398 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
May 17, 1894. 
are always eager to avail ttemselves of an offer of a plot of 
land. In this, as in everytbirg, example tells ; otliers follow 
their lead, and insensibly become better men than they ever 
could have been without such an incentive to exertion; as they 
grow keen in their efforts and in self-respect they become 
better workmen, and more valuable to their employers. As an 
example of this, the editor of the “ Land Agents’ Record” gave 
an instance last year of a farm of 150 acres which fell in hand, 
and which the owner decided to let out in allotments. It 
was divided into plots of 1 acre. In the course of years the 
more thrifty energetic men became tenants of two, three, or 
more plots, one of them at the last inspection actually farming 
12 acres. Careful inquiry proved that every plot of the land 
■was being farmed at a profit, and on inquiring of a large 
neighbouring farmer whether the fact of these men holding 
allotments militated against their usefulness as farm labourers, 
he replied, “ They are the best men in the neighbourhood. 
They can ditch, hedge, stack, thatch, plough, and do everything 
as it ought to be done ; and I assure you they are the very men 
who, as labourers, give the farmer the best value for his money.” 
Another and even more remarkable example is to be found 
upon the estate of Mr. W. J. Harris, Halwill Manor, near 
Beaworthy, in North Devon. On this estate, acquired some 
twenty-two years ago, encouragement to hire land was held 
out to the cottagers; those who desired to do so had land 
adjoining their cottages allotted to them, and cow houses were 
built for them. The first trials were so successful that the 
scheme extended till there were twenty small holdings upon the 
estate, only one failure having to be recorded during some 
eighteen years. During that time some of the holdings have 
grown from 3 or 4 to 20 acres, in one exceptional instance to 
upwards of 40 acres. What is perhaps even more remarkable 
is the fact that most of He additional acreage was moorland, 
brought into such excellent cultivation by the tenants that 
really profitab’e crops are grown. 
About the time of the purchase of Halwill Manor we were 
well acquainted with many small plots which had been wrested 
from the wild waste of Ashdown Forest, in Sussex, by the 
“ Foresters.” Outside the enclosures was a wild growth of 
Gorse, Heather, and Bracken ; inside was flourishing pasture, 
vegetables, and fruit, ■vv’on from the apparently sterile land by 
the industry of workmen mainly employed upon farms adjoining 
the forest. 
At Halwill most of the tillage appears to have been wisely 
confined to the cultivation of enough land for the home supply 
of vegetables and for the production of Oats and roots for the 
live stock. The remainder of the land is in gra-s, part 
temporary and part permanent pasture ; butter, poultry, and 
pigs being the produce for sale. Th's has been well done. As 
most of tbe land is in gra«s there is but little labour, and the 
women are able to give the necessary attention to cows, pigs» 
and poultry, as well as the dairy, while the men are away at 
their daily employment upon the large holdings of the estate. 
A kindly spirit of co-operation prevails among this interesting 
and instructive group of small holders. They assist each other 
upon occasions in getting through extra work, and one of them 
has risen to the dignity of a dealer, to the general profit and 
convenience, as he purchases the butter and poultry and dis¬ 
poses of it at neighbouring towns. He began as a day labourer, 
saved enough money to purchase a cow, was allowed to hire 
enough land for its maintenance, then went steadily on till 
he hid quite a herd of cattle, some sheep and pigs, hired the 
defunct public-house, turned it into a shop, and became a 
thriving dealer. 
In all this progress the fostering influence of a generous land¬ 
lord has told. Without it the thing would have been impossible; 
with it small holdings are a success, full and entire. The rents 
are for arable land 12s. to 15s. per acre, for pasture SOs to 50s , 
and for moorland 5s., the landlord paying tithes, rates and taxes. 
For cottagers with really useful gardens and outbuild ngs the 
rent is £4 to £8 a year, according to size. This appears to be a 
judicious arrangement, for by making the tenant only liable for 
rent much complication is avoided. 
To make such a scheme really successful there must be 
regular employment for most of the men It has been found that 
those having holdings of only three cr four acres require, 
practically, full employment, only an occasional day or two 
being wanted for pressing home work; others having 20 acres 
can give about half their time to other work; and the man of 
40 acres, with a moderate family, has his hands full and can do 
well That the conditions or advantages at Halwill are some¬ 
what exceptional must also be remembered. The existence 
of moorland rendered it possible for the men to hire acre 
a'^tcr acre and so extend their holdings indefinitely. It was 
obviously to the landlord’s advantage to encourage this. Before 
it was rec'aimed it was let at 5s. an acre, after reclamation it 
became worth from 10s up to 40s. an acre, so that the rever¬ 
sionary value of the property is constantly improving. But he 
has no intention of tailing advantage of the men’s thrift and 
industry. He has offered all of them leases for their lives, but 
not one of them has thought it worth while to take advantage 
of this offer; they have perfect reliance upon the landlord's 
promise that they will not be disturbed as long as they live if 
they continue industrious and pay the rent regularly. 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
Some pasture which came in hand last Lady Day has been set in 
order for the season so far as was possible. The late tenant had no 
written agreement, but it was understood that he was to keep up fences, 
gates, and ditches, and keep the land in good order. None of these 
things were well done, and we have had fences repaired, ditches scoured, 
a set of new field gates and wickets, and a dressing of chemical manure 
on the pasture. A lot of ant hills must be left till the autumn, but 
Thistles can and are being dealt with now. The local custom is to cut 
them off with a scythe once during the summer, just as though such pests 
were a chronic evil to be made the best of. Our idea is to root them 
up, and so destroy them altogether ; this is being done while the land 
is softened by rain, so that the work can be got through easily and 
quickly. Some beds of Nettles will also be uprooted and destroyed— 
not left, as hitherto, year after year to cumber the land and make work. 
The field gates are exceptionally strong. They have the tops and 
ends of oak, with bars and braces of pitch pine, all bolted together with 
screw bolts having nuts screwed on. The gate irons are made to impart 
additional strength by holding the top and ends together. The fastening 
is the old upright spring and catch, which in our opinion is the best of 
all, as it does not get out of order if the gate drops a bit, and is equally 
handy to open whether one is walking or riding. The gates cost with a 
set of irons and a spring and catch 20s. 9d., a pair of posts of American 
pitch pine cost IBs. 6d., or the whole thing complete for £1 lls. 3d. 
If there is a choice, by all means keep sheep off luxuriant pasture 
now, and have them in folds on Rye, Sainfoin, or Lucerne, as they 
invariably thrive better on such sound food. A diet consisting entirely 
of young grass is so relaxing that the strongest hoggets kept upon it 
suffer severely from scour. The considerable advance in value of sheep 
should be an incentive to do all that is possible for them. Look closely 
after every case of foot rot, it always yields to persistent kindly treat¬ 
ment. All bad cases should have attention three or four times a week. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
Oamden Squahb, London. 
Lat.51° 32'40" N. : Lon?. 0° S' 0" W.; Altitude. Ill feet 
Date. 
9 A.M. 
In the Day. 
Rain. 
1894. 
May. 
1 Barometer 
1 at 32°, and 
1 Sea Level. 
Hygrometer. 
Direc¬ 
tion of 
Wind. 
Temp, 
of soil 
at 
1 foot. 
Shade Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
Sun. 
On 
Grass. 
Inchs. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
In eh 9. 
Sunday .. 
6 
29-798 
54-3 
46-8 
S.W. 
50-4 
62-2 
45-8 
97-9 
38-0 
Monday .. 
7 
29-858 
54-7 
48-2 
w. 
50 8 
64-6 
40-4 
115-8 
33-4 
_ 
Tuesday .. 
8 
30-043 
56-1 
5 -2 
S.W. 
51-7 
60-8 
43-9 
92-9 
37-4 
_ 
Wednesday 
9 
29-859 
53-8 
48-2 
s. 
51-9 
60-0 
50-1 
98-9 
46-0 
0-094 
Thursday .. 
10 
29-801 
54-8 
49-7 
s. 
50-9 
58-6 
41-1 
103-9 
33-6 
0-414 
Friday 
11 
29'8-<0 
53-4 
49-1 
s w. 
50-1 
58-4 
40-3 
80-4 
31-9 
0-218 
Saturday ., 
12 
29-949 
50-0 
47-3 
N.W. 
50-2 
68-5 
48-1 
97-8 
45-0 
— 
29.884 
53-9 
48*5 
50-9 
60-4 
44-2 
98-2 
37-9 
0 726 
REMARKS. 
6th.—Generally sunny, but cloudy at times in afternoon; bright night. 
7th.—Occasionally cloudy in morning, but bright sunshine almost throughout. 
8th.—Occasional bright sunshine, but frequently overcast, and at times threatening. 
9th.—Generally overcast, with rain from 3.35 p.m. to 6 p.m, and in evening. 
10th.—Bright sunshine early, and occasional gleams in the day, but generally overcast, 
and frequent heavy showers. 
11th.—Bright sun early: overcast from 9 A.M., heavy rain from 2 P.M. to 5 P.M., and 
showers later. 
12th.—Drizzle early, and overcast till noon, lovely afternoon, and almost cloudless 
after 3 P.M. 
Temperature still ne r the mean, rain rather abeve it.—C. J. SVMCXS. 
