108 DISTRICTS OF CAMBRIDGESHIRE 



owing, no doubt, to the prevalent habit of acquiring 

 the freehold, which in the first instance probably 

 arose from the fact of land freely circulating in the 

 market, a circumstance which is brought about by 

 the absence of any very large estates. It is prob- 

 able, however, that when all the land has become 

 fully established under market-garden cultivation, 

 the price at which it will change hands will have a 

 tendency to rise very considerably ; and where 

 there is not the same opportunity for the small 

 man to create his own capital by labour on land 

 acquired originally at an agricultural value, it 

 becomes increasingly difficult for him to start on 

 a holding, when that implies laying down a large 

 capital sum. 



For the present, this Cambridgeshire district is 

 a splendid example of a natural evolution of small 

 holdings ; it shows how, when there are certain 

 initial qualifications combined with a free circula- 

 tion of land, no artificial interference is wanted ; 

 the best type of man gets on to a small holding 

 purely on his own merits, and the unfit are weeded 

 out in a natural manner. It must, however, be 

 taken into account that there is no competition for 

 land here against the bona fide cultivator, whether 

 for residential or other purposes, and therefore 

 there is not the same need for artificial interference 

 on his behalf as might conceivably be necessary to 

 safeguard his interests in other localities. 



