352 DO THE RAILWAYS HELP THE FARMERS? 



structive circular, as showing the attitude of the 

 railways towards the farmers, is in respect to the 

 rates for stable and town manure. For the con- 

 veyance of this commodity from Nine Elms in 

 6-ton lots, station to station, the London and 

 South Western Railway Company charge per 

 ton (to give only a few instances) to Alton, 47 

 miles, 3s. 3d. ; Basingstoke, 48 miles, 3s. 2d. ; 

 Bursledon (a great strawberry growing district), 

 80 miles, 4s. ; Fleet, 37 miles, 2s. 8d. ; Guildford, 

 30 miles, 2*. 2d. ; Mottisfont, 78 miles, 4s. ; 

 Petersfield, 55 miles, 3s. 6d. ; and so on. Rates 

 such as these (and on other systems they are 

 about the same) should confer a great advan- 

 tage on the farmers, and especially those at a 

 distance from London ; but they offer no direct 

 gain to the railway company, more especially 

 as the waggons used for conveying the manure 

 cannot be utilized for back loading, and therefore 

 run the double journey for the single small 

 charge. The railway companies, however, regard 

 a plentiful use of manure as likely not only to 

 benefit agriculture but also to bring them larger 

 freights later on, and they accordingly quote 

 terms which, but for the possible subsidiary 

 advantages, would be altogether unremunera- 



tive. 



The examples thus far given have illustrated 



