460 
Alloirtienis and Small Holdings. 
United Kingdom has inci’eased by more than 10,000,000, corre- 
sponding to nearly 40 per cent., during the last forty years (1851 
to 1891). Under the influence of free trade in grain, so essential 
for the prosperity of the country in other respects, the area under 
wheat has, comparing the first four with the last four of the last 
forty harvest-years (1852-3 to 1891-2), been reduced by about 
38 per cent., and the total home produce of the crop has declined 
in neai’ly the same proportion. The imports of this staple article 
of food of the people have, on the other hand, increased by about 
300 per cent. ; with a result that, whilst during the earlier years 
of the period only about one-fourth of the wheat consumed was 
imported, in the later yeai’s more than two-thirds have been 
obtained from foreign sources. Lastly, a very important con- 
sideration for the home producer has been, that the ] rice of 
wheat per quarter has gone down from an average of 57s. 8d. 
over the first eight of the last forty harvest-years to only 32s. 5cZ. 
over the last eight years, corresponding to a decline of 44 per 
cent. It may be added that the average price for the month just 
past (August, 1892) was below 30s. per quarter. 
Further, as a natural result of increased foreign competi- 
tion, and reduction in price, our own area under barley has 
also somewhat diminished. A result of the reduction of grain 
area is that, comparing the first five of the last twenty-five 
years (the period for which official returns are available) with 
the last five, our total arable area has diminished by about 
2^ million acres, though that of permanent grass has in a much 
greater degree increased, and with this our live-stock has in- 
creased, and the total agricultural area has also increased. 
According to the returns, the area under permanent grass has 
increased by nearly 4§ million acres, and that of the total agri- 
cultural area by nearly 2 million acres ; or, to put it in another 
way, the arable area has diminished by more than 11 per cent., 
the area under permanent grass has increased by more than 
20 per cent., and that of the total agricultural area has increased 
by more than 4 per cent. But, at any rate so far as the increase 
in permanent grass, and that in total agricultural area, are con- 
cerned, the figures are probably too high, part of the result 
being doubtless due to the inclusion in later years of areas not 
previously returned as permanent grass. 
It may be observed that a series of unproductive seasons, not 
only in our own country but in Western Europe generally, which 
culminated in 1879, but continued for some years later, led to a 
more rapid reduction in our own area under the crop, and con- 
currently to the opening up of large wheat-growing areas in 
various parts of the world, and at the same time to greatly in- 
