THE ECONOMIC SIZE 69 



For instance, in the south-eastern counties 

 both the smallest (1-5 acres) and the second 

 (5-50 acres) class increased, the latter by 

 some 2,000, or 13 per cent., between 1885 and 

 1905 ; and a tendency to the continuous 

 increase in this class is shown in two or three 

 other divisions. But all divisions alike show 

 a decrease of the largest class (over 300 acres) 

 and an increase of the 50-300 class. In 1912 

 the last-named class represented 59.3 per 

 cent, of the total acreage farmed in England 

 and Wales. 



The Predominant Size. 



The marked tendency of farming to gravi- 

 tate towards this class of holding can only 

 be ascribed to its superior suitability under 

 existing conditions. It is the survival of the 

 fittest. The average size of the farms included 

 in the class was 125 acres in 1912, and some 

 reasons for its predominance that suggest 

 themselves are that a farm of this size can be 

 economically worked with little labour and 

 yet is large enough to withstand the vicissi- 

 tudes of the seasons, which are apt to over- 

 whelm the man who farms on a smaller scale. 

 At the same time, it does not require too 

 much capital. It is a pity that the official 

 returns do not define some intermediate sizes 

 between the wide limits of 5-50 and 50-300 

 acres, which would make it possible to get 



