812 
The Decline of Wheat-groiving in England. 
the Channel Islands), it yet, in effect, narrows itself down, espe- 
cially at the present time, to a discussion of the distribution of the 
wheat area within the limits of England alone. That this is so will 
become apparent from an examination of Table I., whei’ein is shown 
Table I . — Total Acreage of Wheat in England and 
the United Kingdom. 
Tear 
England 
Wales, Scotland, 
Ireland, &c. 
United Kingdom 
acres 
acres 
acres 
187] -75 average 
3,284,445 
452,695 
3,737,140 
1876-80 average 
2,863,287 
326,799 
3,190,086 
1881 
2,641,045 
326,014 
2,967,059 
1882 
2,829,491 
334,408 
3,163,899 
1888 
2,466,596 
246,686 
2,713,282 
1884 
2,530,711 
219,877 
2,750,588 
1886 
2,349,305 
203,787 
2,553,092 
1886 
2,161,126 
196,768 
2,357,894 
1887 
2,197,580 
189,938 
2,387,518 
1888 
2,418,674 
249,552 
2,668.226 
1889 
2,321,504 
233,045 
2,544,549 
1890 
2,265,694 
227,901 
2,483,595 
1891 
2,192,393 
199,852 
2,392,245 
1892 
2,102,969 
195,638 
2,298,607 
the acreage of wheat in England alone, the aggregate acreage in all 
otlier parts of the United Kingdom, and the total acreage of the 
United Kingdom, for each of the years specified. In the first line 
of figures are seen the average annual acreages for each of the fiv^e 
years 1871 to 1875 inclusive, and in the second line similar 
averages for the five years 1876 to 1880 inclusive. Then follow 
the actual acreages for each of the twelve years 1881 to 1892. 
The area devoted to wheat in Wales, Scotland, Ireland, &c., is seen 
to be only a small fraction of the area in England. In recent 
years, moreover, the disparity has been increasing, for it is calculable 
from the figures in Table I. that England — 
In 1871-76 had 87'89 percent, of the wheat acreage of United Kingdom. 
,, 18/6-80 „ 89' /O „ ,, „ „ „ 
,, 1882 ,, 89'43 ,, ,, „ ,, „ 
„ 1892 „ 91'49 ,, ,f „ „ „ 
Table I. further shows that whereas, in the early seventies, the 
wheat area of England averaged 3,284,445 acres, in 1892 it had 
fallen to 2,102,969 acres. During the last twenty years, therefore, 
the wheat area of England has shrunk one-third. 
In the Agricultural Returns for 1890 Major Craigie gave a 
statement showing the acreage of wheat in England in 1870, 1880, 
and 1890, and the proportion which these acreages respectively boro 
to the total cultivated area of England. This statement is extended 
in Table II., on the next page, so as to include the present year. 
