72 PROPERTY DESERTED 



when they had come to Mayland. All but 

 about six took advantage of this offer. The 

 rest of the farm was sold. Those who re- 

 mained on their holdings are still in occupa- 

 tion, and are earning a precarious livelihood ; 

 but the fruit-trees are now bearing, and their 

 prospects are not altogether hopeless. The 

 rest of the property is deserted. The houses 

 are uninhabited and the holdings grown over 

 with weeds. The schools and shops are empty 

 and decaying. Failure and disappointment 

 have left their sad and indeUble impression. 



Thus finished Mr. Fels' attempt to estabhsh 

 small holdings. The errors and mismanage- 

 ment are too blatant to need comment. To 

 do justice, he endeavoured and succeeded in 

 clearing up his mistakes, so that no one should 

 be in a worse position through having placed 

 their confidence in him. But the publicity 

 given to his failure, in a somewhat mean 

 attempt to saddle his blunders on to the 

 shoulders of English landlords, is an instance 

 of where untold harm is done to the efforts of 

 those who know that small holdings can be an 

 economic success in this country, if the develop- 

 ment is undertaken carefully and intelligently. 



