There is, I think, no doubt whatever of the present
success, even in the worst years, of the two small-holding communities at Holbeach and Sutton Bridge, though not everything is ideal. Rents are high, the railways have been inefficient, the Commissioners have lost an admirable opportunity for organizing co-operation. An immense amount of money was lost by building at the most expensive time in history ; and the buildings were not always of the most practical sort ; though in every case very comely to look upon. What is prettier than Norfolk reed thatch ? But it does not supply the housewife with rainwater. Even tiles suffered front marsh-land winds ; and the latest buildings—cheaper and more effective than the earlier—are roofed with slate. A good many men have dropped out. Insufficient capital and know- ledge and stamina, an urban-minded wife and sheer ill-luck have singly or in aggregate proved too heavy a handicap. But the failures grow fewer and are now absolutely as well as relatively few ; and if they can get more land, some of the best men will climb to great wealth, like their predecessors in the country. The Thompsons and Dennises of the future are, we trust, now in the making, even in these bad times.
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