572 Agricultural Returns of 1909. [Oct , 



Cereal crops, other crops, and permanent pasture have in- 

 creased, while clover and rotation grasses and the uncropped 

 area have declined. 



The increase under cereals amounts to 108,491 acres, which 

 brings the figure for these crops nearly up to that returned 

 in 1906. Other crops show an increase of nearly 60,000 acres, 

 or 1 "9 per cent. Clover and rotation grasses show the large 

 decrease of nearly 207,000 acres, or 47 per cent., or the lowest 

 figure recorded for clover since 1869, and the area for bare 

 fallow has also declined by 26,000 acres. The decrease in 

 arable land amounts to nearly 65,000 acres, or not quite 

 \ per cent., of which 36,500 acres are accounted for by the 

 further extension of permanent grass. 



Among the cereal crops, increases are recorded in wheat, 

 rye, beans, and peas, while barley and oats have declined. 

 Wheat shows the large increase of about 197,000 acres, or 

 12 per cent., which brings the area under this cereal almost 

 up to that returned in 1900, when the figure stood at 1,845,000 

 acres. There is a very small decrease in barley, and this 

 further decline again makes the area under this crop the lowest 

 on record. There is a substantial decline in the oat area, 

 amounting to 127,000 acres, no doubt consequential upon 

 the increase in wheat, and the area under oats this year is 

 the lowest returned since 1899. 



Both beans and peas show considerable increases, with 

 19,000 and 20,000 acres respectively, but the relative increase 

 in the case of peas is almost double that of beans. 



The details of the cereal crops are given in the following 

 table : — 



Crop. 



1909. 



1908. 



Increase or Decrease. 





Acres. 



Acres. 



Acres. 



Per cent. 



Wheat 



I., 823, 563 



1,626,733 



+ 196,830 



+ I2'I 



Barley 



1,664,394 



1,667.437 



- 3.043 



- 0-2 



Oats 



2,981,789 



3,108,918 



- 127,129 



- 4*1 



Rye ... 



55.566 



52,744 



+ 2,822 



+ 5 "4 



Beans 



313,864 



295,024 



+ 18,840 



+ 6-4 



Peas... 



183,910 



163,739 



+ 20,171 



+ 12-3 



Among other crops, increases are almost general, the only 

 instances to the contrary being cabbage and kohl-rabi and 



