n 



from the strictly agricultural population than from those who Small 

 have other employment. Mr. Chrisp writes : " More holdings 1 



of a rental of 100 to 150 per annum are required, as 

 one this size gives full employment to a man and his family, 

 and when working for themselves they are more interested in 

 the work and thus more inclined to stay in the country." 

 Mr. Bolan states that in his district farm servants are 

 taking most of the smaller farms that are to let. 



DURHAM. The demand both for small holdings and allot- 

 ments is stated to be very small, and where they are wanted 

 there is said* to be no difficulty in obtaining land. Mr. Kent 

 refers to a limited demand for small holdings of 30 to 

 60 acres. It is not thought that this question has had any 

 particular bearing upon the decline in population. 



YORK (N. BIDING). There is great difficulty in obtaining 

 small holdings except when situated where no profit can be 

 made; this difficulty is held to have undoubtedly contributed 

 to the decline. Mr. Robinson writes : u My young men when 

 over twenty generally want a wife, and there being no small 

 holdings, they drift into the towns. Sometimes we come across 

 exceptions ; in Cleveland two men who were once labourers of 

 mine are now farming 150 acres or so each and are doing very 

 well, but these are very exceptional men." Mr. Walton remarks 

 that land near the villages is exceedingly dear and difficult to 

 secure, the demand being active. Mr. Wood writes : " Where 

 small holdings of 20 to 50 acres with house and suitable build- 

 ings are to let they are immediately taken up. One of the 

 chief reasons for this is that farmers do not care to pay a man 

 his full wage in cash, but prefer to board him in the house and 

 pay the wages once a year ; consequently, when an agricultural 

 labourer saves enough money to marry he must either take a 

 small holding or seek employment in the large towns." 



YORK (W. RIDING). There appears to be little demand for 

 small holdings or allotments. Mr. Thompson writes : " The 

 rate of wages is so much higher and the cost of living so much 

 lower than formerly, that there is a tendency for the labourer 

 to take things more easily; he does not care to work overtime 

 nor to allow the demands which a small holding makes on his 

 time to interfere with his regular employment. In this small 

 village there were several small holdings, chiefly grass, some 

 years ago, when wages were 135. or 14s. per week; each occu- 

 pier kept one or more cows and sold the produce. The husband 

 worked on the neighbouring farms and the wife milked the 

 cows. Now that the man has a wage of about 20s. per week 

 the necessity for the wife to work has ceased to exist, and the 

 land has either been given up to larger farmers, or is mown 

 for hay or sublet to anyone who will take it." He adds that 

 his remarks apply only to very small holdings, and not to farms 

 which are sufficiently large to occupy the whole or greater 



