RECONSTRUCTION OF VILLAGE LIFE 13 



his children away to save them from the blind 

 alley existence which he has led himself. 



The number of cottages which stand on only 

 two or three poles of ground is enormous, and yet 

 within a stone's throw of them there is often a 

 grass field or an arable field occupied by a farmer, 

 the former containing the cows which produce 

 the milk the villagers cannot buy, and the latter 

 growing a poor crop of wheat or oats, and 

 sometimes full of twitch and weeds. It is not 

 surprising that the villagers become embittered 

 when they see land, which they so sorely need 

 themselves and could make good use of, badly 

 farmed under their very noses. Resentment at 

 such a state of things is at the bottom of most 

 of the unrest and discontent among our rural 

 population. 



It is the existence of evils of this nature which 

 gives agitators a chance of catching the popular 

 ear with their sweeping and unpractical proposals. 

 It must be the task of those who have greater 

 knowledge, and at least equal sympathy, to re- 

 construct our village life and increase the 

 interests and opportunities of those living in the 

 villages. 



For this purpose, land near the village must 

 be available for every deserving inhabitant. 

 Every cottage should have at least one quarter 

 of an acre of garden, and there must be a 

 sufficient supply of land for allotments ; but 



