Taking the single years 1871 and 1925 the arable area declined by 
about 4,300,000 acres from 14,950,000 acres in 1871 to 10,680,000 
acres in 1925 and the proportion of arable land from 56-8 per 
cent. to 41-5 per cent.; at the same time permanent grass 
increased from 11,380,000 to 15,070,000 acres, a gain of 3,700,000 
acres, while the proportion of permanent grass rose from 43-2 
per cent. to 58-5 per cent. The changes in the relative pro- 
portions are of course affected by the changes in the total culti- 
vated area mentioned. 
The movement to transform arable into pasture may have 
been operative even before 1870, but it was accentuated by the 
depression which set in during the following decade and was 
continued up to the outbreak of war. Under the stimulus of 
war conditions and controlled prices the arable acreage was 
considerably extended, mostly at the expense of the grass area, 
but with the termination of the war and the subsequent slump 
In prices, which was more marked in the case of cereals than 
In that of animal products, the war-time gain in arable acreage 
has been lost. Thus, omitting war-time fluctuations, there has 
been a steady and continuous decrease in arable cultivation. 
Before the war it was not a very rapid movement, the fall 
between 1901-05 and 1911-15 being 780,000 acres, or about 
7 per cent. in 10 years. The average area in 1921-25 was much 
the same as in 1911-15, but the area in the last year of the 
period, viz., 1925, was only 10,680,000 acres, and the rate of 
decrease seems to be now somewhat higher than before the war. 
Reference may be made here to the very noticeable change 
which occurred in the returns in the year 1918. In that year 
the arable area was increased by 1,153,000 acres to 12,399,000 
acres, and at the same time there was a decrease in permanent 
grass of 1,247,000 acres to 14,589,000 acres. In succeeding 
years the arable area declined until in 1925 it reached the figure 
above mentioned of 10,680,000 acres; but the area under 
Permanent grass only increased to 15,070,000 acres. 
Broadly it may be said that one-third of the cultivated land 
of the country (excluding rough grazings) is now ploughed 
annually, while two-thirds are either permanent grass or 
rotation grasses. If we take the total agricultural area (te. 
arable, permanent grass and rough grazings) the proportion 
Which is ploughed annually is naturally much smaller. The 
Proportions vary enormously in different parts of the country 
and this is shown graphically by counties in Map IV. The 
extent of grass land of one sort or another is very striking. 
8. The arable area : tillage crops and clover and rotation 
grasses.— The arable area of the country may be divided into two 
Main groups, viz., clover and rotation grasses, and the land actually 
ploughed in any one year. For many years after the first collec- 
tion of acreage returns the area of clover and rotation grasses, 
although exhibiting considerable fluctuations from year to year, 
y: Cy