STEPPING-STONES 327 



allotments which must be regarded as an almost indis- 

 pensable preliminary thereto in the vast majority of 

 cases. The question of how the small holdings should 

 be held is one that I have already discussed in detail ; 

 but one thing absolutely necessary to success in any 

 scheme of land settlement, whatever the basis on which 

 it is laid down, is that, if the producers grow for sale, 

 and not simply for domestic consumption, they should 

 form part of an organized body. They must avoid 

 unnecessary cost in production ; they must be able to 

 take advantage of the lowest railway rates available ; 

 and they must get the best possible returns on the sale. 

 All these advantages can be secured by means of organi- 

 zation only, especially if they represent a group of very 

 small producers, any one of whom might have a small 

 quantity of produce which it would not pay to send to 

 market by itself. A group of 50 or 100, operating in 

 common, would get advantages impossible of attain- 

 ment so long as each acted independently, and the profits 

 on agricultural produce are, as a rule, such as will not 

 allow of prudent men neglecting any reasonable oppor- 

 tunity for increasing them. The individual cultivator 

 in the country may be exceptionally skilled in the art 

 of growing a crop ; but, apart from the question of the 

 quantity of stuff he produces, he may know little or 

 nothing of the art of marketing, and be no match at all 

 for the shrewd and clever dealers in the town, who 

 know everything about that particular subject that is 

 worth knowing. As a ' unit ' he is in their power. As 

 a member of an organized body, he has a better chance 

 of marketing to advantage. 



If, in addition to the ordinary agricultural societies 

 for combined purchase and sale, co-operative credit 

 banks could be more generally established, the prospects 

 of good results being secured would be greatly in- 



