SMALL AND LARGE HOLDINGS 115 



unanswerable logic — but, alas ! we are not a logical 

 people ! 



I have in mind a district of small holdings (and there 

 are many such districts) ; at the present moment they 

 are not being cultivated to the national advantage ; the 

 smallholders are doing the best they can, under the 

 circumstances, and are putting up a splendid tight against 

 adverse transport and marketing conditions. Yet it would 

 not cost a large sum of money to turn that district into 

 a demonstration of a flourishing small holding colony. 



Organized transport by means of motors, and in some 

 cases light railways, would put the smallholders within 

 reach of markets. 



Organized marketing by means of co-operative societies 

 would free the smallholder from the " strangle-hold " 

 of the huckster who to-day handles his produce, and 

 takes much of the profit that should go to the small- 

 holder. 



Organized supervision and expert guidance would show 

 the smallholder the advisability of altering his system of 

 cropping ; and he would be a willing learner if rightly 

 approached. Instead of having much of his land under 

 grass (generally an uneconomic crop for a smallholder) 

 and raismg sheep and beasts of rather indilferent quality, 

 he would go in for arable land dairying. And we must 

 look to the smallholder more and more to produce the 

 much-needed increase in our milk supply. It is becoming 

 increasingly diflicult for the large dairy farmer to get 

 milkers, and consequently many are going out of the 

 business. 



Organized access to capital would enable the small- 

 holder to eff^ect these changes, which would result in 

 trebling the production from his holding and doubling 

 his income. This is not an exaggerated statement ; 



