through the use of her cultivated 
areas. In the cases shown hereunder his estimates are 
that the proportions fed through the country’s own 
agriculture are as follows :— 
Germany, 72 per cent.; France, 70 per cent.; Italy, 
64 per cent.; and Belgium 37 per cent. 
and that on the average the area, expressed in acres, 
devoted to the support of one person is actually 
Germany, 2-0; France, 2-3; Italy, 2-4; and Belgium, 
Ferr. 
Higher estimates exist for France; and it is to be noted 
that Germany’s recent improvements in agriculture, 
by planting out seedlings, etc., will no doubt enable 
her to meet the agricultural needs of her people more 
fully. East suggests that for the world as a whole, 
2-5 acres per person are necessary. °° Can this be