262 Advantages in Agricultural Production. 
it made for him in a factory. At the best, this industry is not 
highly remunerative. For cheese, distance from a market is of 
comparatively little importance, and some of the most success- 
ful small holders I have met with are those who make Stilton. 
According to a high authority, there is no reason why this 
cheese should not be made in any part of the country. That it 
can be made well far from its special district is certain, as 
results have proved that excellent Stilton can be made in York- 
shire, Bucks, and Hampshire. But even in the Stilton district 
there are pastures upon which good cheese cannot be made, 
because they are too rich, and are more suitable for butter- 
making or cattle-fattening. At any rate, this is the opinion of 
the local dairy farmers, and their conviction is, without doubt, 
based on experience. 
For the production of vegetables either an exceptionally 
suitable soil or nearness to a good market is essential to 
success, especially in the case of a small holder. In some parts 
of Cornwall the advantages of climate for early produce neutral- 
ise the long railway carriage to the best markets ; but even 
there the soil must be suitable to insure success. Favoured 
spots on the Greensand, such as Sandy in Bedfordshire, and 
limited districts in Hunts and Sussex, grow potatoes and other 
vegetables so well that somewhat long distances by road or 
rail do not preclude financial success. But a few yards beyond 
the limit of the Greensand, w'here there may be a clay subsoil, 
the attempt to pursue the same industry is useless, or at any 
rate an arduous undertaking, yielding a poor return to 
great labour. The large increase in allotments in the suburbs 
of towns has seriously added to the difficulty of making market 
gardening pay, by reducing to an enormous extent the number of 
purchasers of culinary vegetables, as well as by increasing the 
supply. Therefore, suitability of position, or exceptional fitness 
of soil, is more than ever essential to the market gardener. 
Even in the Isle of Axholme, where much of the soil is ex- 
ceptionally well suited to the production of potatoes and other 
vegetables, the small holders have lately had a hard struggle 
to “ make ends meet,’’ because most of them have to cart their 
produce several miles, and then to pay high rail rates to the 
markets. 
For fruit-growing in the open air, aspect and altitude, as 
well as soil, the general climate of the district, and nearness 
to a good market have to be taken into consideration. Many 
of the old orchards were planted in the valleys and other low 
situations, under the impression that such places, being sheltered, 
were more suitable to fruit than exposed situations. Apparently 
