34 AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION 



The following table is taken from Mr. F. W. 

 Hirst's new edition of The Progress of the 

 Nation (1912). It shows the rapid and almost 

 continuous rise of imports of grain, butter, 

 and beef after 1849 : — 



During the period covered by the first table 

 the population of the United Kingdom in- 

 creased by 65 per cent, and that of England 

 and Wales by 100 per cent., while the imports 

 of wheat increased by 471 per cent., of butter 

 by 1,000 per cent., and of beef by 3,300 per 

 cent. During the period covered by the 

 second table the increase of population was 

 only 56 per cent, in the United Kingdom and 

 80 per cent, in England and Wales, while the 

 imports of foodstuffs rose at the rate of 400 

 per cent, to 1,200 per cent. This immense 

 and disproportionate rise of foreign produce 



