33 



farms ; labourers have had to walk two or three miles night Causes of 

 and morning to and from their work, but this has been greatly Decline, 

 remedied of late, many of the larger landlords having built 

 very good and conveniently situated cottages. 



MIDDLESEX AND LONDON. Building operations have en- 

 croached on the agricultural land to a great extent, especially 

 in the vicinity of London. Thus Mr. Lobjoit writes : " In 

 1881 there were hundreds of acres of land in Fulham culti- 

 vated by market gardeners, numbers of labourers being 

 engaged trenching all the winter, and many more being 

 employed during the summer at the various operations. There 

 is probably not an acre now left in cultivation. My own firm 

 held land in Putney and Wandsworth for many years, ulti- 

 mately being ' built out ' in 1904." Chiswick, again, twenty 

 years ago was an important market gardening centre, now 

 there is scarcely any land left under cultivation, and the same 

 process of displacement is taking place in other parishes. 

 Other causes noted as tending to diminish the employment of 

 labourers are (1) A decrease in the area of grass reserved 

 for hay ; (2) The keeping of fewer cows near London by dairy- 

 men. 



On the other hand a good deal of land formerly farmed has 

 passed into the hands of market gardeners with the consequence 

 of a considerable increase in the number of labourers employed. 

 The same correspondent writes : " In one parish a small grass 

 farm employing very little labour was converted into a market 

 garden and now provides work for nearly 100 hands. In 

 Hampton and Feltham there has been during the last few 

 years quite a settlement of cultivators under glass." Mr. De 

 Salis also says : " More and more land is being turned from 

 farms into market gardens, and more labour is employed." 



(b.) Counties of Norfolk, Lincoln and York (East Riding). 



NORFOLK. Owing to the low price of corn, land has been 

 laid down to grass. Farmers are unable to pay a sufficiently 

 high rate of wages to retain their men on the land in face of 

 the natural disposition to leave for the towns where apparently 

 higher wages and other attractions are offered. 



LINCOLN. Through want of capital due to the unprofitable 

 nature of agriculture, farmers are unable to pay the high wages 

 required and are compelled to dispense with all the labour 

 possible; the land is less highly cultivated, only what is abso- 

 lutely necessary is done, draining and ditching are neglected, 

 arable land is laid to grass, or clover is left down for two or 

 three years instead of one year; more machinery also is used. 

 Separate farms are grouped into a single holding. Thus, Mr. 

 West writes : "I can count within a radius of two miles 

 12 farmhouses, each of which 25 years ago contained a resi- 

 dent tenant and family, and all of which now are in the hands 



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