COUNTRIES OF INCREASE 21 



Where Agriculture is Advancing. 



There remain Russia, France, Italy, and 

 Denmark. In Russia apparently only one 

 occupational census has been taken, so that 

 the movement cannot be stated. The 

 agricultural population is naturally much 

 larger in Russia than in any other Western 

 State. In 1897 it exceeded 18 milHons. 

 Austria-Hungary came next with 14 millions, 

 and the United States third with loh millions. 

 With regard to France, the state of things is 

 ambiguous. The census of igo6 showed an 

 actual increase in the agricultural population 

 of some 600,000 over that of 1901, and an 

 advance from 41.8 per cent, to 42.7 per cent, 

 of the whole. But this seems to be due rather 

 to a more careful enumeration than to any 

 real movement, though some of the towns 

 underwent an appreciable decline in this 

 period. In any case the transfer from agricul- 

 ture to industry and from country to town is 

 proceeding very slowly in France, and the 

 comparatively high and stable position of 

 agriculture is remarkable. In Italy it has 

 advanced both absolutely and relatively. 

 Between 1881 and 1901 the agricultural 

 population increased by over a million, and 

 advanced from 56.7 per cent, to 59.4 per cent, 

 of the whole. Finally we have Denmark, 

 which presents such a striking contrast to all 

 the rest that it is difficult to accept the figures 



