Wheat and Sheep in England in 1893 . 
871 
nities of inspecting in England considerable areas of land which are 
described as “ out of cultivation.” In many cases such land is occu- 
pied by old “ seeds ” (sometimes old sainfoin layers) which it has 
not been considered profitable to break up, which cannot any longer 
yield a crop to the mowing-machine, and which is only occasionally 
utilised — if at all — as a sheep-run, or as affording rough grazing for 
cattle. It seems not at all improbable that much of the land which, 
in happier circumstances, might this year have been under wheat is 
to be found amongst the abandoned acres to which reference is here 
made. It was this idea that led to an examination of the figures 
relating to permanent pasture “ not for hay,” a summary of which 
for the United Kingdom is given in Table VIII. (p. 873). The increase 
of 319,412 acres under this head, as there shown for England 
alone, is greater than the diminution of 304,100 acres which simul- 
taneously occurred in the wheat area of England. The detailed 
Table VI. — The Areas of Permanent Pasture , or Grass nt>t Broken 
up in Rotation (Exclusive of Mountain and Heath Land), in the 
United Kingdom. 
1893 
1892 
1893 compared with 1892 
Increase 
Decrease 
acres 
acres 
acres 
acres 
England . 
13.128,378 
13,036,971 
91,407 
— 
Wales 
1,998,400 
1,982,930 
15,476 
— 
England and Wales 
15,126,784 
15,019,901 
106,883 

Scotland . 
1,365,783 
1,338,249 
27,534 
— 
Great Britain 
16,492,567 
16,358,150 
134,417 

Ireland 
United Kingdom 
(including Isle of Man 
11,175,844 
11,142,287 
33,557 
and Channel Islands) 
27,700,381 
27,533,326 
167,055 
— 
figures (Table IX. p. 874) show that only in eight English counties is 
there a decrease of permanent pasture “ not for hay,” whilst the 
increases are often large and significant. Somerset heads the 
list in absolute area, with an increase of as much as 32,202 
acres ; Essex follows with an increment of 27,458 acres,, and 
Sussex with an accession of 24,217 acres. As many as ten 
other counties exhibit an increase ranging between 10,000 and 
20,000 acres ; these are Wilts, Hants, Kent, Gloucester, Dorset, 
Lincoln, Berks, Oxford, Buckingham, and Cornwall. 
The area lost to wheat in England cannot be accounted for by 
increased areas of barley and oats. In 1893 England returned 42,015 
acres more barley and 148,910 acres more oats than in 1892, but 
these together make only 190,925 acres, as against the simultaneous 
loss of 304,100 acres in the wheat area. The figures for oats are suffi- 
ciently interesting to be set forth by themselves in Table X. (p. 875). 
