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employees seems abnormal. It is, presumably, due to an increase in the number of persons returning themselves as smallholders. From 1871 to 1901 the numbers of males employed on farms showed a steady decline at the rate of nearly 10,000 per annum. Between 1901 and 1911, however, there was an increase, but this was followed by a further decline in 1921. Between 1901 and 1921 there was a reduction of 57,605, or about 8 per cent. The numbers of female agricultural workers showed a considerable increase in 1921 and this is probably due to the inclusion of women who took up land work during and after the war. For the purpose of the present Report, it is not necessary to attempt any detailed or critical examination of these figures. The general tendency towards a decline in the number of male workers employed is clearly indicated by the fact that the total returned fell from 1,015,000 in 1871 to 842,000 in 1891, and then to 663,000 in 1921. This movement was probably the result of several causes, among which the decrease in arable cultivation and the increased use of machinery are no doubt the most important. In the next chapter information is given as to the extent to which motive power is now used on farms. On the other hand, if we look only at the last 20 years and take both male and female workers (excluding female relatives, for which the: figures are doubtful), the decrease is much less noticeable as there appear to have been 696,000 persons employed in agriculture in 1921 as compared with 733,000 in 1901. There are two other main groups of labour employed on land cultivation—viz., agricultural machine attendants and gardeners, nurserymen, ete., returned as working for employers—but the latter group includes gardeners employed in pleasure and domestic gardens and ornamental grounds, and comparable figures for the number employed in market gardening, etc., are not available for the different censuses. As regards workers employed on agricultural machines and tractors, the number of males returned as employées has increased from 5,085 in 1901 to 9.770 in 1921. Agricultural employment as shown in the Industry Tables of the Population Census.—Some additional information, particularly as regards the employment of gardeners, is provided by the “ Industry ” classification of the 1921 census. The industry in which each individual is classed has been determined (whatever may have been his personal occupation) by reference to the business for the purpose of which his occupation was followed. Thus in the case of persons working for an employer it is the nature of the employer’s business which determines the industry under which such persons are classified. This classification is much more detailed than in 1911, and it affords a clearer indication of the distribution of persons in agriculture than has hitherto been provided in the census reports.