ABSTRACT
‘Efficient economic organisation’, said Leonard Elmhirst, ‘is essential to that high standard of social existence within which all individuals may grow and flourish.’ Leonard’s mind harboured another idea he thought intrinsic to efficiency — the need for scientific experiment. Leonard was particularly keen to experiment in Britain with an American-style poultry farm. He had studied poultry at Cornell, and he hoped that by following their methods a new way forward might be found for Britain. Like the International Conference, Political and Economic Planning continued to thrive throughout Leonard’s life. Leonard was fond of trees. He liked other people who liked trees and if the kind of people who did so numbered amongst themselves members of the aristocracy that was no disadvantage either. He also worked in the woods himself in a way he could not easily do on the farms.
