OWNERSHIP 39 



There are countless examples of Continental estates 

 of which the owner himself farms the larger pro- 

 portion, earning £3 and even £4 an acre as 

 net income. If a practically unencumbered estate 

 in England of 5,000 acres of average agricultural 

 land yields £2,000 a year net the owner is doing 

 pretty well. Similar estates on the Continent, on 

 the same type of land, yield to their happy owners 

 some £15,000 a year net income. 



The Continental landowner, in a word, knows his 

 business — which is to obtain the optimum yield at 

 a minimum cost, while not only maintaining, but 

 even increasing the soil fertility ; and to dispose of 

 the produce in the best market and so obtain the 

 maximum net profit. 



Farmers abroad and also in our Dominions usually 

 ascribe their success principally to the fact that 

 they own their land, and that whatever they put 

 into it in the way of knowledge, labour and capital, 

 is not going to benefit any but themselves. 



Our system in England is one of tenancy. In 

 no other country in the world is the proportion of 

 occupying owners so small and that of occupy- 

 ing tenants so large. It stands at 12 and 88. In 

 Denmark it is exactly the reverse — 88 occupying 

 owners and 12 tenants. Sixty years ago the pro- 

 portions in Denmark were exactly the same as they 

 are with us to-day, but a wise Government and 

 an educated people realised that a change was 

 needed, and gradually brought it about by the 

 establishment of land and credit banks, and by a 

 series of closer settlement acts. 



I am not advocating that our system of tenancy 



