Agriculture 139 



in the official returns. Though in some districts large farms stretch as far as 

 the eye can see, Cambridgeshire as a whole may be regarded as a county of 

 small farms, small-holdings, and market or cottage gardens. Of the 

 ordinary farm crops, excluding rotation and permanent grass, the most 

 important on an acreage basis are wheat, barley, oats, potatoes, and sugar 

 beet, wliich together covered 245,000 acres in 1937, more than two-third'' 

 of the total arable acreage. Fig. 33 shows the acreage of each of these crops 

 in 1913 and from 1919 to 1937. 



100 i 



£80 



u 



U 

 (C 



»60 



•o 



c 

 m 



m 



1 40 



20 



01 



13 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 ■ 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 



Fig- 33- 

 Acreages of Main Crops, 1913-37 (Ministry of Agriculture Statistics). 



The Wheat acreage has been maintained fairly well in recent times, except 

 during a period of low prices just before 1932. The effect of the Wheat Act 

 of that year v/as to check the decline, and later to increase the acreage to a 

 litde above the pre-war level. The wide variations in soil type lead to aia 

 equally wide variation in the choice of seed. Some of the more common 

 varieties are Little Joss, Squarehead's Master, Victor, Wilhelmina, Yeoman, 

 and Rivett's. In the County, a distinctive feature is the large proportion of 

 wheat which is grown after a one year's sainfoin or clover leyer. If the 

 latter has not been heavily folded with sheep, it is customary to apply a 

 dressing of farmyard manure prior to ploughing for the wheat crop. In 

 the Fenland wheat usually follows a fallow crop and receives no special 

 manuring in the autumn. 



The Barley acreage has been decUning gradually in recent years. In the 

 County, the acreage has been fairly constant between 30,000 and 37,000 



