Mr. Sutherland on the Unemployed Lands of Great Britain. 73 



30th April, 1845. The President in the Chair. 



The following paper was read : — 



XL — On the Unemployed Lands of Great Britain. 

 By G. Sutherland, Jun., Esq. 



The writer stated that this subject was brought before the Society 

 for the purpose of drawing attention to the fact, that there exist no 

 official periodical sources of information on the relative quantities of 

 cultivated and of waste lands. Authorised periodical statements afford 

 the most certain data for speculations on the population, wealth, and 

 power of this country when compared with other nations, the extent 

 of cultivation and quantity of food produced affecting the social and 

 political status of the country, both absolutely and relatively, especi- 

 ally when viewed with reference to the contingencies of war, and the 

 rapid progress of manufactures and commerce among rival powers. 



The following Table is compiled from M'Culloch, M'Queen, and 

 Browning, these authors founding on Parliamentary Reports from 

 1829 to 1835; but as there are discrepancies in the Tables, the fol- 

 lowing may be assumed as the present areas, expressed in millions of 

 acres and fractional parts of a million : — 



The area of the United Kingdom is about 78,000,000 acres, of 

 which are cultivated 47,000,000,— viz. 19,000,000 in arable and 

 gardens, and 28,000,000 in pasture, meadows, &c. 



The uncultivated improvable, in England and Wales, 4,000,000 

 Do. do. do. Scotland, .... 6,000,000 



Do. do. do. Ireland, .... 4,000,000 



Total, 14,000,000 



From these data it appears that an improvable area, equal to two- 

 sevenths of the surface now in cultivation, still remains to be taken 

 in for agricultural and pastoral purposes, an important fact when we 

 reflect that the population is increasing at the rate of 300,000 per 

 annum, and that this increase is pressing upon the means of subsist- 



