JOURNAL 
OF THE 
ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY 
OF ENGLAND. 
I. — Large and Small Holdings : a Comparative View. By 
Clare Sewell Read, of Honingham Thorpe, Norwich. 
Some of the suggestions which are made at the General Meet- 
ings of the Royal Agricultural Society are not very practical, 
and others are impossible to carry out. The President, with 
considerate courtesy, promises the member that his suggestion 
shall be carefully considered by the Council ; but it is not often 
that the proffered advice can be utilized, or the reform carried 
out in the manner suggested by the member. 
At a recent General Meeting * of the Society, a member 
stated " that it would be both interesting and useful to have a 
specially prepared report on the products of large and small 
farms." Upon being asked by the Council to explain more 
fully his views, the member suggested — 
" That the Council of the Eoyal Agricultural Society be requested to 
appoint a Commissioner to obtain reliable information, and condense and 
report same, relating to the relative profit and modes of culture now in 
practice on large and small holdings, ranging from ten to three hundred 
acres." 
The Council could not see its way to appoint such a Commis- 
sioner, but at the same time considered that the matter deserved 
some special notice, and accordingly I was asked, through the 
Chairman of the Journal Committee, to prepare a paper upon 
the subject, with special reference to the products of the two 
classes of holdings. 
The question of large and small farms has occupied a good 
deal of attention, both in and out of Parliament, during the 
past few years. Whether large or small farms conduce most 
* December 10th, 1885. 
VOL. XXIII. — S. S. 
B 
