i9io.] 



Small Holdings in Surrey. 



1 1 



ment, can only be let for such short terms and on such insecure 

 tenure as to make it practically useless to him. 



The types of small holdings in the county, so far as they 

 exist, may be classed under the three heads of Dairy, Market 

 Garden, and mixed small farms. 



Dairy Holdings. — The small holder, who depends on dairy 

 produce for a living, and who devotes his whole energies to 

 this particular branch, is to be found only in close proximity 

 to the large towns and villages. These holdings chiefly exist 

 where grass land is plentiful, as on the London Clay, 

 particularly in the locality of Kingston and Maiden. Many 

 of these holders, more especially near the suburbs, have 

 difficulty in obtaining a suitable farmhouse or homestead, and 

 cows are therefore often housed in small dilapidated sheds 

 adjoining their cottages on or near the land. In nearly all 

 cases the holders are assisted by their families, supplemented 

 by regular or casual hands, and milk is mostly sold retail. 

 Poultry-keeping and butter-making are generally combined 

 with the dairying, but the produce is largely consumed by the 

 holders themselves. 



Market-Gardening. — Small holders who devote themselves 

 to market-gardening are probably the most successful. They 

 are to be found in many parts of the county near the towns or 

 within easy reach of the markets. The breaking up of large 

 farms for building purposes often leaves suitable pieces of 

 land, but such land is not generally provided with farm build- 

 ings, so that the holders are obliged to obtain a cottage to 

 live in and erect such buildings as they may require. Near 

 London the produce is usually sold locally, or in some cases 

 sent to the large markets. 



Mixed Small Farms. — About the heaths and commons in 

 the western parts of the county there are many detached pieces 

 of agricultural land from 10 to 50 acres in extent. These, 

 from their size and situation, are unsuitable for the large 

 farmer, and the soil is generally poor, but they have a cottage 

 or farmhouse, and in some cases a homestead on them. Owing 

 to the poorness of the soil, the persons who take these small 

 farms generally have to supplement their incomes as farmers 

 by working for others, or by combining other occupations 

 with the cultivation of their holdings. Some have common 



