Agriculture I37 



On the other hand there have been increases in pigs and poultry, types of 

 live stock for which special fodder crops are seldom grown, and which are 

 primarily dependent on concentrated feeding stuffs. The crude figures in 

 the annual 4th June statistics show, between 1900 and 1936, decreases of 

 12,000 in cattle, and 146,000 in sheep, and increases of 73,000^ in pigs, and 

 possibly 400,000 in poultry. Though it is very difficult to reduce the 

 different categories of live stock to a common denominator, it seems 

 probable, on balance, that the monetary value of the livestock output 

 may even have increased during the period. 



The explanation of this apparent anomaly is naturally complex. Un- 

 doubtedly, farmers have become increasingly dependent upon purchased 

 feedmg stuffs for their live stock, particularly after 1930. The expansion in 

 Hvestock commitments took place chiefly in pigs and poultry — two 

 categories primarily dependent on concentrated feeding stuffs. The decHne 

 in livestock numbers has been in sheep and beef catde, which in arable 

 districts commonly consume large quantities of home-grown bulky foods. 

 The number of sheep has fallen by two-thirds, and "other cattle" by 

 one-third, as compared with a decrease of 50 per cent in the acreage of 

 fodder crops. Undoubtedly the development of sugar beet has con- 

 tributed, particularly in the case of sheep, to the maintenance of the fodder 

 supply, for the "tops" have replaced large acreages of "sheep keep" (e.g. 

 turnips, kale, etc.) formerly grown to be close-folded. Further, the 

 reduction in the number of working horses (from 23,600 in 1910 to 15,500 

 in 1936) must have liberated a considerable area, perhaps as much as 

 20,000 acres, formerly required for growing horse feed. This latter economy 

 has, of course, been at least partly off-set by increased expenditure on 

 macliinery, oU, paraffin, etc. 



Judged by money values, the crop output of the County in 1936 

 appears to have been substantially greater than at the beginning of the 

 century, while the livestock output was at least not smaller. Further, the 

 area under fruit, on holdings of one acre or more, increased from some 

 6000 acres in 1900 to 15,000 acres in 1936. This apparent expansion in total 

 agricultural output was secured despite a decline in the number of workers 

 employed, and a decrease in the number of horses used for agricidture. 

 Statistics of employment are not available for years earlier than 1921, 

 when the number of workers (including casuals) stood at 24,610. It seems 

 probable that in 1900 the number was larger, but by 1930 it had fallen to 

 23,068; and in 1936 it stood at 21,644. Thus between 1921 and 1936 there 

 was a decline of nearly 3000 workers (12 per cent). Output per worker 



' "With two gestation periods in the year, this figure should be approximately 

 doubled to determine the rise in the annual pig output. 



