Census of England and Wales for the Year 1871. 399 



great increase in the demand for meat on the part of the in- 

 dustrious classes, and the consequent consumption of animals 

 which might otherwise have been retained for breeding purposes ; 

 and, secondly, to the losses which farmers sustained from 

 Rinderpest in 1865, and from the drought of 18G8 and 1870. 

 Since 1871, however, these losses have been recovered, in spite 

 of, and perhaps owing to, the excessive demand for meat. The 

 number of sheep in 1873 had increased to 22,136,713, but was 

 still smaller than in 1868. The cattle amounted to 4,816,492, 

 an increase of 443,428, which more than compensated for the 

 diminished number of sheep. In these figures I am taking 

 no account of Scotland and Ireland, from which latter country 

 especially we continue to derive increasing supplies both of fat 

 and grazing stock. Indeed the increase of cattle in Ireland be- 

 tween 1869 and 1873, was no less than 531,209, and for the 

 three kingdoms had reached the amount of 1,071,777, an increase 

 of agricultural wealth of not less than 11,000,000/. ; but as the 

 stock of sheep was still 1,623,323 below that of 1869, we must 

 deduct for these a sum of 3,250,000/., leaving a net increase of 

 about 7,750,000/. In the mean time our supplies of food from 

 abroad continued to increase, and in the ten articles of farmers' 

 produce, — cattle, sheep, bacon, beef, butter, corn of all kinds, 

 cheese, eggs, potatoes, and pork, — the imports into the United 

 Kingdom, which in 1861 were valued at 46,247,258/., had in 

 1871 reached the sum of 63,702,894/. ; an amount partly arrived 

 at by increase of price, but still further by augmented supply. 



As far as we can judge from the returns, there is not any 

 serious alteration in the rotation of our crops arising from the 

 diminished supply of agricultural labour. The percentages of 

 the different crops do not vary very considerably : — 



The truth of the matter is, that wider and easier communica- 

 tion with the world has at length reached the agricultural 

 labourer, and has taught him that there are other fields of 

 industry even for unskilled labour, and that higher wages, with 

 a more active life, await him in the towns. To the labourer 

 himself this is a great boon, and I believe it will eventually 

 be found equally valuable to his employer. Low Avages have 



