66 



Large and Small Holdings 



suited them for grass-farming, as in Cumberland and Westmorland 1 . 

 Unfortunately, the movement cannot be statistically traced throughout 

 the period. The figures only begin in 1870; that is to say they are 

 only available for its last ten years. In the following table 2 some of 

 the figures for the year 1885 are also given, for the reason that the 

 classification then adopted is more suitable for comparison with that 

 of 1870 than is the classification of the intervening years. The number 

 of holdings was : 



This table shows a movement in three directions. In the first 

 place, between 1870 and 1885 there is a marked increase in the very 

 small holdings of a quarter of an acre up to five acres. In the second 

 place, there is a considerable decrease in the holdings of 5 20, 

 20 50 and 50 100 acres. Finally there is a great increase in 

 holdings of 100 acres and over. 



Disregarding the allotment-holdings and the smallest farms, these 

 statistics therefore confirm the evidence of the official reports and the 

 agricultural experts. The fact that the very small holdings increased 

 does not justify any conclusion that the small farm system properly 

 so-called was extending. Such holdings as a rule belong to men whose 

 agricultural activities form neither their main work nor the chief 

 source of their income. More especially at this period, when market- 

 gardening still played so small a part, it is not to be supposed that 

 holdings of a quarter of an acre to five acres could be anything but a 

 by-employment for their occupiers. Moreover, these occupiers were 

 not all interested in their land from a capitalist point of view : they 

 held it largely from social and not from economic motives. The 

 wealth of all classes had rapidly increased between 1846 and 1870. 

 Therewith arose a large number of persons in the lower classes who 



1 C. Webster, in Journal R. A. S., 2nd series, Vol. iv (1868), p. 8; and T. Farrall, ibid., 

 Vol. x (1874), p. 416. 



8 See the Agricultural Returns for the various years. 



