132 Rents ^ Wages, and Profits in Agriculture 



In 1 88 1 the persons enumerated in urban 

 districts were in proportion to those in the 

 rural districts as 212 to 100; in 1891 the 

 proportions had risen to 258 to 100 in 

 favour of the urban districts, and in the 

 last census — 1901 — the proportion had still 

 further increased to 335 to 100. At first 

 sight these figures seem to confirm the 

 popular view that the country is becoming 

 rapidly desolate, but several important 

 corrections have to be made before this 

 view can be maintained. 



In the first place, the increase in the 

 proportion of the urban districts is partly 

 due to an actual growth of the population 

 enumerated in the preceding censuses in 

 those areas, but partly also to the inclusion 

 in the urban areas of some which had 

 formerly been classed as rural. 



In the census of 1891 attention was drawn 

 in the General Report to the fact that a 



