86 ESTATE MANAGEMENT 



faced with a decision as to his general policy in developing 

 his estate. If he has a considerable area of sir land, and 

 land let on yearly tenancies, he will probably find himself 

 free to effect a re-arrangement of holdings with a little 

 trouble so as to secure compact areas. He will either have 

 a large farm which will be worked as his own cultivation on 

 modern methods or he may divide up this free area into 

 compact blocks which he will let to the best cultivators he can 

 find, selecting them definitely because they are good farmers. 

 The landlord will be hampered in obtaining compact 

 holdings if he has a number of occupancy tenants whose 

 holdings consist of scattered fields. It should be his endeavor 

 to induce the occupancy tenants to accept an exchange of 

 fields with a view to making their own holdings compact 

 areas and also to secure compact areas of non-occupancy 

 land. This re-distribution of fields requires to be very 

 carefully planned out. All the fields must be inspected 

 and valued according to the character of the soil, water- 

 supply, etc. ; and care must be taken to give to the 

 tenant in exchange for the fields he gives up others of at 

 least equal value. The tenant will gain by having his holding 

 compact ; but it will be necessary to err on the side of 

 being generous to the tenant ; and if he has refused to 

 recognize the advantage of the exchange, a slightly larger 

 area may be offered to him, or some other advantage, such as 

 reduction of rent. In making such concessions, the land- 

 lord must be careful to see that the aggregate effect upon 

 his rents is to increase his total income and not to diminish 

 it ; for this certainly ought to be the financial result of 

 carrying out a consolidation of holdings. At present the 

 law does not enable a landlord to compel occupancy and 

 other privileged tenants either to vacate their holdings with 

 compensation or to accept land in exchange to carry out a 

 consolidation of holdings ; nor is consolidation possible 



