23 FEBRUARY 1918, Page 16

AgrItulture in Berkshire. By John Orr. (Clarendon Press. 6s. 6d.

net.)—This valuable survey of Berkshire farming, made on

behalf of the Oxford Institute for Research in Agricultural Eco- nomics, is planned on the same lines as the author's recent survey of Oxfordshire. We commend to every one who is interested in agriculture the four chapters on "The Agricultural Partnership," " Estate Management," "Farm Management," and "Labour," which are of general application. Mr. Orr shows that good farming depends upon the landlord and the labourer as well as upon the farmer, and that each party to this triple alliance must give and receive his fair share if our greatest industry is to be placed upon a sure footing. The much-abused landlords in Berkshire reduced rents in bad times without raising thein when better days came ; the author evidently considers such a policy to be weak and un- businesslike. In regard to labour, he insists that farmers were never better served than they are to-day, and that the employers who have treated the labourers fairly have profited by it.