"(2) Nothing in this section shall entitle a tenant to recover in respect of an improvement specified in the first schedule or the third schedule to the act of 19°8 any compensation which he would not have been entitled to recover if this section had not been passed.
"(3) The continuous adoption of such a beneficial standard or sys tem of farming as aforesaid shall be treated as an improvement for the purposes of the provisions of this act relating to the determination of the rent properly payable in respect of a holding." Rules of Good Husbandry.—The phrase "cultivating in ac cordance with the rules of good husbandry" is of ancient origin. Stipulations as to conforming with the rules of good hus bandry were common in old leases and agreements. Indeed, apart from explicit conditions, conformity with the rules of good hus bandry was obligatory, under the common law, on any tenant. There was no definition of the term, and in cases of dispute the rules of good husbandry applicable in a particular case were proved by the evidence of experienced persons familiar with the farming practice of the district in which the farm was situated.
In the Agriculture Act 192o, a legal definition was given to the term as f ollows "The expression 'rules of good husbandry' means (due regard being had to the character of the holding) so far as is practicable having regard to its character and position " (a) the maintenance of the land (whether arable, meadow or pas ture), clean and in a good state of cultivation and fertility, and in good condition ; and " (b) the maintenance and clearing of drains, embankments and ditches ; and "(c) the maintenance and proper repair of fences, stone walls, gates and hedges ; and "(d) the execution of repairs to buildings, being repairs which are necessary for the proper cultivation and working of the land on which they are to be executed ; and "(e) such rules of good husbandry as are generally recognised as applying to holdings of the same character and in the same neighbour hood as the holding in respect of which the expression is to be applied; Provided that the foregoing definition shall not imply an obligation on the part of any person to maintain or clear drains, embankments or ditches, if and so far the execution of the works required is dered impossible (except at prohibitive or unreasonable expense) by reason of subsidence of any land or the blocking of outfalls which are not under the control of that person, or in its application to land in the occupation of a tenant imply an obligation on the part of the tenant "(i.) to maintain or clear drains, embankments, or ditches, or to
maintain or properly repair fences, stone walls, gates or hedges where such work is not required to be done by him under his contract of tenancy ; or "(ii.) to execute repairs to buildings which are not required to be executed by him under his contract of tenancy." Security of Tenure.—Although, as has been said, the prac tice of letting farms on lease died out in England generally at the end of the last century, the system of yearly tenancies which became almost universal did not, in fact, make any great change in the length of time for which farms were generally occupied. On many estates instances were common of farming families who had occupied the same farm for generations although subject legally to a year's notice. On the other hand instances sometimes occurred of the eviction of old tenants for reasons unconnected with their competence or solvency as farmers. It was felt as a grievance that a man should be turned out of a farm because, for some reason or other, he had become personally objectionable to his landlord, and a demand arose either for "fixity of tenure" or "compensation for disturbance." This demand was strongly opposed as an unreasonable interference with the rights of land owners but the interests of the tenants prevailed and the Agricul ture Act of 1920 contained provisions for compensating the ten ant if his tenancy is terminated except for certain specific causes. These provisions do not, in terms, give fixity of tenure, but they are designed to penalize the landlord if he unreasonably evicts a competent and solvent tenant.
The reasons for which a tenant may be evicted without pay ment of compensation are : (I) That he is not cultivating the holding in accordance with the rules of good husbandry.