BELGIUM AND NETHERLANDS 25 



by a higher density and a lower proportion of 

 agricultural workers than any other State. 

 It is accordingly with the Netherlands and 

 Belgium that our own conditions can best be 

 compared ; and as it happens the former 

 has almost the same density as Great Britain, 

 while Belgium is only a little in advance of 

 England and Wales ; the two are approxi- 

 mately equal in regard to density and both 

 are separated by a wide interval from all other 

 units. A double comparison can thus be 

 made on fairly level terms, and it brings out 

 in a striking way the great difference between 

 Continental and British conditions. In the 

 one case the relative position of agriculture 

 is as 30.7 to 9.3 and in the other as 21. i to 8.8. 

 Nor can this be explained by differences in 

 the area of land available for cultivation. 

 The proportions are nearly the same in the 

 Netherlands and in Great Britain ; in both 

 about one-third of the total area is not culti- 

 vated. In Belgium, on the other hand, the 

 proportion excluded from cultivation is 

 considerably larger than in England and 

 Wales. Belgium has, therefore, a denser 

 population for the whole area and a smaller 

 proportion of land devoted to agriculture, 

 and yet the agricultural population is as 21. i 

 to 8.8. 



Another comparison may be made. There 

 is one State in Europe which has a much 



