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stock. This man is a type of a most numerous class whose aim is to be become small farmers, and who, with that end in view, work hard and practise the severest thrift and perseverance.

In Great Britain the amount of stock per acre carried on small holdings is larger-with the exception of sheep-than that carried on a similar area of land in large farms. Tables compiled by the writer from the agricultural returns of Great Britain, and printed in the evidence given before the Select Committee on Small Holdings (1889), show that the area of land in Great Britain cultivated in small holdings of 1 acre to 100 acres is about the same as the area cultivated in large farms of 300 acres and upwards, the area being about 91 and 9 million acres respectively. The tables show that the small holdings carry 511,038 horses, the large farms 314,016; cows and other cattle 2,660,281 as against 1,227,904; pigs 1,178,500 as against 383,626. Only in sheep is the advantage shown to be with the large farms. It frequently happens that cases showing the failure of petite culture refer really to small cultivators who hold their land on a yearly tenancy or some other uncertain tenure, a class altogether distinct from and lacking the essential conditions of peasant proprietors. The great prosperity of agriculture in Denmark, and the large and increasing exports of butter, eggs, cattle, pigs, &c. from that country are due to the fact that the great bulk of the land is cultivated by owners, mainly by peasant proprietors of farms from 25 to 125 acres. Mr Jenkins gives interesting examples, not exceptional, of prosperous highly cultivated peasant farms in Denmark. One small owner of 50 acres of land kept eighteen cows, fed eighteen pigs annually, and had two horses to work the arable land. The whole family was employed on the farm or in the dairy. The dairy, though small, 12 by 14 feet, was a perfect sight for order, cleanliness, and for the complete though inexpensive character of the arrangements and appliances. The majority of the agricultural labourers in Denmark possess a cottage with a few acres of land, either his own or on lease. In Germany the agrarian reforms inaugurated by Stein and Hardenberg early in the 19th century, and continued up to recent date, for the promotion of cultivating ownership in land, were undoubtedly the groundwork of the strength and solidity of the German nation.

In direct connection with the subject of peasant proprietorship is the fact of Britain's great and increasing dependence on foreign countries for a supply of the smaller articles of food. Besides fruit, vegetables, honey, flowers, &c., the importation of which is yearly increasing, the value of the following articles in pounds sterling imported in 1889 was as follows: Cheese above 4 million; butter above 10 million; margarine above 3 million; lard above 2 million; poultry, game, and rabbits above 34 million; bacon and hams above 9 million; pork, potatoes, and onions above 2 million; eggs above 3 million. This gives the enormous aggregate value of 36 million sterling paid annually to the foreigner for these smaller articles of food, for the production of which the soil and climate of England are for the most part specially fitted. In the face of chronic complaints of agricultural depression, this great volume of trade is allowed to pass into the hands of the small cultivator abroad. The reason is that the system of large farming is not adapted to the supply of these articles. The large farmer who raises corn and cattle cannot successfully compete with the small grower who is accustomed to minute and intensive cultivation. Peasant proprietorship is a separate and distinct business. The conditions of its success are close personal attention, hard work, and the strictest frugality. The peasant cultivator employs

but little hired labour, every member of the family doing something useful on the little holding. The system develops a handiness, a fertility of resources, an adaptation of means to ends, and an incessant industry, qualities hardly to be expected in connection with hired labour. As owner of his little holding the peasant proprietor has no restrictions as to cropping or methods of cultivation. He has no doubts about compensation for unexhausted manures and improvements, and no uncertainty as to tenure. As a small owner who for many years has lived on and successfully cultivated a few acres of land remarked to the present writer-The more I care for and work my land the more it gives me back; my little farm is my bank in which I put my labour and savings, which it pays me back with good interest.' It is often said that thrift, prudence, and perseverance are peculiar to the peasant proprietor on the Continent, and are the cause of his success. The history of peasant proprietorship, however, shows that these qualities are the result and not the cause of cultivating ownership. Improvident habits, early marriages, and little thought for the morrow are the too frequent accompaniments of a condition in which there is no prospect in life beyond that of a mere wage-receiver. The great secret of success of peasant proprietorship is summed up by Adam Smith in a striking passage in his Wealth of Nations: A small proprietor who knows every part of his little territory, who views it with all the affection which property, especially small property, naturally inspires, and who upon that account takes pleasure not only in cultivating but in adorning it, is generally of all improvers the most industrious, the most intelligent, and the most successful.' The two great drawbacks of peasant proprietorship are excessive subdivision and the unlimited power of mortgage. The landhunger-especially in France is so great that the proprietor of a few acres will submit to any privation to save money, and will borrow at any rate, in order to acquire more land. The money-lender on the Continent, like the 'gombeen' man in Ireland, is the chief cause of trouble and difficulty to the small cultivator. The creation of a peasant proprietorship in Great Britain, though much discussed, has not till recently been seriously entertained as a practical question. In 1889 the government appointed a Select Committee on Small Holdings, and the evidence contains practical information on the various aspects of peasant proprietorship, and on the applicability of the system to Great Britain. The committee in their Report (1890) unanimously recommend that facilities should be given for the creation of small holdings, and they adopt the principles of Mr Jesse Collings' Small Holdings Bill. The general provisions of this bill are as follows: Local authorities are empowered by moneys borrowed for that purpose from the state, to acquire land and to sell the same in small holdings not exceeding 50 acres each. Purchasers are required to pay down as proof of their bona fides a portion not exceeding one-fourth or one-fifth of the purchasemoney. A part of the balance is to be paid off by annual payments, but the remainder a small proportion of the original cost is to remain at a perpetual feu or quit-rent. This provision, while it protects the small holder-to a great extent-from the money-lender, at the same time makes the terms of purchase as easy as possible. It also enables the local authority to enforce the conditions provided against subletting and subdivision. The local authorities are further empowered to let land on favourable conditions in small holdings not exceeding 10 acres each. The report of the Select Committee declares that the extension of small ownerships is a matter of national importance both in the interests of the rural population, and