The Landowner 



There is an axiom in the commercial world 

 which is equally applicable to estate manage- 

 ment : " When the head of a business can no 

 longer grasp all its details then that business is 

 on too large a scale for economic working." I 

 do not for one moment suggest that the land- 

 owner should dispense with the land agent, for 

 a go-between is essential ; but I do hold that he 

 should himself have a thorough knowledge of 

 estate management, and should be able to 

 supervise all that takes place ; and above all, 

 that he should be competent to devise new 

 methods of developing his estate to suit the 

 changing conditions of the times. 



On the whole I am inclined to think that in 

 the case of a large estate of 15,000 or 20,000 

 acres, the best plan is to have a highly qualified 

 resident agent rather than to entrust its con- 

 duct to a firm of agents ; the manager on the 

 spot should generally prove less costly, and 

 there is now a good available supply of well- 

 trained and up-to-date agents. 



I quite recognise that there exist numerous 

 firms of land agents, excellent in every respect, 

 who often send their junior members to reside 

 on smaller estates. Still the danger remains 

 that a firm will be tempted to undertake the 

 management of more land than its individual 

 members can give proper attention to. But the 

 worst plan of all is to entrust the management to 



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