1908.] 



British Crops of 1908. 



663 



The total production of potatoes this year is nearly 1,000,000 

 tons more than in 1907, and is the largest crop returned since 

 official statistics of production were first collected. The average 

 yield, which is tons above that of last year, also constitutes 

 a record. The yield in England is practically the same as in 

 Great Britain as a whole, but in Scotland it exceeds 7J tons per 

 acre. The figures for these two countries are likewise higher 

 than any hitherto returned, but the yield obtained in Wales 

 viz., 5-J- tons, has frequently been exceeded. Compared with 

 the ten years' average the yield in Great Britain shows an excess 

 of nearly i\ tons. 



As in the case of potatoes, the average yield of turnips and 

 swedes is higher than that of any previous year, but the total 

 crop, although 1,650,000 tons greater than in 1907, has frequently 

 been exceeded, the area under this crop having declined steadily 

 for many years past. The yield this year is nearly ij tons 

 above that of 1907, a result mainly due to an improvement of 

 4 J tons in Scotland, the yield in England showing a slight 

 falling-off. In Wales, where the area under the crop is, relatively 

 to the whole, small, the yield is ij- tons better than last year. 

 In each country this year's yield is considerably above that of 

 the average of the previous ten years, and the excess in Great 

 Britain as a whole is more than 2 tons per acre. 



The total production of mangolds is only 50,000 tons above 

 that of last year, when there was a larger area under the crop, 

 but it is the largest returned in any year with the exception of 

 1902. The average yield is more than 1 ton better than in 1907, 

 and has also only once been exceeded, in 1903. The figures 

 for England, where nearly the whole of the mangold crop is 

 grown, are practically the same as for Great Britain. In Scot- 

 land, where the area is less than 2,000 acres, the yield exceeds 

 that of 1907 by over 6J tons. As compared with the ten years' 

 average the yield is this year higher in each country, and amounts 

 on the whole to if tons. 



The total production and yield per acre of hay and hops are 

 shown in the next table. 



Both classes of hay show a considerable falling-off in total 

 production from last year's figures, the total decrease amounting 

 to over 700,000 tons. The yield of clover and rotation grasses 

 is i-J cwts. below that of 1907, the decline in England alone 

 being rather less. In Scotland and Wales the deficiency 



