1 62 Large and Small Holdings 



(b) Vegetable and Fruit-growing. 



In English agriculture the most important vegetable and fruit crops 

 are as follows : of vegetables, cabbage, cauliflowers, brussels sprouts, 

 carrots, celery, beans, peas, tomatoes, cucumbers and potatoes ; of 

 fruits, (i) orchard fruits, apples, pears, plums, apricots and cherries, 

 and (2) garden fruits, strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries and 

 currants. 



As to the cost of cultivation, the first noticeable point is that the 

 great difficulty of the small corn-growing farmer, namely the dispro- 

 portionate expense of the necessary horses, disappears. In fruit and 

 vegetable culture the horses employed are not as a rule needed simply 

 for ploughing, but chiefly for the purpose of carrying the goods to 

 market. The produce must be carried into the town or village at 

 least on market days. Fruit and vegetables are not sold in great 

 quantities and at a certain time, but as they ripen from day to day : 

 and a horse and cart are therefore necessary even on such holdings as 

 send their goods by rail to the larger centres, unless they lie in the 

 closest possible proximity to the station. Accordingly the small 

 holder has employment for a horse in his own business, for other 

 purposes than the actual cultivation of the soil : and in fact on the 

 smallest holdings the main use of the horse is for transport purposes. 

 This is especially the case where a little grower has customers in 

 the neighbourhood, and takes fresh fruit and vegetables to them 

 almost daily. 



Where a small holding is in the immediate neighbourhood of 

 the market or of a railway station no horse may be needed for trans- 

 port. But in such cases the use of a horse for cultivating the soil is 

 also often unnecessary. In these favourably situated holdings, if not 

 larger than I 5 acres, the plough can be replaced by the spade. 

 Spade-culture is suitable almost solely for fruit and vegetable-growing. 

 The relative cheapness of the product makes it economically impossible 

 in the case of corn. It would not pay to cultivate a corn-field of four 

 or five acres with the spade, even though the gross produce might be 

 increased. But the higher price obtainable for fruit and vegetables 

 might make the use of the spade worth while. On the other hand 

 spade-labour is much too expensive to be used on larger areas, even 

 when devoted to these crops. The excellent results it gives are there- 

 fore a distinct prerogative of the smallest holdings. The little holder, 

 helped by his family and working longer and harder than a hired 



