ENGLAND [AGRICULTURE. Land, in Ireland. The proportion of owners of land to inhabited popula- houses is 1 to 4 in England, 1 to 3 in Scotland, and 1 to tion, and j^ ^ n i re i a nd. In England, the average extent of land houses, kgij by eaa h owne r is 33 acres 3 roods 30 perches, while it is 143 acres 1 rood 6 perches in Scotland, and 293 acres 1 rood 32 perches in Ireland. The average estimated rental of each owner of land in England is 102, 3s., against 141, 8s. in Scotland, and 195, 3s. in Ireland. The According to the New Domesday Book, about two-thirds "upper of the landed property accounted for in the returns as ten thou existing in England and Wales is held by 10,207 owners, who, therefore, well deserve the old title of the " upper ten thousand." The following proprietors outside the metro polis are returned in 1873 as either holding upwards of 50,000 acres, or having estimated rentals exceeding 100,000 per annum : sand." Proprietor. County Acres. Rental. 181,616
161,874 Duke of Devonshire -I Derby, York (W R.), Lancaster, } 126,904 127,633 Sir W. W. Wynn, Bart. . 4 Denbigh, Montgomery, Meri-) oneth j 87,256 42,882 81,441 61,824 Earl of Carlisle Cumberland, Northumberland, ) York (N R ) f 78,540 49,601 Duke of Bedford Earl of Lonsdale Earl of Powis Duke of Rutland Bedford, Cambridge, Devon Westmoreland, Cumberland Montgomery, Salop Leicester, Derby 74,996 67,457 60,531 57,082 127,653 69,959 62,694 70,998 Earl of Derby Earl of Yarborough Lancaster, Derby Lincoln 56,471 cr <J7O 163,195 76,226 Lord Leconfield Sussex, York (E.R.), Cumberland.
- Vilts York (N.R)
54,615 5. ) 362 51,940 58 030 Carmarthen, Pembroke 51,517 34987 10,109 109 275 Sir J W. Ramsden Bart York (W R.) 8589 167 601 In some cases the estimated rental exceeds the income derived from the property. The average estimated rental value of the whole of the land is given at 3, Os. 2d. per acre, which is thrice that of Scotland, where the average is 19s. 9d. per acre, and four and a half times as much as in Ireland, where it is 13s. 4d. per acre. The comparatively high rental of the land in England and Wales, combined with the limited ownership of the soil, two-thirds being in the hands of little over ten thousand persons, and the rest divided among nearly a million, must have naturally the greatest influence on the state of agriculture of the country. To what extent this is the case, will be seen from the "Agri cultural Returns " annually published by the Government. These returns, drawn up under a well-organized system, on the basis of information regularly furnished by the occupiers of the land to the officers of the inland revenue, aicul- Divide tae whole of England, exclusive of Wales, into two tural re- great districts, the first being called the Weatern or " the turns Grazing division," and the second the Eastern or "the Corn-growing division," viz.: Division of land in the Grazing Counties. Northumberland. Cumberland. Durham. York, North and West Ridings. Westmoreland. Lancashire. Cheshire. Derby. Stafford. Leicester. Shropshire. Worcester. Hereford. Monmouth. Gloucester. Wilts. Dorset. Somerset. Devon. Cornwall. Corn Counties. York, East Riding. Lincolnshire. Nottingham. Rutland. Huntingdon. Warwick. Northampton. Cambridge. Norfolk. Suffolk. Bedford. Backs. Oxford. Berks. Hants. Hertford. Essex. Middlesex. Surrey, Kent. Sussex. Although the number of counties is nearly the same in each of these two groups, the total average is larger in the grazing than in the corn division in the ratio of 53 to 47 per cent, of total acreage under crops and grass in England. The following tables furnish a concise account of the acreage under crops and otherwise, together with the number of live stock, in the two divisions of grazing and corn-growing counties of England, according to the Agricultural Eeturns for the year 1877 : g ro con Grazing Counties. Corn Counties. Acreage. Per centage of Total. Acreage. Per centage of Total. Total acreage returned. Wheat 12,908,018 1,047,077 724,679 777,215 15,800 126,851 69,820 53-1 351 36-2 52-2 32-5 27-0 22-8 11,404,015 1,940,052 1,275,852 712,784 32,804 343,302 236,536 46-9 64-9 63-8 47-8 67-5 73-0 77-2 62-2 411 54-6 70-8 78.9 60-8 70-2 49-6 40-3 Barley Oats Rye . . . Beans .. . . . . Peas Total corn crops Potatoes 2,761,442 179,013 679,234 101,529 3,054 69,120 125,367 810,654 673,958 37-8 58-9 45-4 29-2 21-1 39-2 29-8 50-4 597 4,541,330 124,951 816,651 246,760 11,391 107,098 295,006 798,703 454,072 Turnips and swedes Mangold Carrots Cabbage, rape, &c. Vetches, lucerne, &c. . . . Grass , c , under H fw >V: rotation. )< t for hay. Total green crops ) and grass . ] 2,641,929 251,459 2,033,187 5,208,654 2,845 8,502 122,499 676,139 365,664 171,075 2,621,282 9,697,359 1,028,734 48-1 43-6 62-8 68-4 39-5 11-9 77-0 51-0 48-0 55-3 65-9 52-9 48-6 2,854,632 324,776 1,206,178 2,409,997 4,365 62,737 36,596 649,626 395,425 138,044 1,358,368 8,633,018 1,086,017 51-9 56-4 37 2 31-6 60-5 88-1 23-0 49-0 52-0 447 34-1 47-1 51-4 Bare fallow Permanent ( for hay pasture ( not for hay. Flax Hops Orchards, &c. . Woods, &c LIVE STOCK. Horses, for agriculture. Do., unbroken, and for breeding Cattle Sheep Pigs The following short statement gives a summary of the preceding table, showing the percentage of the distri bution of the acreage for each division : Grazing Counties. Corn- growing Counties. Percentage of Total Acreage in the DivL-ion. Percentage of Total Acreage in the Division. Acreage under Corn crops 21-4 9-0 6-3 5 2 1-9 157 40-4 39-8 14-0 7 4-0 , 2 8 10-6 211 Green crops Clover and other grass ( for hay under rotation ( not for hay . Bare fallow Permanent pasture for hay not for hay In the returns of the census of 1871, before given, the Dis total area of England was stated at 32,590,397 acres, and but that of Wales at 4,734,436 acres. In the Agricultural J Returns for the year 1877 it was reported that the total E j acreage under crops, bare fallow, and grass had come to be anc
24,312,033 acres in England, and 2,731,159 acres in Wa