e deplorable; a fact to be noted by those who think small
holdings a panacea for distress.[687]

Even near Boston, where the soil is favourable for market gardening,
the evidence of the small holder was 'singularly unanimous' as to
their unfortunate condition. The small occupiers were better off than
the freeholders, because their rents had been reduced and they could
leave their farms if they did not pay; but their position was very
unsatisfactory. From the evidence given to the assistant commissioner
it is clear that the small occupier and freeholder could only get on
by working harder and living harder than the labourer. 'We all live
hard and never see fresh meat,' said one. 'We can't afford butcher's
meat,' said another. Another said, 'In the summer I work from 4 a.m.
to 8 p.m., and often do not take more than an hour off for meals. That
is penal servitude, except you have your liberty. A foreman who earns
L1 a week is better off than I am. He has no anxiety, and not half the
work.' These instances could be multiplied many times, so that it is
not surprising that the children of these men have flocked to the
towns.

In Norfolk, 'twenty or thirty years ago, no class connected with the
land held their heads higher' than the farmers. Many of them owned the
whole or a part of the land they farmed, and lived in good style. All
this was now largely changed. 'The typical Norfolk farmer of to-day is
a harassed and hardworking man,' engaged in the struggle to make both
ends meet. Many were ruined.

However, there were farmers who, by skill, enterprise, and careful
management, made their business pay even in these times, such as the
tenant of the farm at Papplewick in Nottinghamshire who gained the
first prize in the Royal Agricultural Society's farm competition in
1888.[688]. This farm consisted of 522 acres, of which only 61 were
grass, but chiefly owing to the trouble taken in growing fine root
crops, a large number of live stock were annually purchased and sold
off, the following balance sheet showing a profit of L3 1s. 0d. per
acre:

DR. L

Rent, tithes, rates, taxes, &c. 278
Wages 387
Purchase of cake, corn, seeds, manure, &c. 688
Purchase of live stock 2,654
-----