46 THE BUILDING QUESTION 



Let us consider how these considerations can be 

 applied to the whole question of small holdings. 

 In regard to small holdings and capital expenditure, 

 it is well known that one of the difficulties in 

 creating small holdings is the expense of the 

 buildings, which cannot be put up at such a price 

 as will afford a profitable investment to the land- 

 lord, viewed from a purely commercial standpoint. 

 Here again it is because he wishes to put up a 

 substantial enough building not only to last his 

 lifetime without undue repairs, but still be an asset 

 for his heirs. He also likes to see good buildings 

 on his estate, a shoddy erection being an eyesore 

 on a well-managed property. The result of this 

 is that, from want of means to satisfy these require- 

 ments, the idea is not carried out, and the present 

 generation of would-be small holders suffers. The 

 Dane on his freehold (and in some places the 

 Englishman when he has one) puts up at little 

 expense buildings efficient for his immediate pur- 

 pose, and if in the long run they tumble down, he 

 has meanwhile made his profit out of them, and 

 is free to march with the times and make new 

 arrangements for new requirements. 



There are frequent cases to be met with on 

 English estates where large farms have been put in 

 thorough repair at great expense by landlords, 

 which are not, since the times of depression, 

 realizing a rental proportionate to the cost. These 

 places would let well on a smaller scale, but the 

 money has been spent on the large farmhouse and 



