CONDITION OF ENGLISH FARMERS. 55 



There is a Central Chamber, subordinate to which are 

 County Chambers ; and these, in turn, are the superiors of the 

 local or district Chambers. These organizations are of 

 quite recent growth, and the interest taken in them is im 

 mense. 



CONDITION OF ENGLISH FARMERS. 



It must be borne in mind that, in England, the relation 

 of the farming class to the community at large is widely 

 different from that which exists in our own country. There, 

 the greater proportion of the farming land is in the hands 

 of a few large proprietors, who rent their farms to a class of 

 men, in nearly every case, possessing considerable capital. 

 It is an actual fact that one hundred and sixty families own 

 more than half of England, four-fifths of Scotland, and an 

 immense proportion of Wales and Ireland. 



The farmers of England, as a class, do not themselves 

 work, but confine their personal share in the farm details to 

 superintending the small army of laborers, (as an American 

 farmer would consider them), who are the actual workers. 



The parts of England which are suitable for modern, 

 scientific farming, are few in number and not large in area. 

 The smallness and irregular shapes of the inclosures, the 

 diversified surface of the country, and the closeness with 

 which each foot of ground has to be worked in order to 

 realize a profit, in many cases preclude the employment of 

 machinery. Hitherto, there has been little inducement 

 to the English farmer to adopt the latter. Labor has been 

 plentiful and cheap, and the prices of produce have gen 

 erally been good. 



Still, the present condition of most English farmers is 

 yery far from being satisfactory. Ground down by rent, 



