530 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
June' 18,  1903. 
Your  correspondent,  “P.,”  lias  given  way  to  his  imagination 
at  the  exi^ense  of  his  common  sense.  The  man,  like  all  my 
others,  was  trusted  fully.  If  a  man  cannot  he  trusted  he  is  better 
aAvay,  and  the  on©  I  referred  to  was  found  out  by  pure  accident. 
Even  then  I  could  and  would  have  found  him  other  work  out  of  the 
reach  of  temptation,  where  he  could  still  have  earned  good  wages, 
but  one  discovery  led  to  another  ;  he  was  not  only  a  drunkard,  but 
a  confirmed  liar ;  the  “  spirit  of  the  publican,”  which  your  corre¬ 
spondent  accuses  me  of,  was  really  the  cause  of  his  downfall,  as 
he  starved  his  family  to  provide  himself  with  whisky,  and  got  a 
habit  of  coming  drunk  to  his  work;  too  drunk,  in  fact,  to  be  left 
alone,  and  this  was  the  cause  of  his  being  found  out.  I  could  and 
Avould  give  him  good  Avork  noAv  if  he  could  be  trusted,  as  in  other 
matters  he  is  really  good  and  capable ;  but  so  long  as  a  man  is  a 
confirmed  and  habitual  liar,  with  the  habit  of  spending  all  he  can 
get  in  drink,  I  may  be  a  “  Pharisee  ”  and  various  other  things, 
but  so  long  as  he  devotes  his  time  and  mo’iiey  to  the  “  spirit  of 
the  publican,”  I  have  no  use  for  him,  and  if  there  is  any  cure  the 
only  one  I  know  is  starvation,  and  even  this  often  fails. — T.  F. 
This  subject  appears  to  have  created  no  small  amount  of 
interest  in  these  pages,  neither  has  useful  information  been  lack¬ 
ing  during  its  discussion.  Many  gardeners  have  expressed  their 
contempt  for  the  paltry  sums  about  which  in  certain  quarters 
such  a  stir  has  been  made.  One  employer  at  least  has  entered 
the  arena  and  proclaimed  his  policy  in  this  matter  ;  a  policy  Avhich 
has  cost  a  gardener  his  position  and  character.  The  punishment 
scarcely  seems  to  fit  the  offence — the  time  has  not  yet  come  to 
call  it  a  crime — and  more  than  one  Avriter  has  not  hesitated  to 
condemn  such  treatment.  It  has  rather  surprised  me  to  find  that 
■ — so  far  at  least  as  I  can  judge — no  member  of  the  Trade  (so 
inaptly  described  as  helpless  victims  in  “  The  Times  ”  article 
referred  to  at  the  beginning  of  this  controversy)  has  seen  fit  to 
state  his  views  on  the  merits  of  the  question.  Nothing  has 
appeared  to  cause  me  to  alter  my  attitude  in  the  least  from  that 
taken  up  in  the  first  place.  Expenses  are  now  curtailed  to  the 
loAvest  limit  in  most  gardens,  and  it  is  practically  impossible  for 
any  man  to  run  up  large  bills  for  the  sake  of  pocketing  the  dis¬ 
count.  I  enclose  a  circular  from  a  company  containing  an  offer 
of  commission.  Previous  to  the  receipt  of  this  I  had  no  idea  that 
such  a  firm  existed. — Pkovincial. 
[The  offer  comes  embodied  in  a  letter  (sent  to  us  by  our  corre¬ 
spondent)  and  which  concludes  Avith  this  sentence  :  “We  shall  be 
pleased  to  alloAV  you  a  commission  of  ten  per  cent,  on  all  business 
for  us  that  you  can  introduce.” — Editor  of  “  J.  of  H.”] 
Back  to  the  Land. 
So  certain  is  “  D.  C.”  that  the  small  holdings  system  does  not 
pay  that  the  last  three  Avords  are  printed  in  italics  in  his  article 
on  page  509.  By  small  holdings  I  assume  that  small  farms  are 
meant,  and  if  the  latter  do  not  pay  I  am  afraid  it  is  a  bad  look 
out  for  many  of  the  larger  ones.  Personally,  I  am  inclined  to 
think  that  the^  future  of  British  agriculture  depends  largely  on 
the  establishment  of  more  small  farms  ;  but,  unfortunately,  up  to 
the  present,  landlords  are  lacking  either  the  means  or  the  in¬ 
clination,  or  both,  to  put  up  the  necessary  habitations  and  out¬ 
buildings.  It  is  impossible  to  have  proper  small  holdings  with¬ 
out  buildings,  and  the  builders  are  not  forthcoming.  For  some 
years  I  was  engaged  on  a  large  estate  in  the  Midlands  where 
dairy  farming  is  the  chief  industry.  On  the  estate  there  are 
many  large  farms  and  also  a  nnmber  of  small  holdings,  but  to 
shoAv  the  demand  that  existed  for  the  latter,  would-be  tenants 
outbid  each  other  in  rent  for  any  holdings  up  to  fifty  acres  in 
extent,  while  farms  of  from  two  to  three  hundred  acres  Avent 
begging  for  a  tenant,  and  this  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  rent 
for  the  small  holdings  AA-as  in  most  cases  double  that  asked  for 
large  farms. 
Though  I  am  no  advocate  for  the  universal  distribution  of 
land  amongst  the  people,  I  am  quite  convinced  that  some  people 
have  got  far  too  much.  In  fact,  it  is  characteristic  of  immense 
estates  that  the  majority  of  them  are  only  half  looked  after,  and 
the  interest  in  the  farming  industry  consists  largely  of  draAAung 
rents.  Look  round  the  country,  and  what  do-  you  find.?  Small 
and  medium  sized  estates  on  which  the  owner  lives  himself  in 
good  condition,  Avell  looked  after,  and  the  tenants  mostly  com¬ 
fortable  and  contented,  whilst  on  large  estates  portions  of  many 
of  them  haAm  never  been  seen  bv  the  OAvner,  and  little  or  no 
sympathy  exists  betAveen  landlord  and  tenant. 
I  do  not  agree  Avith  any  Avriter  aaIio  advises  a  Ainiversal 
system  of  fruit  groAving  and  market  gardening.  Let  these  in¬ 
dustries  be  encouraged  in  districts  that  are  suitable  for  them, 
but  encourage  every  locality  in  the  improvement  of  the  particular 
branch  of  land  cultiA'ation  for  AA’hich  it  is  naturally  adapted.  It 
is  not  the  glamour  and  excitement  of  the  toAAUis  that  attract 
people  from  the  country,  but  the  magnetic  influence  of  iiAoney, 
and  workers  will  stop  on  the  land  if  the  land  offers  them  any 
inducement  to  do  so.  I  think  it  AA'as  Dean  Hole  Avho  said  that 
the  prospect  of  an  agricultural  labourer  in  his  old  age  is  rheu¬ 
matism  and  the  AA’orkhouse.  Quite  so,  and  these  are  certainly 
not  great  inducements  for  him  to  stop  on  the'  land.  Give  him 
the  facilities,  hoAA’ever,  let  the  means  be  forthcoming  for  erecting 
buildings  and  establishing  more  small  farms  such  as  he  can  take 
with  the  prospect  of  a  fair  living  and  aaTioIc  or  partial  independ¬ 
ence,  and  the  countryman  aauII  shoAv  his  preference  for  living  on 
the  land  to  driAung  a  lorry,  stoking  an  engine,  or  >vearing  the 
King’s  uniform  in  the  police  force. 
The  fact  is,  that  the  sturdy  Avorkers  from  the  land  are  the. 
backbone  of  the  country.  Thci  toAvn  AAants  such  material,  and 
offers  facilities  AA-hich  draw  it  aAA'ay.  Canada  wants  it  and  is 
getting  a  fair  share,  the  counti*y  districts  Avant  it  but  cannot, 
keep  it  because  they  have  little  to  offer,  and  so  agriculture 
suffers  through  being  drained  of  its  best,  amid  cries  of  “  Back  to 
the  land,”  Avithout  anything  practical  being  done  to  get  or  keep 
the  right  class  of  people  there. — Briton. 
“  H.  D.”  Replies.  - 
The  great  Avriter  who  coined  the  above  heading  has  seldom, 
if  ever,  been  more  fortunate  in  choosing  a  “  catchy  ”  phrase- 
Avherewith  to  draw  attention  to  one  of  the  greatest  problems  of 
the  hour.  The  land  and  all  that  pertains  to  it  has  from  time 
immemorial  had  a  peculiar  fascination  for  a  large  share  of  the 
world’s  populace,  and  to  become  the  real  owner  of  at  least  a 
few  “  broad  acres  ”  is  still  the  highest  ambition  of  thousands,, 
but  of  this  more  anon.  Among  other  correspondents,  “W.  S.” 
has  touched  upon  the  subject  on  page  508,  and  in  his  opening 
remarks  he  has  sent  a  gentle  shaft  at  some  of  us  for  persistently 
advocating  fruit  growing  and  'land  tillage,  and  fearing  as  a 
result  that  some  aauII  be  convinced  against  their  Avill.  I  have 
long  known  that  “  W.  S.”  could  pack  as  much  sound  practical 
information  in  a  given  space  as  anyone,  and  noAA^  I  must  accredit 
him  with  the  further  accomplishment  of  paying  the  most  graceful 
of  all  compliments.  I  am  not,  hoAvever,  fishing  for  compliments, 
but  fighting  to  conAunce.  Yes,  I  too  fear  that  the  havoc  made 
by  the  spring  frosts  AA’ill  give  a  temporary  check  to  the  planting 
of  fruit  trees,  but  it  should  not,  as  such  things  have  happened 
before;  in  fact,  these  occurrences  have  always  been  acknoAV- 
ledged  to  be  the  greatest  draAA'backs  to  fruit  groAving  in  this 
country. 
The  only  Avay  to  estimate  the  profitableness  or  otherwise  of 
the  industry  is  to  calculate  the  profits  obtained  during  a  given 
number  of  years.  That  is  one  reason  why  I  have  always  con¬ 
tended  that  capitalists  are  wanted  in  the  indu,stry  as  well  as 
small  holders.  It  matters  but  little  to  the  former  whether  h©' 
obtains  a  moderate  profit  each  year  or  a  big  profit  every  feiv 
years,  so  long  as  the  average  works  out  all  right.  The  same 
argument  applies  to  many  commercial  enterprises.  For  instance, 
we  have  during  recent  years  been  talking  of  the  huge  profits 
of  the  owner  of  coal  mines,  and  seem  to  have  forgotten  the 
wretchedly  bad  times  of  ten  or  a  dozen  years  ago.  But  let  m& 
come  back  to  the  small  holders.  In  their  case,  through  lack  of 
capital,  sufficient  profit  to  keep  the  “wolf  from  the  door  ”  is 
needed  each  year,  and  it  is,  therefore,  obvious  that  in  such  in¬ 
stances  fruit  groAving  should  be  supplemented  by  the  growing  of 
other  crops,  and  by  poultry  or  pig  keeping.  Even  this  year 
those  who  groAV  Strawberries  and  bush  fruits  as  well  as  Apples, 
Pears,  and  Plums,  Avill  in  many  districts  come  out  fairly  well,, 
as  in  some  plantations  I  have  seen  fairly  good  crops  of  all  fruits 
excepting  Plums  and  Pears. 
In  treating  of  landlords  and  tenants,  “W.  S.,”  like  several 
other  writers,  has  hit,  so  to  speak,  the  right  nail  on  the  head. 
There  are  good  and  bad  among  both  classes ;  but ,  unfortunately, 
a  good  tenant  in  many  cases  has  no  power  to  protect  himself. 
In  nearly  all  instances  a  landlord  has.  “  D.  C.”  evidently  does 
not  take  a  very  hopeful  vieAv  of  this  “  Back  to  the  Land  ”  ques¬ 
tion  ;  indeed,  he  almost  Avrites  as  if  it  is  not  desirable  to  re- 
people  rural  districts  again,  and  altogether  ignores  the  yital  point 
as  to  the  resulting  stamina  of  the  nation  if  nothing  is  done  in 
this  respect.  It  is  all  very  Avell  to  say  that  people  have  migrated 
to  the  great  centres  of  labour  to  “  avert  starvation,”  but  what 
about  the  thousands  who  through  Aveakened  vitality  and  sick^ss 
have  been  brought  to  the  verge  of  starvation  in  the  towns?  The 
great  points  to  consider  are  that  if  the  prospects  of  workers  have 
in  the  past  been  so  bad  in  the  country,  Avhat  means  can  be  taken 
to  improve  them  in  the  future?  “D.  C.”  wmuld  have  us  believe 
that  the  land  is  of  little  or  no  value,  and  that  some  of  those 
who  have  it  Avould  be  as  Avell  Avithout  it.  Well,  I  can  assure 
