FEARGUS O'CONNOR'S ESTATES 141 



Lowbands and Snig's End have not been satisfac- 

 tory. When one examines into the conditions of 

 the latter places, one can hardly expect anything else, 

 for every single one of the conditions well known 

 to be essential to the success of any small-holding 

 scheme was ignored. It has been shown how, for 

 a small holding to succeed, either the conditions 

 must be such as to admit of an entire living on a 

 small area, or there must be some form of employ- 

 ment possible as an adjunct to the land. In the 

 light of this let us consider the situation of Snig's 

 End and Lowbands. They are situated in a purely 

 agricultural district, with no railway communication 

 and no markets ; the soil and climate are not 

 particularly adapted for market-gardening, and 

 there is no means for disposal of produce. Any 

 small holdings, therefore, could only be worked 

 profitably in connection with some other occupa- 

 tion. There were no opportunities for labour 

 beyond regular (as distinguished from piece) farm 

 work. A farm-labourer in regular work cannot 

 manage 3 acres of arable land by means of his 

 own labour, and there did not seem to be scope in 

 the district for more than a few of the jobbing type, 

 to whom a holding is of advantage to fall back 

 upon. 



The number of small holdings wanted, therefore, 

 in the district would be necessarily few, for besides 

 the jobbing labourer, the village artisan or small 

 tradesman would be the type of holder to be 

 benefited. Hence Snig's End, situated practically 



