Statistics affecting British Agricultural Interests. 381 
[Continued from page 365.] 
and of 820,700 quarters on the yield of 1906. The area devoted 
to it had decreased by 130,200 acres, and the average yield per 
acre had fallen from 33*96 bushels per acre in 1907 to 32*29 in 
1908. The decrease was most marked in Wales, where it 
amounted to 15T7 per cent, of the yield in 1907, the percentage 
in England being 4*63, and in Scotland 5*03, while tnat for the 
whole of Great Britain was 4*86. No doubt the changeable 
weather in May and June had a detrimental effect on this and 
the other crops, though the subsequent weather was favourable 
to them. 
The Barley crop of 1908 was proportionately much worse 
than the wheat, the total diminution since the year before 
being 707,192, or 9*37 per cent, in Great Britain. In England 
the diminution was 577,306 quarters, or 10*76 per cent.; in 
Wales it was 24,153 quarters, or 6*92 per cent. ; and in Scotland 
it was only 5,733 quarters, or 0*63 per cent. The total yield of 
barley in 1908 was 6,839,081 quarters as compared to 7,546,273 
in 1907. 
In 1908, Oats in Great Britain gave a yield of 15,467,616 
quarters, being 1,331,400 less than in the previous year, and 
showing a falling off of 7*92 per cent, in Great Britain, 12*83 
per cent, in England, and 8*88 per cent, in Wales, while in 
Scotland there was an increase of 4*85 per cent. The average 
yield per acre in Great Britain had fallen from 43*04 bushels in 
1907 to 39*80 this last year. Beans and Peas also, unfortunately, 
showed a falling off, in the former case of 16*62 per cent., and 
in the latter of 8*03 per cent. As these two crops are cultivated 
mostly in England, the loss falls almost entirely on that part of 
Great Britain. 
When we turn to Potatoes we have the satisfaction of 
finding that the total produce in Great Britain amounted to 
3,919,800 tons, an increase on the yield of the previous year of 
no less than 942,300 tons, or 31*65 per cent. ; the increase in 
England was 621,725 tons, or 29*64 per cent. ; in Wales, 36,497 
tons, or 31*69 per cent. ; and in Scotland, 284,091 tons, or 37*16 
per cent. This increase is all the more satisfactory, coming 
as it does after the previous bad season. 
Turnips and Swedes showed an increase in Great Britain of 
1,652,489 tons, the total being 23,738,207 tons. This gives a 
percentage increase of 7*48 per cent, for the whole, but we 
must note that in England there was a decrease of 180,000 tons, 
or 1*23 per cent, in the total yield, while the yield per acre fell 
from 13*86 to 13*76. In all parts of Great Britain the yield 
was considerably over the average of the preceding ten years. 
There was a general increase of 1*28 tons per acre over the 
previous year, England, however, showing a decrease of 
0*10 tons per acre. The crop of Mangolds gave a yield 
