538 



The British Crops of 1906. [dec, 



in the way of carting, &c., the small holder had no opportunity 

 of augmenting his income, whilst the profits from the land itself 

 also dwindled so that they were not sufficient: by themselves to 

 maintain the man and his family." Analogous cases may be 

 found where small holdings were originally held by miners in a 

 district where the mines have now ceased to be worked. Such 

 examples would appear to emphasise the necessity, to which 

 frequent reference is made, of insuring, in any attempt to 

 establish small holdings, that the local conditions afford a 

 reasonable chance of success. It appears generally that where 

 small holdings have survived, or been successfully established, 

 some local condition exists — whether of a rich or easily worked 

 soil, easy accessibility to good markets, opportunities for sup- 

 plementary employment or other like advantage — which seems 

 under present circumstances, essential to their maintenance. 



Conclusion, — The general tenour of the replies is not op- 

 timistic, and the picture drawn of the state of agriculture 

 is, on the whole, somewhat gloomy. If encouragement for 

 the future is to be found anywhere, it is contained in 

 the evidence furnished of the extent to which farmers have 

 adapted themselves to the times by taking up the cultivation 

 of fruit and vegetables, the rearing of poultry, and other indus- 

 tries of a so-called subsidiary character. The extension of 

 dairy-farming, by which the home producers have met the 

 ever-increasing requirements for milk, is perhaps the most 

 striking example of their enterprise, but not only for the. sake 

 of retaining labour on the land, but also in the interests of agri^ 

 culture generally, the evidence of the attention given to what 

 used to be thought " small things " may be regarded as one of 

 the hopeful facts which the present enquiry has elicited. 



THE BRITISH CROPS OF 1906. 



A preliminary statement of the estimated yield of the 

 principal crops in Great Britain was issued on November 19th. 

 The average produce per acre in the present year of each 

 of the crops for which estimates are obtained is given in the 

 following table, which shows also the excess or deficiency 



