Economics of the Size of Farms 163 



labourer, finds spade-culture much less expensive than would the 

 occupier of a larger holding. To the latter the cost is prohibitive 1 . 



The question of machinery does not enter into this sphere except 

 so far as potato-growing, a subject to be considered below, is concerned : 

 so that the large farmer gains nothing from his capacity for acquiring 

 expensive machines. In regard of these crops human labour is the 

 essential matter, and more particularly those qualities of human 

 labour which can least be replaced by mechanical means. Fruit and 

 vegetable crops thrive best where every individual plant, bush, tree or 

 fruit has received the greatest amount of individual care and attention. 

 Standardised treatment, such as is possible in the case of corn, is out 

 of the question here. The constant watchfulness of the labourer and 

 a loving attention to every detail are what is needed 1 . In other words, 

 a different kind of labour is required for this branch of agriculture, 

 namely work of a qualitative intensity. Ploughing, harrowing, drilling, 

 sowing, reaping and so on are processes which allow of more or less 

 mechanical activity on the part of the worker. But in setting plants, 

 cutting cabbages, choosing out ripe fruit or properly grown vegetables, 

 picking and packing soft fruit, etc., care and intelligence are indispens- 

 able. The treatment of fruit-trees and the successful cultivation of 

 garden-fruit also make great demands on the attention of the worker. 

 But the less mechanical work there is to be done, the less suitable is 

 hired labour. " Fruit-growing and market-gardening would not be so 

 prosperous were it not for the attention given to the crops by the 

 excellent and hardworking cultivators of Evesham and district," says 

 the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society 3 . Personal interest is 

 the only force strong enough to call out the care, attention and pains- 

 taking exactness required for petit culture. It is not enough for this 

 personal interest to be directed to the mere organisation of work 

 which is to be mechanically carried out by other men's labour, as 

 in corn-growing ; it must be concentrated on the actual labour itself. 

 The greater the share of the work taken by the occupier and his 

 family, the better will the conditions be fulfilled which are essential 

 to success. This explains why this branch of agriculture is proper to 

 small holdings ; the personal labour of the occupier can naturally only 

 be applied over a limited area. 



Accordingly it is found to be the general rule in England, that 

 the larger farmers, who undertake corn-growing and pasture-farming, 



1 R. Scott Burn, Systematic Small Farming, 1886, pp. 159 f. 



2 James Long, A Handbook etc., pp. 129, 131. 



3 Journal R. A. S., 1908, p. 104. 



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