Rural Depopulation 137 



length, because it is important to distin- 

 guish between rural depopulation in the 

 sense of an absolute falling off of the 

 numbers in what is called the country, 

 and a low rate of increase compared with 

 the towns. 



There are, of course, as is pointed out 

 in the Census Report, many rural parts in 

 which actual depopulation has occurred 

 during the last ten years — in some cases 

 considerable — but even in these cases it is 

 to be observed that the rate of decrease is 

 less than in the preceding decennium. In 

 1881-91 the maximum rate of decrease 

 was 1 1 '68, whilst in 1891-1901 the maxi- 

 mum was 5*35 per cent., and there were 

 only two counties in which the decrease 

 was over 5 per cent., as against 7 per cent, 

 in the preceding decennium. 



It is worth noting, incidentally, that the 

 popular idea that the rate of increase in 



