CHAPTER VIII 



LAND OWNERSHIP 



One of the agricultural conditions which 

 most markedly distinguishes this country 

 from others is the comparatively small pro- 

 portion of land owned by those who cultivate 

 it. According to an official return published 

 in 1906 only 12.4 per cent, of the agricultural 

 land in Great Britain was then cultivated by 

 the owners. In Germany the proportion is 

 86.1 per cent., in France about 60 per cent., 

 in the United States 64 per cent., and in 

 Denmark 88 per cent. In Belgium the pro- 

 portion is given by Mr. Rowntree {Land and 

 Labour) as 35 per cent., but another method 

 of calculation makes it about 50 per cent. 

 These figures, without entering into minor 

 differences and qualifications, sufficiently 

 indicate the exceptional position of Great 

 Britain ; and it appears to be becoming more 

 pronounced. Official statistics on the subject 

 were first collected in 1887, and in 1888 the 

 proportion of owner-cultivated land in Great 

 Britain was 15 per cent. In 1912 the pro- 

 portion in England and Wales was only 10.87 

 per cent. The Board of Agriculture's report 



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