346 EDITORIAL NOTES. [Oct. 



An Isle of Axiiolme Small Cultivatoe. — The Irkh Farmers' 

 Gazette, in discussing the question of small farms in England, cites 

 the following instance : — " In the parish of Sturton, Lincolnshire, 

 the occupiers of one acre and under are mostly labourers employed 

 on farms ; but particulars of his holding ^Ye^e given to Mr, Frederick 

 Impey, honorary secretary Allotments and Small Holdings Associa- 

 tion, Birmingham, by one whose sole occupation is his farm. Mr. 

 Impey has systematically inspected a large number of these small 

 holdings of various sizes, and states that the following may be taken 

 as a fair sample of the experience of a man who lives on a five-acre 

 farm. Thomas Bush is 65 years old, and 30 years ago there was 

 not enough for men to do, which made him wish for land of his own. 

 His wages were 12s. per week. He was married and had seven 

 children. He was a thrifty man, who, helped by his wife, managed 

 to save about £10 per year, and when it reached £100 of ready 

 money, he bought a property of five acres for £355 ; he let three 

 acres and worked one and a half acres, and having by this time got 

 work on the railway, where wages were better and savings conse- 

 quently greater, he was after a while able to take to all the land 

 and build a house for £130. The five acres are worked as three 

 fields, and the sales from it in 1884 — a year of prices 20 per cent, 

 under former averages — were 5 qrs. wheat, 7 qrs. barley ; pigs made 

 £19, straw over £4, and potatoes £5. The total of sales was £47. 

 For home use was kept pork, wdieat, potatoes, and poultry, worth £14 

 at least. The only outlay for the farm of any account was that for 

 pigs and their food of about £10. T. B. told me, as the best proof 

 of the return from his farm, that he had saved enough by farming to 

 pay off all his mortgage if he had not preferred to buy more land." 



The American Forestry Congress. — This Congress has issued 

 an address in preparation for the annual meeting at Boston on 

 September 22, 23, and 24, earnestly appealing to all patriotic 

 citizens to arouse public sentiment to the necessity of reform in the 

 utilization of American timber supply, and the treatment of American 

 forest lands. To effect reform in this line of economics the follow- 

 ing action is advocated : — 1. The thorough enlightenment of the 

 public on forestal reform. 2. To encourage further research and 

 instruction in forestry matters by the establishment of experiment 

 stations, the introduction of lectures or courses on forestry in schools 

 and colleges, the assiduous employment of the press in disseminating 

 correct practical information. 3. To promote and assist the forma- 

 tion of local associations for the purpose of furthering the true 

 interests of forestry in every State, teaching and encouraging a 



