69 



" I do not think," says Mr. Wheeler, " a general cutting up Small 

 of large farms into small holdings would be successful in this Holdings 

 district. The tenant of a small holding (say up to 20 acres) Allotments 



cannot, except, perhaps, by market gardening, live upon it. ' 



If he has outside employment the holding is a great help to 

 him, and he should also be a help to the neighbouring farmer 

 by supplying extra labour in busy times. To effect this, the 

 holdings should be dotted about the country. The venture of 

 the County Council in cutting up a farm at Catshill, near 

 Bromsgrove, has been very successful, but the position there 

 was very exceptional." 



GLOUCESTER. There is no difficulty in obtaining allotments, 

 in fact many are going out of cultivation. Mr. Hulbert writes : 

 u A man can buy all garden produce in this neighbourhood 

 cheaper than lie can grow it in an allotment. Let him have 

 a cottage and a good garden and he is better off than 

 ever he was." Small holdings are said to be in little 

 demand. Mr. White writes : " Small holdings are of 110 

 use on poor arable land far away from big centres. I own 

 several, and I know that i?he tenants work hard and live hard 

 and yet do no good, although the rent is from 10s. to 15s. per 

 acre ; the land is most suitable for corn, which does not pay to 

 grow." Nevertheless he considers that small holdings may be 

 an inducement to keep the best class of farm labourers on the 

 land by providing a position of independence which they can 

 look forward to,. but which will only be attained by thrift, keen 

 industry and hard work. The land for such holdings, how- 

 ever, must be fairly good, and ample facilities must exist for 

 marketing the produce; even then the occupiers must expect 

 to do the work of two men for the wages of one. 



WILTSHIRE. There is no lack of allotments ; a great many 

 have been given up as the low price of produce makes it unpro- 

 fitable to cultivate them. In the case of small holdings there is 

 some difficulty. Mr. Stevens writes : " Small holdings are very 

 rare, and where they exist the occupier has to do the work of two 

 men, and then very rarely succeeds in making a living. I do 

 not think the lack has contributed in any degree to the decline 

 in the population." Mr". Squarey writes : " The opportunities 

 of obtaining small holdings are not as frequent as we could 

 wish, the question of housing, homestead, water supply, and 

 fencing are the main obstacles." Referring to the failure of a 

 particular experiment some years ago in the direction of pro- 

 viding small holdings, he states that there was less disposi- 

 tion to accept them than he had been led to expect. " We 

 have several instances," he writes, " of property split up into 

 small holdings which for the most part are not satisfactory 

 from a financial and industrial point of view. Only in one case 

 am I fairly assured of their being financially a success, viz., at 

 Winterslow, near Salisbury, under the early guidance of Major 



