100 The Alteration in the Distribution of the Agricultural 
and Wales. In 1881 the number had fallen to 223,943, a decline of 25,9G4, or 
of 10'39 per cent. It is true that in 1871 " retired farmers " were included 
in the reckoning, whereas this was not the case in 1881. But, as has been 
previously stated, the allowance to be made on this account is probably at the 
outside some two jier cent. ; so that the decline in the number of farmers was 
veal and very considerable. Moreover, coincideiitly with this decline in the 
number of farmers, there was a notable increase in the number of farm 
bailiffs. In 1871 these had numbered 16,476, but in 1881 they had risen to 
19,377, that is, had increased nearly 18 per cent. These figures clearly point 
to the surrendering of farm-holdings by tenant farmers, and their ciiltivation 
by the owner himself or his bailiff. 
As regards agricultural labourers, there was also doubtlessly a very consider- 
able decline in the interval between the last two enumerations, but it is difh- 
cult to deal satisfactorily with this class, because of the confusion between 
agricultural and other labourers in the schedules. Special attention was 
called this time to the importance of carefully stating the exact kind of labour 
in the schedules, and, owing to this, the returns of agricultural labourers were 
probably more complete in 1881 than on any jirevious occasion. At any rate 
we may be perfectly assured that the returns were fully as complete as in 
1871, so that any apparent decline in the numbers of this class of persons will 
be, if anything, below and not above the mark, if we take care to allow the 2 
per cent, already mentioned for the omission ia 1881 of retired or super- 
annuated labourers from the account. iS'ow, in 1871, the agricultural labourers, 
the indoor farm servants, the shepherds, and the persons returned simply as 
cottagers, amounted together to 981,988, or, after deduction of 2 jjer cent, 
for the superannuated, to 962,348, whereas iu 1881 they numbered only 870,798. 
There was thus a decline of some 91,550, or of nearly 10 per cent., ia this 
class of labourers. There was also a slight decline in another group of persons 
who may be regarded as an upper kind of farm labourei s, namely, the sous, 
grandsons, and nephews of farmers, returned as living in the farmhouse and yet 
not stated to have had any definite occupation. These male relatives of 
farmers, who may be assumed to have been engaged in farm work, fell from 
76,466 in 1871, to 75,197 in 1881. 
This decline in the number of agricultural labourers was apparently not due 
to any falling-ofl" in the amount of land under cultivation ; for it appears from 
the Agricultural Returns that tliough the total acreacre of arable land ip Eng- 
land and Wales fell from 14,946,179 in 1871 to 13,977,662 in 1881, yet this 
decline was nmch more than compensated by an increase in the permanent 
pasture from 11,376,298 to 13,471,238 acres; so that the acreage of arable aud 
pasture land together had risen from 26,322,477 in 1871, to 27,448,900 in 
1881, an increase of 1,126,423 acres, or of 4'28 per cent. To what extent the 
exchange of 968,517 acres of arable land for 2,094,940 acres of permanent 
pasture would afl'ect the amount of labour required for cultivation is a 
question which we must leave to agricultural experts. 
Some small indication, however, of a reason for the decline in the number 
of agricultural labourers is i)erhaps to be found in the fiict that the proprietors 
of, and attendants on, agricultural machines, who only numbered 2,100 in 
1871, had increased to 4,260 in 1881, that is to say, they had doubled in num- 
ber in the course of the ten years. Machinery had taken the place of liand 
labour. In 1871 the ratio of agricultural labourers of one kind or other to 
cultivated land was 3'95 labourers to 100 acres; in 1881 the jjroportion of 
labourers to the same area was 3 45, that is to say, the labour had diminished 
by J2'7 ])er cent, for like areas of cultivation. 
Although general labourers are not grouped in the agricultural class, witii 
which we are now more especially concerned, yet, inasmuch as there is 
