ii4 THE FARMER'S OUTLOOK 



at from another point of view the higher values 

 tempt the farmer to slaughter breeding stock and 

 young cattle before they are ripe. Nor will the 

 higher prices for wheat received in recent years 

 act as a sufficient inducement to increased arable 

 cultivation. Unless agricultural production 'is 

 directly stimulated by the action of the State 

 in some form, we cannot expect an imme- 

 diate increase in the production of home- 

 grown food-stuffs, or one adequate to the urgent 

 needs of the present situation. 



The two outstanding features of British 

 agriculture in recent years have been the large 

 areas of land coming into the market, a large 

 proportion of which has passed into the hands of 

 occupying owners. The other feature being the 

 Small Holdings movement. 



The Small Holdings Act, under which 154,977 

 acres have been acquired, may be summarised 

 as having created two classes of tenants. The 

 first class are those who have availed themselves 

 of the Act to become tenants of accommodation 

 plots of land, and the other class those who have 

 become tenants with the definite object of making 

 a livelihood out of their holdings. The farming 

 community as a whole welcomes the advent of 

 new producers in spite of the disturbance of many 

 sitting tenants which the Act has entailed. 

 Though some of the small holders have begun 



