COUNTY VARIATIONS 57 



notice are now the objects of close scrutiny 

 and official regulation. This has worked in 

 two ways, in the condemnation of old houses 

 and in the discouragement of building new 

 ones. Another condition tending to diminish 

 the supply of cottages available in some dis- 

 tricts is the occupation of existing ones by 

 other classes such as townspeople on holi- 

 day, railwaymen, servants attached to coun- 

 try houses, golf caddies and ground men. 



These considerations explain the deficiency 

 in a general way, but they afford no guide to 

 its extent. Nor is any precise information 

 available on the subject, although attention 

 was drawn to it nearly 30 years ago in the 

 evidence given before the Housing Commis- 

 sion of 1885, and since then various inquiries 

 have been held. In 1906 a circular inquiry 

 produced the following replies from 199 

 districts : Accommodation inadequate, 56 ; 

 adequate, iii ; in excess, 32. A more com- 

 prehensive return was obtained in 191 1 by 

 the National Land and Home League, which 

 circularised all the rural district councils 

 in England and Wales. Replies sufficiently 

 complete to use were received from 289 

 councils in 31 counties. Of these 181 reported 

 a dearth of cottages and 107 the contrary. It 

 appears from this that the state of things had 

 certainly not improved between 1906 and 

 191 1, The proportion of districts with suffi- 



