532 Decline in Agricultural. Population, [dec, 



They have altered their methods of farming so far as possible 

 with the view of economising labour. The most important 

 change, which is referred to in the reports from practically every 

 county from Cornwall to Caithness, is the laying down of land 

 to grass. The loss of 2,000,000 acres of arable land in Great 

 Britain in the twenty years 1881-1901 probably threw out of 

 work from 60,000 to 80,000 labourers at least during that 

 period. 



Arable Land and Labour. — It is clear, however, that the with- 

 drawal of the plough from an extent of land as large as 

 Hampshire and Somerset put together, has only partially 

 accounted for the reduction of labour. Indeed, if the figures be 

 examined in local detail, it will be observed that the relation 

 between the decrease of arable land and the diminution of 

 labourers varies greatly, and this is illustrated in the report by 

 several diagrams which show the relative changes which have 

 taken place in the number of labourers and the acreage of arable 

 land, and in the number of cattle and sheep respectively since 



1871. 



The conclusion arrived at from these figures is that other and 

 perhaps more powerful influences have been affecting agricultural 

 labour than either the laying down of land to grass or the 

 quantity of stock kept in the country. There is little doubt that 

 the saving of labour on the 15^ million acres which in 1901 still 

 remained under the plough was in the aggregate greater during 

 the twenty years than on the two million acres laid down to grass. 

 Many expedients, other than actually stopping the plough, were 

 adopted to reduce the labour bill. But while manual labour 

 has no doubt been economised to some extent by curtailing 

 some of the operations which require it, the main cause of its 

 reduction is undoubtedly the extended use of labour-saving 

 machinery. 



Machinery, — With the exception of the self-binding harvester 

 which was introduced into this country in the early " eighties," 

 few machines for the performance of a specific manual operation 

 have been invented since 1881 (unless milking machines, 

 shearing machines, and, perhaps, potato diggers come within 

 that category), but whereas twenty years ago labour-saving 

 machinery was fully employed by comparatively few, it has now 



