48 THE ERRORS OF THE PAST 



Cheshire County Council 

 Four Colonies Aggregating 3,070 Acres 



Increase . . 66 361 1,140 107 950 20 2,640 



These figures prove that even to-day, under exist- 

 ing conditions, the conversion of large farms into 

 small holdings means an enormous increase in the 

 human and animal population supported by the land. 



In spite of these figures it is an unfortunate fact 

 that the position of small holdings generally is far 

 from satisfactory. A considerable percentage of 

 them is given up because their tenants " cannot go 

 on any longer," and many others yield only a 

 " hand-to-mouth " existence in return for very hard 

 work. The superficial observer looks at these cases 

 and generahses from them that small holdings are not 

 economic units. He sees for instance a fifty-acre 

 mixed farm, the tenant of which barely makes £80 

 a year, and accepts that as a conclusive proof for 

 his theory that " a small holding is not an economic 

 unit." 



But let us look at the same sort of holding in 

 the country of his chief rival, Denmark. The average 

 Danish farmer derives an income twice as large, and 

 there are many, as I have already stated, whose 

 net profit is £3 or £4 an acre. 



The explanation is that our small farmer, in 

 addition to looking after his farm, has to fight a set 



