SMALL HOLDINGS 105 



whose livelihood depends upon his crops and 

 stock to take a holding in which the water 

 supply is defective. Apart from the require- 

 ments of stock, the modern or intensive system 

 of cultivation demands abundant water. 

 Intensive cropping means the liberal supply 

 of manure, which should form a large proportion 

 of the top six inches of the soil, and profuse 

 watering in hot weather. The manure warms 

 the soil and feeds the plants, with the result 

 that by supplying water freely the crops 

 grow earlier and later in the year, and with 

 great rapidity, owing to the fact that they 

 are practically forced. 



It is important that every field should be 

 well divided from its neighbour by a vigorous 

 hedge or a substantial fence. Hedging is an 

 art which is not too freely practised by small 

 holders, but it is to their advantage to maintain 

 their hedges in perfect condition. The object 

 of trimming, pruning, or laying is to induce 

 a hedge to grow quickly at the bottom as well 

 as elsewhere. As stock, especially sheep and 

 pigs, frequently make gaps in the bottom of 

 a hedge, it should be thickest at this point, 

 gradually diminishing until it forms a ridge, 

 a flat- topped hedge being objectionable and 

 contributing to its weakness. 



