CHAPTER V 



THE UNIT OF HOLDING UNDER THE NEW CONDITIONS 



THE period of almost a hundred and twenty years of predominant 

 corn-production had witnessed a development of agricultural holdings 

 which closely corresponded to the peculiarities of that branch of 

 agriculture. With the remarkable transformation of agricultural pro- 

 duction since about 1880, the unit of holding has undergone changes 

 no less revolutionary in character. But before these can be described, 

 it is necessary to classify the various types of holding to be found 

 in England at the present day. A scientific basis for such a classifi- 

 cation is by no means easy to find. Even Arthur Young avoided 

 the obvious error of founding it on mere area : but the distinguishing 

 mark which he adopted, viz. the number of ploughs or horses 

 employed, was not much less mechanical. No one, however, seems 

 as yet to have done much better. 



Fortunately there appears to be no need to establish a perfect 

 classification, such as would prove adequate for all possible purposes. 

 The distinction adopted here will have reference only to certain 

 marks which, though not belonging strictly to certain types of holding 

 and to them alone, do serve adequately to characterize such types. 

 They concern the holding first as a source of income and secondly as 

 a field of activity for its occupier. 



In the first place there are many holdings distinguished from all 

 others by the fact that the occupier neither draws his whole income 

 from them nor gives his whole time to them. These are perhaps 

 best classed under the well-known name of allotment holdings, though 

 they include a good number which are larger than the allotment 

 properly so-called. The point is that they are of such a size that 

 they cannot 1 either fully employ their occupier nor provide him and 



1 The occupier of a large farm is often also neither fully employed by it nor confined to 

 it for his income. But in his case there is the possibility of finding full employment and 

 full subsistence on his holding, and this is what is lacking in the case of the allotment. 



