362 Statistics affecting British Agricultural Interests. 
Of the total area of land used for agricultural purposes, 
about nineteen and a half millions of acres are arable land, and 
about twenty-seven and a half millions are pasture. Compared 
with the previous year, and considering Great Britain alone, 
there has been a diminution of the utilised area of 32,000 acres, 
there being a loss of 170,000 acres of arable land and a gain 
of 138,000 acres of permanent grass. 
Of the whole diminution in arable land, England alone 
takes up 118,000 acres, against which must be set an increase 
of 93,000 acres of pasture, leaving a net loss of 55,000 acres. 
The decrease in the preceding twelve months was 15,000 acres. 
Considering now the arable land as a whole, we find that 
the corn crops occupy about 42 per cent, of the total area in the 
United Kingdom, and about 55 per cent, in England. 
Of the area under corn crops, 4,189,000 acres, or rather 
more than half, was under oats, there having been a decrease of 
27,000 acres (about | per cent.) in this crop since the previous 
year. In fact, except in the case of wheat, where the area 
remained practically the same, there were decreases in all the 
corn crops. 
The total number of horses was practically the same as the 
previous year, there being an increase in those used for 
agricultural purposes of 12,500, while there was a decrease in 
unbroken horses of one year and upwards amounting to 16,500, 
against which must be set an increase of 3,500 in those under 
one year old. The total number of horses in the United 
Kingdom is now 2,088,595, and in England 1,179,902. 
In cattle there was a decrease in Great Britain of 6,933, but 
an increase of 109,680 in the United Kingdom and one of 
10,547 in England. There were decreases of 6,433 in Wales, 
and of 11,047 in Scotland. 
The increase in the number of sheep was over 1,324,000, 
bringing the total up to 31,336,000, while .the pigs increased by 
about 88,000, and now amount to 4,056,000. 
Acreage of Crops. 
The tables published this year are again brought up to date 
by means of information kindly supplied by Mr. Rew, Assistant 
Secretary of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries. 
Of the 56,200,000 acres comprised in the land surface of 
Great Britain, there were 32,211,381 shown as under crops and 
grass in 1908, or 32,000 less than in the previous year. These 
were divided among 508,629 holdings, giving an average of 
63‘3 acres per holding. In addition to this area there was an 
extent of 12,801,883 acres returned as mountain and heath land 
used for grazing. 
