232 FIELD AND HEDGEROW, 



from what they were thirty years since, when they 

 first donned their uniforms. The railways may bring 

 their books and any number of their officers to prove 

 that everything is perfectly satisfactory, but the 

 feeling remains, nevertheless, that it is exactly the 

 contrary. 



Look at the map, and place the finger on any of the 

 spaces between the lines of rail. Take, then, the case of 

 a farmer in the midst of that space, not more than five 

 or six miles from the metals, and able at times to hear 

 the distant whistle of the engines, but not less than eight 

 from a station. This present season he finds his wheat 

 damaged by the rain after it was cut, and he comes to 

 the conclusion that he must supplement his ordinary 

 crops by some special culture in order to make his way. 

 On the last occasion he was in a large city he was much 

 struck by the quantity of fruit which he found was im- 

 ported from abroad. The idea naturally occurs to him 

 of setting aside some ten or twenty acres of his holding 

 of four hundred or five hundred for the culture of fruit. 

 He goes to his landlord, who is only too willing to give 

 him every facility, provided that no injury be done to 

 the soil. He faces the monstrous injustice of the extra- 

 ordinary tithes, and expends fresh capital in the plant- 

 ing of various kinds of fruit. 



In places at that distance from a station labour is 

 dear relative to the low profit on the ordinary style of 

 farming, but very cheap relative to the possible profits 

 on an improved and specialised system. The amount 

 of extra labour he thus employs in the preparation of the 

 ground, the planting, cleaning, picking, and packing, is 

 an inestimable boon to the humbler population. Not 

 only men, but women and children can assist at times, 

 and earn enough to add an appreciable degree of comfort 



