employees seems abnormal. It is, presumably, due to an in- 
crease in the number of persons returning themselves as small- 
holders. 
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 con- 
siderable 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.