Fortunes for Farmers 



severely than his large neighbour. On a large, 

 well-managed place economy is possible to the 

 tenant. He can buy and sell on a large scale to 

 advantage; he will save labour in all directions, 

 buying threshing machines, drills, or steam 

 ploughs. The really shrewd man will specialize 

 and become a potato or seed merchant, a cattle, 

 sheep, or horse breeder, or an exporter of pedigree 

 rams; whilst his farm and business will grow with 

 his organizing ability; but such men are rare. Not 

 many can farm more than 200 acres of good 

 land to the greatest advantage. 



A promising field open to our small holders 

 is co-operation. In Belgium and Denmark, small 

 men form societies to buy their seeds and manures, 

 to hire or purchase costly machinery, and market 

 their produce. The strides of this movement 

 abroad in recent years are enormous, and as a 

 nation we are sadly behind. 



The least promising feature about small hold- 

 ings is the insecurity of their base. They were 

 called into being by the population of our cities, 

 who demand an ever-growing supply of potatoes, 

 cabbages, celery, and fruit, but some unforeseen 

 cause may disarrange the system at any moment. 

 The steamship nearly ruined our farmers, the 

 refrigerator dealt a grievous blow at sheep 

 breeding, and at each advance in communication 



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