OWNERSHIP AND TENANCY. 131 



Small holdings flourished in counties where the wages were 

 low ; in high-wage counties there was no desire for small 

 holdings. He was not sure that it was the life we should 

 offer to people in rural districts if they had to work early 

 till late. Little had been made of the point that if there 

 were great changes in mechanical science it would not be 

 possible for small holders to buy machines except with the 

 development of co-operation. Small holdings might be 

 one way of attracting men to the land, but probably it was 

 not the best way. 



Mr. Christopher Turnor read several answers to a question- 

 naire he had circulated to small holders in all counties in 

 England. Many said they were successful, but suggested 

 among other things that the Danish system should be adopted, 

 credit banks supplied, expert advice made available, and 

 co-operation encouraged. He referred to a small holding 

 run by a Dane which showed a profit last year of 16 per 

 acre. He said he farmed 500 acres, but could not show such 

 a profit. Were small holdings economic ? He thought they 

 were from a financial point of view, but if we took the 

 broader meaning that wealth meant welfare there was 

 no possible doubt as to their advantage. 



So many men, so many opinions. The controversy is 

 perennial. My recollections of agricultural discussions at 

 various places where men meet and talk go back to the early 

 " eighties," when the relations of landlord and tenant, the 

 relative advantages of large and small farms, the economic 

 disabilities and sociological benefits of small holdings and 

 all the issues implied in the phrase Land Tenure were bandied 

 about in ardent and conflicting advocacy. To adapt Omar 

 Khayyam : 



Myself when young did eagerly frequent 



Farmers and farms, and heard great Argument 



About it and about : but evermore 

 Came out by the same Door as in I went. 



But time has brought changes. Never before, until the 

 Agricultural Club brought them together, have these 

 subjects been discussed by landowners, large farmers, small 



