186 JOURNAL OP THE BOYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



(6-4 per cent.), more especially in the Eastern counties. Lucerne shows a further 

 check to the extensions noted some years ago. The decline amounts to 4*2 per 

 cent., and the total this year is a trifle below that returned in 1902 ; Essex, the 

 chief lucerne-growing county, showing a decline of 1.253 acres. 



Among other crops there are returned 12,694 acres under carrots, 2,838 acres 

 under onions, and 441 under flax. The onion acreage, it may be noticed, has 

 increased by 513 acres, or 22 per cent. : and while this is noticeable in most 

 counties, it is most marked in Bedfordshire, where 148 acres have been added to 

 the 430 under this crop in 1904. 



A cp. e age of Woodlands and Trade ls~ Wood and Timber. 



Some of our readers will remember that two years ago * we referred 

 to the hope which had been expressed by the Departmental Committee of 

 the Board of Agriculture on Forestry, in their Report dated November 29. 

 1902. that u the inquiry conducted in 1895 concerning the area of wood- 

 lands be repeated by the Board of Agriculture, and the details concerning 

 the timber crop grown upon them be ascertained.'' We now notice with 

 pleasure that in the Acreage Returns of the Board of Agriculture for 1905 

 the suggestion has been carried out, and in the Memorandum prefacing 

 the Returns it is remarked that ■ the difficulties of securing an exhaustive 

 return of all land under wood have been pointed out in commenting on 

 the previous returns of this nature ; but it is believed that the special 

 pains taken by the officers of Inland Revenue in the distribution and 

 collection of the schedules have resulted in rendering the present return 

 substantially accurate. It is to be observed, however, that in some 

 instances the inclusion of woodland areas, which were formerly over- 

 looked, may tend to vitiate comparisons with previous figures for 

 particular counties or district?, and may account to some extent for 

 apparent increases in the areas returned. " 



The woodland area is now returned under the several categories of 

 (1) Coppice, ix. woods, whether containing standards or not, that are entirely 

 cut over periodically and reproduce themselves naturally by stool shoots ; 

 (2; Plantations, i.e. land planted or replanted within the last ten years ; 

 and (3) " Other Woods," which include all land (not returned as coppice 

 or plantation) used altogether or mainly for the growth of wood (other 

 than orchards), and the total figure:? are compared with those return ed 

 in 1895. 



Summarising the new returns geographically in the groups of counties 

 usually adopted for the purposes of the Agricultural Returns, the woodland 

 acreage of 1905 was distributed as follows : — 



Divisions 



Total 



Woodlands 

 in 1895 





Plantations 



(since 

 1895) 



Other 

 Woods 



Total 

 Woodlands 

 in 1905 



I. — Eastern and Norrh-Eastern 

 IL — South- Eastern awl East Midland 



III. — West Midland and Sooth- Western 



IV. — Northern and North- Western . 



Acres 



Acres 

 47.159 

 ?70.6 S3 



55,663 



Acres 

 11»97 

 15.580 

 16.156 

 16,614 



Acres 



lr?.-<t- 



Zl-JZG 



36v315 

 341.547 



469.589 

 393,824 



Exglantj 



V.— Walks 



VL— S- ' -tlavd < Ea-tern> . 

 VLL — „ (Western). 



L665.741 

 .<f 181,610 



; } 878,765 



53SJ23 

 15,733 

 8X45 

 14,370 



59,647 

 8,629 



12,639 



L.1 17,703 

 159.999 



4-; :.4--' 



39S.49S 



1,715.473 

 184.361 

 452.902 



415,507 



Totals for Great Britain . 



2,726.116 



576.871 



103,683 



*/ ?9 



2,768^43 



* B.H.S. 



Journal, vol. 



xxviii. p 



600. 







