132 AGRICULTURE AND TARIFF REFORM. 



mean? It means that the whole of this country- 

 must be cut up into small holdings, with the view 

 of supplying ourselves with butter, &c, Now, 

 readers are already aware that we are as strong ad- 

 vocates of small holdings on rational lines as any- 

 body can possibly be ; but we unhesitatingly say, 

 in the first place, that in Great Britain we have 

 not the population which could cultivate the 

 small holdings, and, in the second place, that it 

 is, after all, to the larger farmers, with plenty 

 of capital, to whom we must look for the best 

 improvements in our live stock and for the 

 expenditure on the best class of machinery, which 

 expenditure would result in keeping up tbe admit- 

 tedly high character of British farming, and 

 would be a lesson and of great advantage to the 

 small holders whom we wish to see studded around 

 such larger farms. We have ourselves travelled 

 in Denmark, and have enquired there and else- 

 where a great deal concerning that country ; and, 

 as a result, we are of opinion that we cannot 

 apply the Danish system to England in the same 

 extensive fashion as is common in Denmark. 

 The Danish farmer, moreover, is mainly a butter 

 producer, sending his milk to his co-operative 

 creameries for the purpose ; and he gets a price 

 for the milk which is much lower than is already 

 obtained by farmers in this country, who, with- 

 out co-operation, sell it to town firms for con- 

 sumption as milk. By all means let us increase 

 the number of small holdings very much more 

 than we see them at the pt-p.sent time, and we 



