94 



PARLIAMENTARY PUBLICATIONS. 



[June 1895. 



of the depression on all farmers has been to seriously cripplie 

 their resources. 



With reference to the assertion that farmers live too well and 

 above the style which it is wise to adopt, Mr. Fox states that he 

 does not believe this to be the case at the present day. 



The position of the small holder — that is, men making a living 

 entirely by farming—appears to be in the great majority of cases 

 very unsatisfactory and sometimes deplorable. Small occupiers 

 on the other hand would appear to be generally better situated 

 than the small holders- But Mr. Fox thinks it very doubtful 

 whether at present prices foremen or- labourers, from whose 

 ranks these classes are generally drawn, improve their pecuniary 

 position by taking up the responsibilities of a farm. Instances 

 of small holders prospering in the county are rare, for they are 

 so greatly handicapped in every operation by want of capital, 

 and few can be found who possess the necessary requisites for 

 success, which Mr. Fox enumerates as follows: — first-rate land, 

 sufficient capital, a moderate rent (or interest), a hardworking 

 wife, brains, health, and a cheap method of marketing produce. 



In reply to the objection that small tenants employ fewer 

 labourers per acre than large farmers and give them less regular 

 employment, it is maintained that an increase in the number 

 of such tenancies would create a larger resident population of a 

 hardworking and thrifty character, with a stake and an interest 

 in the parish and the county, and less likely to migrate if they 

 could obtain a fair margin of profit. 



While admitting that labourers who remain on the soil and 

 are in regular work have undoubtedly benefited by the low 

 prices, Mr. Fox remarks that the effect of the depression up to 

 the present time upon the whole body of wage-earning classes 

 may be measured by anyone who will drive through Lincoln- 

 shire, Norfolk, Sufiblk, and Cambridgeshire, leaving Essex out 

 of the question, and see miles of tenantless farms, acres of 

 worthless grass and weeds, and scores of deserted cottages. 

 It seems to be the general opinion in Lincolnshire that the 

 labourers do less work than formerly, though it was admitted 

 that the quality of the labour compared most favourably with 

 that of other counties. 



The report contains some notes on dairying and other allied 

 industries in the county. A butter factory has been working for 

 two and a half years at Sutton-on-Sea and has been successful. 

 It has also had a stimulating efiect in making other people pro- 

 duce better butter. It was considered by some witnesses that 

 poultry rearing was a useful adjunct to the ordinary farming 

 operations, but that a better means of marketing should be devised 

 to enable farmers to reap the benefit of the high winter and 

 spring prices. In south and east Lincolnshire, a good deal of the 

 land is suitable for market gardening, which is carried on to a 

 considerable extent near Boston and Spalding. At the latter 

 place, a great variety of vegetables, fruit, and flowers are grown 

 for northern and London markets. 



