Economics of the Size of Farms \ 83 



superior to the large 1 . And on the other hand even those who regard 

 the question not from an economic but from a socio-political stand- 

 point have arrived at the conclusion that the superiority of any 

 particular type of holding depends upon the branch of production to 

 be pursued. There are of course plenty of enthusiasts prepared to prove 

 that the small holding is best for all purposes. But intelligent 

 reformers are shaping their views more and more in accordance with 

 the economic laws which have been clearly manifested in the varying 

 circumstances under which agricultural production and distribution 

 have been carried on in the last hundred and fifty years. Even if Mr 

 Jesse Ceilings the Nathaniel Kent of the present age has not yet 

 admitted that the large farm is better suited to corn-production than 

 the small, at all events he has not yet undertaken to prove distinctly 

 what special advantages the small holding would have in that sphere. 

 Like his predecessors of the eighteenth century, all he can succeed in 

 showing is that the small holding is the unit best suited for stock- 

 farming and petite culture. 



B. GENERAL ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES. 



It appears to follow from what has been said above, that every 

 English landlord, so far as he regards the question solely from an 

 economic point of view, should be a friend and fosterer of small hold- 

 ings. For it has been shown that with few exceptions precisely those 

 branches of production which belong to the sphere of the small holder 



1 Cp. Lawry, op. cit. p. 391 : " It will be admitted that they (small holdings) are best 

 adapted for dairying, the rearing of cattle, and the production of pork, poultry, and eggs ; 

 also for the growth of vegetables, fruit, and flowers, inasmuch as these require a larger 

 amount of skilled labour and personal supervision than the growth of cereals, and the pro- 

 duction of mutton, beef and wool." Also W. E. Bear, The Survival in Farming, in Journal 

 R. A. S., 1891, pp. 274 f. : "Large and small holdings have their respective advantages 

 for various purposes and in different localities. In arable districts at least, and so far as the 

 production of the ordinary crops of the farm is concerned, I do not believe that a holding 

 not too extensive to be efficiently superintended by one man can be too large for the most 

 economical results, provided that he has capital enough for his acreage ; or that fifty-acre 

 farmers can get a good living by growing corn and keeping a small number of live stock. In 

 favourable situations for marketing milk, butter, fruit, vegetables, eggs and poultry, small 

 farmers who are shrewd and industrious may do well ; and cheese-makers on small holdings 

 have always been able to hold their own, if they and their wives were good and skilful 

 managers." Also Brodrick, op. cit. pp. 396, 397, 399-402 : and the very instructive 

 evidence given in Small Holdings Report, 1889, qu. 7351. And finally, see the Small 

 Holdings Report, 1906, p. 2, where this point of view is at last officially accepted: "A 

 profitable farm may be large or small according to the class to which the bulk of the 

 produce, animal or vegetable, to be raised for sale, belongs." 



