Too Mach Land a Curse

Feilding Star, Volume VIII, Issue 114, 2 April 1887, Page 4

Too Mach Land a Curse

«■ From an excellent paper by ' A Small tfarmholder,' in the Adelaide Obaenrer, we take the following ;— Wo know of a good number of steady going fanners, owning moderately acred farms, who Have been doing well all along. We quite recently j heard of one who owns only five acres, -who earns over £400 a year upon it by growing lucerne. Of course tins is -xcoptional. because he lives near • the city at Woodville. There are | many others near the city doing equally well, whilst there are others, owning a couple of hundred of acres of equally rich soil close by, who earn scarcely 'enough to keep their fences in repair. The same can he said of others all over the country. It is not the large holder of laud that air ways are the most confortable and successful, or who are the happiest. There are plenty of men who are a source of wonder to their neighbors, Tivlio cannot make out how they always manage to be so comfortable on such small farms, or even allotments. But whilst the big farmer grows nothing but wheat, and often fails with tiiat, the " little" farmer manages to raise an income from a dozen sources and makes a deal more off his few acres (and at less expense) than his neighbor can obtain from his extensive domain. " Earth-hunger" lia-s been the curse of England and Scotland; it has injured America, it iin.y stopped progress in New South YVitlosand Victoria, and has prevented Vv extern Australia becoming an important colony. In South Australia wb can point to a very extensive and rich part of the colony that has fallen into the hands of about twenty men ■who make use of it tor a few sheep runs; but this land would easily maintain thousands of families in comfort and happiness if it were divided amongst them and properly cultivated. This last stipulation, however, is a very important one, and would involve something better than wheat-growing. But supposing that it were possible that a man could maintain himself- and family comfortably upon 100 acres of land — and we feel assured that he could do so — would it not be better for everybody that 400,000 families should be maintained in comfort upon the land, and that its fertility and productiveness should be sustained, than that some 20,000, or many less, should occupy the same area of land, and half ruin it through imperfect cultivation ? The greater the number of people there arc in a country earning a living and producing goods of a mercantile value th- j richer that country is ; and the greater the number of taxpayers the lighter the taxes upon the individual —the better able are they to keep all public works in a state of efficiency anil to contend against fires that may attack their crops, or to protect themselves and their property against thieves, marauders, &c. The man who owns thousands of acres of land cannot find manure to compensate for corps taken off, whilst it is quite easy to one whos owes 50 to 100. To pror^riy plough and thoroughly cultivate 100 acres is within the powers of a man and his son with a couple of teams, but it requires a large drove of horses and a good stock of implements as well as several hired men, to properly work 1000 acres. A man needs to. hold a good reserve in the bank in oase his 1000 acres fail him for one season ; but if it fails twice or thrice in succession he will be ruined, notwithstanding that he owns enough land to found a kingdom in some of the European countries. The little farmer can always manage to rub along with the aid of his garden, his cows, his poultry, his pigs, and a few other little odds and ends, and through cultivation he is almost certain to raise a fair crop of wheat where his worried and hurried neighbour is almost as certain to fail in a bad season.