9O Large and Small Holdings 



the poultry, etc., supposing that dairying or poultry farming is carried 

 on for the market on a large scale. 



If this classification is valid it is evident that there will be to 

 a certain extent external marks of similarity between the holdings of 

 each particular class. Such marks, however, are very hard to define. 

 For instance, as regards the average area of the holdings, the allot- 

 ment holdings will as a rule include all holdings of less than an acre. 

 But even those of the first type, where the allotment is a mere 

 by-employment, may often cover as much as two or three acres. 

 The famous holding of " three acres and a cow " belongs to this type. 

 On the other hand a holding of a similar area may belong to the 

 second type, being the main, though not the sole, source of income 

 and employment. This is more especially the case in market- 

 gardening districts. The line between these enlarged allotments and 

 the small holding proper is very hard to draw. Whether the occupier 

 of a given area will or will not need to supplement his income by 

 some by-employment will depend on the most various circumstances; 

 as for example on the quality of the soil, the branch of production 

 adopted, the number of mouths in the family, and so forth. Where 

 fruit and vegetables are grown five acres may suffice to enable their 

 holder to live very comfortably 1 . The same is sometimes the case 

 where dairying is the object 2 . But as a rule a larger area is required 

 for a self-sufficing pasture farmer, and the border between allotments 

 and small holdings may lie as high as at 10, 20 or even 25 acres. 

 This is the case in such grass counties as Herefordshire, Derbyshire, 

 Cheshire etc. 3 In arable districts the line must be drawn even higher. 

 In the Isle of Axholme 50 or 60 acres was regarded as the minimum 

 necessary for a thriving arable farmer having no by-employment. 

 The outward appearance of a small holding may thus vary greatly, 

 and it is evident that mere statistics tell very little as to the economic 



1 Small Holdings Report, 1889, qu. 5887. 



2 Mr P. Petitt's farm, Hilden Park Dairy, Tonbridge, Kent, is or was such an one. He 

 held in 1903 five acres of pasture, and kept (of course using stall-feeding) 10 12 cows, 

 doing all the work himself with the aid of his son and two daughters. 



3 Stirton, op. cit. p. 93 : " Experience has shown that a pasture holding of fifteen to 

 twenty acres is sufficient to furnish the entire means of livelihood to one family." Also 

 W. E. Bear, A Study of Small Holdings, p. 44 : " Several authorities on the subject 

 declared that a family could live comfortably... on 20 acres, without working for wages." 

 See also Report of 1894, Vol. I, qu. 5106, 5109, 5207 ff. (Mr G. Murray on Derbyshire) : 

 "If he had 16 acres he would keep four cows, and he would occupy his whole time, and 

 would not work to earn any rent outside his own occupation." See also qu. 5585 ; 4427 ; 

 3465 etc. 



