338 THE FUTURE OF OUR AGRICULTURE. 



there were fifty cows there are now 200; other live stock 

 in proportion.^ And the old barns would not hold a tithe 

 of the produce now raised. The productive power of the 

 districts concerned has greatly increased. And the general 

 aspect of things has as greatly improved. Such settlement 

 has decidedly proved a success. 



One of the pre-eminently satisfactory effects of small 

 holdings observed elsewhere is, indeed, not to be seen in 

 these particular settlements, for the very plain reason that 

 they were formed, so to speak, in vacuo, on previously scarcely 

 inhabited spots, removed from populous places. For this 

 reason they were formed of varying, but on the whole of 

 a fairly good size, so as to make every holding self-suiBcient. 

 Even so, after a time it was found necessary to come down 

 from the high scale to one of smaller settlements designed 

 for persons who had other employment — wherever there 

 was such employment. Thus I found a settlement near 

 Bromberg, intended for railway men, composed of holdings 

 of about 3 1 acres each. That is not nearly as small 

 as holdings are to be met with in Western Germany, where 

 the}^ shade off gradually to mere allotments. Now, judged 

 from a genuinely democratic point of view, combination of 

 agriculture with other employment, whether it be home 

 trade or salaried employment elsewhere in an industrial 

 establishment, is in truth an ideal combination of conditions. 

 For, on the holding itself, much of the produce of which 

 presumably goes to feed the holder and his family, it combines 

 the two great essentials of good business — the cheapest 

 possible production with the dearest disposal at the ulti- 

 mate market of consumption. Production on the spot is 

 cheap because the labour bestowed can scarcely be put 

 down at any value, being, to a good extent, moreover, 

 merely healthy recreation. 



* On one property the population of 320 increased at a bound to 

 45J ; the number of horses kept went up from 40 to 150 ; the 

 number of cattle from 80 to xjoo ; the number of pigs from 100 to 

 920. For another property the corresponding figures are : 281 and 

 307 ; 30 and 125 ; 80 and 360 ; 200 and 1,200. For a third : 152 

 and 452 ; Co and 100 ; 230 and 452 ; 126 and 1,102. 



