FARMING IN LEICESTERSHIRE 59 
54 per cent. of the holdings in the county are under 50 acres in extent, 
veritably a county of small holdings. 
Regular Workers. 
1923)" ; ‘ : «18256 
1G25. , , : » #6958 
1920 ; : : . 8,196 
1931. . . . - 7,439 
pS cp hae : s ‘ ani fe -7 
(Excluding the occupier and his wife and domestics.) 
Total Workers, Regular and Casual. 
LQS3 i108 . ° . - 9,957 
1925. d : d . 10,062 
1926 . , ; , 5 ps E 
EOUE. ; ‘ ‘ te zig) 
1932. ; : : ’ . 8,269 
When we come to consider the common problem associated with the 
drift of agricultural workers to the towns, the figures in the foregoing 
tables emphasise a tendency which has often been deplored by all who have 
the welfare of the countryside at heart. Of the regular workers in agricul- 
ture in the county there has been a decline of no less than 1,091 during 
the last few years, and the figures seem to suggest that the decline has by 
no means been arrested. The same tendency is also seen when the total 
number of regular and casual workers is considered. If any evidence were 
required as to the seriousness of the agricultural depression which has 
extended over the last ten years, it is amply provided by this brief 
review of Leicestershire farming. 
