7 
has been sought from occupiers in the annual return on many 
occasions. Unfortunately, however, and for no very obvious 
reasons, many occupiers, even those who otherwise fill in the 
rest of the return willingly and accurately, evince great reluctance 
to answer the question as to whether they own the holding ; and, 
in addition, examination has shown a number of cases where the 
statements made by the same person in respect of the same holding 
in different years were such as to give rise to doubt as to their 
accuracy. In the circumstances any available statistics can 
only be regarded with great reserve.* 
At the same time it is estimated that over 25 per cent. of 
the holdings in the country, comprising a fairly similar percentage 
of the total acreage of crops and grass, are owned by their occu- 
piers. It can also be stated with certainty that these percentages 
are considerably higher now than at the end of the war and that 
the increase is very largely due to the purchase of holdings by 
their occupiers at a time when many large estates were changing 
hands and being broken up. 
* Details of the returns actually received in different years are given 
in Part I of the Agricultural Statistics for 1924.