CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



. AGRICULTURE. 



The extent to which the soil is cultivated in 

 England is very much misunderstood. Taking 

 the area of the United Kingdom, including the 



188 



Channel Islands, as being 80 million acres, we 

 find that there are 11,648,245 acres under corn 

 crops; 5,m,944acresundergreencrops; 30,058,983 

 acres under other crops, grass, &c. ; 2,412,251 

 under timber crops accounting for only about 

 50 millions of the total acreage of the kingdom. 

 The remaining 30 millions, after making allowance 

 for what is covered by building, bogs, lake, moun- 

 tain, and waste land, &c. seems, and must surely 

 be, capable, in great part at least, of reclamation 

 and cultivation. Each year since agricultural 

 statistics began to be made up it would appear that 

 the return of cultivated acreage is on the increase. 

 As regards holdings in Great Britain, England 

 seems to be the land of small holdings. Of hold- 

 ings of J to i acre, there are in England and 

 Wales 68,525 acres ; in Scotland, 1319 ; 49,000 

 of these being held in England by agricultural 

 labourers and working-men. Of holdings of from 

 r to 5 acres, there were in England, 93,148 ; in 

 Wales, 10,041; in Scotland, 21,091. In 1873, in- 

 Great Britain, the live-stock was estimated as 

 follows : Cattle, 5,764,549 5 sh .eep, 29,427,635 ; 

 pigs, 2,500,259. The wealth in the shape of 

 profits derived from agricultural enterprise is diffi- 

 cult to estimate. The only indication that can be 

 given of it is the gross amount assessed for income- 

 tax under schedule A. (profits derived from occu- 

 pation of land, &c.), and in 1880 that came to 

 ^69,383,066 in Great Britain and Ireland, shewing 

 an increase of 10 millions in 10 years. 



COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY. 



The national balance-sheet, indicating the 

 amount of business done by the country with 

 other nations, has never been more satisfactory 

 than in 1872, for in that year more business was 

 done by Great Britain than had ever been done 

 by any other country before. In 1871, the total im- 

 ports and exports came to ^614,590,180. In 1872, 

 they reached the colossal sum of ^669,282,458, 

 and of this, ^256,267,347 was the value of 

 British manufactured articles exported, as against 

 ^223,066,162 in 1871. These figures give an idea 

 of the wonderful wealth, resources, and business 

 talent of the country. It is to be noted too that in 

 1840 the value of the imports was ^62,004,000; in 

 1872, it was .354,693,624; i.e. an increase of 572 

 per cent., and that in those years the increase in the 

 value of imports per head of the population was 

 from 2, 73. 6jd. to n t 2s. rod. or nearly fourfold. 

 The value of British produce and manufactures 

 exported in 1840 was 5 1,308,740; in 1872, it was 

 .256,257,347 an increase of 204,948,607, or 499 

 per cent. ; or, taking the proportion per head of the 

 population, an increase from i, 8s. gd. to 8, is. 

 Nothing could more clearly demonstrate the 

 wonderful and progressive material prosperity, the 

 growing opulence of Great Britain, than these 

 figures ; extending over a period which began 

 with a year when the country was in the deepest 

 distress, and when things that are in the very 

 poorest houses to-day common necessaries of 

 life, were dainty luxuries, rarely indulged in more 

 than once a week often not once a month 

 often not from one end of the year to the other. 

 During these 19 years, Britain has had a national 

 traffic amounting to upwards of 8000 millions 

 sterling, and that affords an indication of the vast 

 improvement made in the condition of the people. 



