PEASANT PROPRIETARY 233 



;^I50. The yield per acre of all produce is larger — 

 in some cases very much larger — than in England. 

 This is accounted for by the intensity of the culture 

 of the soil of Guernsey. After giving due weight to 

 the small difference in climate and to other considera- 

 tions, Mr. Collenette sums up his very exhaustive 

 treatment of the subject by saying : — 



" The real reasons of Guernsey's success are to be 

 found in the smallness of the holdings and the energy 

 of the men."^ 



Taking the opinions of the most eminent writers in 

 every country on the subject, and the actual experience 

 and results of the different systems of cultivation 

 throughout the world, it is clear that if peasant farm- 

 ing is again to have sway in the rural economy of 

 England, it must be based on ownership. As Adam 

 Smith puts it : "A small proprietor, however, who 

 knows every part of his little territory, who views it 

 with all the affection which property, especially small 

 property, naturally inspires, and who upon that account 

 takes pleasure not only in cultivating but in adorning 

 it, is generally of all improvers the most industrious, 

 the most intelligent, and the most successful." — 

 "Wealth of Nations " (Vol. II, p. 137, nth edition, 

 1805). 



* These and other notes were taken at the meeting, but the whole 

 address, which is a lengthy one, is now printed and pubhshed in 

 pamphlet form — " Agriculture and Horticulture," by A. Collenette, 

 Consulting Agricultural Chemist. (Fredk. Clarke, Guernsey.) 



