Without entering on the disputed question of the comparative productiveness of large and small farms, it ought to be remembered, in the first place, that the economic advantage of the large farm-the reason why the large farmer has been able to offer a higher rent than the smaller-is not so much because he produces more, as because he can afford to produce less; and, in the next place, that the small farmer has heretofore wrought, not only with worse appliances than the large-which perhaps he must always do-but also with less knowledge of the theory of his art, and worse conditions of tenure-in both of which respects we may look for improvement in the immediate future.
"Contemporary Socialism"
John Rae
A great deal has been said in Parliament of late about broadening the basis of taxation, but that is a very difficult thing to do suddenly, without dislocating the commercial as well as the fiscal system; and while the existing taxes are elastic up to a certain point, an attempt to raise them too much would diminish rather than increase their productiveness.
"The Government of England (Vol. I)"
A. Lawrence Lowell
During the ninety-two years of English occupancy, the group has steadily increased in population, wealth, and productiveness.
"The Story of Malta"
Maturin M. Ballou