第108章
This also brings about in the end a rise in the price of meat. "Men who have mainly reared cattle for supplying the pastures of the Midland counties in summer， and the yards of the eastern counties in winter . . . have become so crippled through the uncertainty and lowness in the prices of corn that they are glad to take advantage of the high prices of butter and cheese；the former they take to market weekly to help to pay current expenses， and draw on the other from some factor， who takes the cheese when fit to move， and， of course， nearly at his own price. For this reason， remembering that farming is governed by the principles of Political Economy， the calves which used to come south from the dairying counties for rearing， are now largely sacrificed at times at a week and ten days old， in the shambles of Birmingham， Manchester， Liverpool， and other large neighbouring towns.
If， however， malt had been free from duty， not only would farmers have made more profit and therefore been able to keep their stock till it got older and heavier， but it would have been substituted for milk for rearing by men who did not keep cows， and thus the present alarming scarcity of young cattle which has befallen the nation would have been largely averted.
What these little men now say， in reply to recommendations to rear， is， 慦e know very well it would pay to rear on milk， but it would first require us to put our hands in our purse， which we cannot do， and then we should have to wait a long time for a return， instead of getting it at once by dairying.' " ( Ibid .， pp. 11 and 12.)If the prolongation of the turnover has such consequences for the small English farmers， it is easy to see what disarrangement it must produce among the small peasants of the continent.
The part of the value transferred in layers by the fixed capital to the product accumulates， and the return of this part is delayed， in proportion to the length of the working period and thus also of the period of time required for the completion of the commodity capable of circulation.
But this delay does not cause a renewed outlay of fixed capital. The machine continues to function in the process of production， whether the replacement of its wear and tear in the form of money returns slowly or rapidly. It is different with the circulating capital. Not only must capital be tied up for a rather long time， in proportion to the length of the working period， but new capital must be continually advanced in the shape of wages， and raw and auxiliary materials. A delayed return has therefore a different effect on each. No matter whether the return is rapid or slow， the fixed capital continues to function. But the circulating capital becomes unable to perform its functions， if the return is delayed， if it is tied up in the form of unsold， or unfinished and as yet unsaleable products， and if no additional capital is at hand for its renewal in kind.
"While the peasant farmer starves， his cattle thrive. Repeated showers had fallen in the country， and the forage was abundant. The Hindoo peasant will perish by hunger beside a fat bullock. The prescriptions of superstition， which appear cruel to the individual， are conservative for the community； and the preservation of the labouring cattle secures the power of cultivation， and the sources of future life and wealth. It may sound harsh and sad to say so， but in India it is more easy to replace a man than an ox." (Return， East India， Madras and Orissa Famine. No. 4， p. 44.) Compare with the preceding the utterance of Manava Dharma Sastra， [Manava Dharma Sastra or Manu laws -- an ancient Indian religious， legal and ritual code which determined the duties of every Hindu in keeping with the tenets of Brahmanism. The compilation of these laws is traditionally attributed to Manu， the mythical progenitor of man. Marx quotes from Manava Dharma Sastra， or the Institutes of Manu According to the Gloss of Kulluka， Comprising the Indian System of Duties， Religious and Civil， third edition， Madras， 1863， p. 281. -- Ed .] Chapter X， §； 62. "Desertion of life， without reward， for the sake of preserving a priest or a cow . .
. may cause the beatitude of those base-born tribes."Naturally， it is impossible to deliver a five-year-old animal before the lapse of five years. But what is possible， within certain limits， is getting animals ready for their destination in less time by changing the way of treating them. This is precisely what Bakewell accomplished.
Formerly English sheep， like the French as late as 1855， were not fit for the butcher until four or five years old. According to the Bakewell system， sheep may be fattened when only one year old and in every case have reached their full growth before the end of the second year. By careful selection， Bakewell， a Dishley Grange farmer， reduced the skeleton of sheep to the minimum required for their existence. His sheep are called the New Leicesters.
". . . the breeder can now sent three to market in the same space of time that it formerly took him to prepare one； and if they are not taller， they are broader， rounder， and have a greater development in those parts which give most flesh. Of bone， they have absolutely no greater amount than is necessary to support them， and almost all their weight is pure meat." (Lavergne， The Rural Economy of England， etc .， 1855， p. 20.)The methods which shorten the working periods are applicable in various branches of industry to a widely varying extent and do not eliminate the time differences of the various working periods. To stick to our illustration， the working period required for the building of a locomotive may be absolutely shortened by the employment of new machine-tools. But if at the same time the finished product turned out daily or weekly by a cotton-spinning mill is still more rapidly increased by improved processes， then the working period in machine-building， compared with that in spinning， has nevertheless grown relatively in length.