170 PROBLEMS OF VILLAGE LIFE 



shire, where the small-holders are " squatters " 

 on moorland which they have themselves 

 reclaimed. 



The small holdings in the neighbourhood 

 of the New Forest are a striking instance of 

 the advantage of common rights. These 

 holdings, on which a whole family can be 

 supported, average about twelve acres. This 

 acreage might not be sufficient to support the 

 family if the stock had to be kept upon it all 

 the summer. But as they can be then turned 

 out into the Forest, the holding can be used 

 for growing the feed which keeps them when 

 they are brought in for the winter. 



The experiment at Winterslow illustrates 

 the importance of the supplementary earnings 

 which are made by labour off the farm. The 

 work in the woods and the industry of hurdle 

 making provide these small-holders with a 

 very useful adjunct of profit to their farms, 

 and this condition alone has probably been 

 enough to make the experiment a success. 



And apart altogether from these special 

 factors of success, there is hardly a village in 

 which it will not pay some of the inhabitants, 

 such as tradesmen, publicans, carpenters or 

 blacksmiths, to have a small piece of land 

 within easy reach of their houses. Such 

 holdings, though they may not directly pro- 



