The question is further discussed in Chapter VII (Number 
and size of holdings), but it is mentioned here as affording an 
indication of an area of land, some of which is perhaps only 
partially or incidentally used for agriculture. 
5. Rough Grazings.—Another aspect of the same question 
arises in regard to the very large area of land returned under 
the heading “ Mountain, Heath, Moor or Down Land and other 
rough land used for grazing.” This area falls into two groups 
(1) land returned by the occupier and over which he has sole 
grazing rights, and (2) land which is grazed in common, that is, 
land over which a number of persons have grazing rights. As 
regards this latter group, mainly mountain and hill land, it has 
only been possible to estimate the area in a very approximate 
manner.* The persons possessing grazing rights are not usually 
aware of the actual area involved and the cost of anything of 
the nature of a survey would be prohibitive. 
In the case of land returned by the occupier who possesses 
the sole grazing rights, the area given should be approximately 
accurate, but where the rough grazings are of the mountain type 
the occupier’s knowledge of the area is frequently somewhat 
indefinite. Apart from the purely mountain and hill land, 
considerable difficulty arises from the fact that it is not always 
possible to distinguish clearly between rough grazing land and 
permanent pasture with the result that the same areas are re- 
turned sometimes in one category and sometimes in the other. 
There has, however, been a substantial increase in the area of 
rough grazings returned by occupiers, and this has been particu- 
larly the case since the war. In a substantial proportion of cases 
the increase in rough grazings is attributed by the crop reporters 
either to the deterioration of poor pasture or alternatively to 
land being now returned as rough grazings which was ploughed 
up during the war and subsequently allowed to revert to pasture 
without proper seeding. In other cases it is merely due to the 
distinction between indifferent pasture and rough grazing land 
not being precisely defined. Some part of the increase is also 
due to the fact that the expression rough grazings which 
was formerly defined merely as mountain and heath land has 
since 1921 been more fully explained as Mountain, Heath, 
Moor or Down Land and other rough land used for grazing.” 
6. Changes in the Agricultural Area over 50 years.—During 
the past half-century the area of land used for agricultural 
purposes as returned each year to the Ministry by occupiers of 
agricultural holdings has shown some very considerable fluctua- 
tions. There are several possible causes. The growth of the 
* The area of rough land grazed in common is not estimated annually. 
In the year 1921 the area was estimated at 1,020,000 acres, and as a result 
of further information received in the next four years, this figure was 
increased to 1,100,000 acres in 1925. Previous to 1921, only about 
533.000 acres of common land seem to have been included in the Returns.