294 'PRIVATE ENTERPRISE' 



to dwell in the town or village for the sake of such ' life,' 

 or, at least, such social intercourse, as it may afford, 

 working on the land during the day, and having the 

 opportunity of a little recreation in the evenings. There 

 are, however, many who would be quite willing to 

 discard the attractions (such as they are) of village life, 

 and settle down on the land, while alternatively the 

 holdings might be so far away from any village or town 

 that they could be cultivated efficiently only by persons 

 actually living upon them. Here it would be a question 

 of creating a new colony, the dwellings in which would 

 represent a fresh village, thus disposing of any feeling 

 of isolation, and satisfying the natural desire for human 

 fellowship. 



Any comprehensive scheme for a greater rural settle- 

 ment should, therefore, be based on the principle not 

 only of getting land for cultivation, but also of assuring 

 adequate housing accommodation, either (a) on the 

 land, or (b) in the neighbouring villages, according to 

 the circumstances of the case. The question does not 

 arise at Aylestone, where the allotments are small, and 

 dwellings are plentiful within a distance of a mile or so. 

 It does arise (as I have already intimated) to a certain 

 extent in South Lincolnshire, and it arises still more 

 in such a centre as Evesham. There one finds one of 

 the most desirable of districts from the point of view 

 of the small cultivator, and, in spite of all the progress 

 of late years, great scope for expansion still exists, 

 provided that the new-comers do not want to settle in 

 the immediate vicinity of the town, where the best 

 plots have already been taken up, but are willing to 

 go further afield. Evesham, however, affords a very 

 practical example of the two-fold nature of the general 

 problem. Available land there may be, but the supply 

 of available houses would seem to be exhausted. In 



