Thus commerce acts upon agriculture. Per contra, the tradesmen of the town who go to the bank every morning would tell you with doleful faces that the condition of agriculture acts upon trade in a most practical manner.  Neither the farmer, nor the farmer’s wife and family expend nearly so much as they did at their shops, and consequently the sums they carry over to the bank are much diminished in amount.  The local country tradesman probably feels the depression of agriculture all but as much as the farmer himself.  The tradesman is perhaps supported by the bank; if he cannot meet his liabilities the bank is compelled to withdraw that support.

Much of this country banking seems to have grown up in very recent times.  Any elderly farmer out yonder in the noisy market would tell you that in his young days when he first did business he had to carry coin with him, especially if at a distance from home.  It was then the custom to attend markets and fairs a long way off, such markets being centres where the dealers and drovers brought cattle.  The dealers would accept nothing but cash; they would not have looked at a cheque had such a thing been proffered them.  This old Bank prides itself upon the reputation it enjoyed, even in those days.  It had the power of issuing notes, and these notes were accepted by such men, even at a great distance, the bank having so good a name.  They were even preferred to the notes of the Bank of England, which at one time, in outlying country places, were looked on with distrust, a state of things which seems almost incredible to the present generation.

In those days men had no confidence.  That mutual business understanding, the credit which is the basis of all commerce of the present time, did not exist.  Of course this only applies to the country and to country trading; the business men of cities were years in advance of the agriculturists in this respect.  But so good was the reputation of the old Bank, even in those times, that its notes were readily accepted.  It is, indeed, surprising what a reputation some of the best of the country banks have achieved.  Their names are scarcely seen in the money articles of the daily press.  But they do a solid business of great extent, and their names in agricultural circles are names of power.  So the old Bank here, though within an arrow shot of the green meadows, though on ordinary days a single clerk might attend to its customers, has really a valuable clientele.

Of late years shrewd men of business discovered that the ranks of the British farmer offered a wonderful opportunity for legitimate banking.  The farmer, though he may not be rich, must of necessity be the manager, if not the actual owner, of considerable capital.  A man who farms, if only a hundred acres, must have some capital.  It may not be his own—­it may be borrowed; still he has the use of it.  Here, then, a wide field opened itself to banking enterprise.  Certainly there has been a remarkable extension of banking institutions in the country.  Every market town has its bank, and in most cases two—­branches of course, but banks to all intents and purposes.  Branches are started everywhere.