DEFECTS OF "GOOD LANDLORDS" 31 



than their own stupidity, bad farmers have been known 

 to abandon certain excellent chemical manures as an 

 imposture. 



It is generally believed that land is farmed more 

 intensively on small holdings than on large farms. But 

 the difficulty with small holdings is that the man of very 

 little capital is unable to buy his materials cheaply, 

 because he does not buy them in large enough quantities. 

 The obvious remedy for his predicament is co-opera- 

 tion, by which men club together to buy their fertihsers 

 and seeds in bulk, to market their products, and, so to 

 speak, to pool their more expensive agricultural 

 implements. But unfortunately mutual suspicion, 

 imperfect loyalty, and want of understanding have 

 impeded the growth of co-operation in England. Its 

 spread, however, has been noticeable in the last few 

 years, largely owing to the work of the Agricultural 

 Organisation Society. Danish, Dutch, and Belgian 

 agriculture is a triumph for co-operation. 



To an appreciable degree the failure of farmers to 

 make their land produce what it could is to be attri- 

 buted to the amiable habits of those whom tenants 

 gratefully call " good landlords." The typical land- 

 owner desires to live in friendly relations with his 

 tenant farmers. Their good opinion is an essential 

 part of the amenities of his property. He turns a blind 

 eye to inefficient farming, and is more likely to reduce 

 the rent of his tenants when they are in difficulties 

 than to tell them bluntly that they are not doing their 

 duty by the land. 



Visitors from countries where every pole of ground 

 is cultivated, owing to the pressure of the population. 



