less than this number in Wales. In Northumberland, Durham, Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire, and also in the Welsh counties without exception, more sheep are now kept per 1,000 acres of cultivated land than was the case 50 years ago. Everywhere else there has been a substantial reduction, the only counties in which the reduction is less than 30 per cent. being Yorkshire, Cheshire, Kent, Salop, Hereford and Devon. In Bedford, Huntingdon and Cambridge, the numbers per 1,000 acres in 1925 were less than one third of those recorded 50 years earlier. These figures emphasise what has already been pointed out, that sheep raising has only maintained its position in counties in which there are substantial areas of rough grazing land. Wales, the four northernmost counties of England and Lancashire, where the flocks have increased during the past 50 years, have nearly 60 per cent. of the rough grazings of the country, and if to these are added the counties in which the reduction in sheep is less than 30 per cent. the proportion is 80 per cent. of the rough grazings. The number of lambs born each year is somewhat greater than the number of ewes, the highest proportion being in the midland counties and the smallest in Wales. At the beginning of June 1925, lambs averaged 110 to every 100 ewes in England and 90 in Wales, over 125 lambs per 100 ewes occurring in Yorkshire (East Riding), Nottingham, Leicester, Northampton and Warwick. In some of the early lambing counties, the number of lambs shown in the returns is small, notably the Isle of Wight where over one half of the year's lambs appear to have been fattened and slaughtered by June. To a smaller extent this is also the case in Hampshire and Dorset. Sheep over 1 year old, other than rams and ewes, are much less numerous than formerly, and form only 17 per cent. of the total sheep in the country. Ewes and other sheep of over one year were not separately distinguished until 1893, at which date other sheep above one year old formed 25 per cent. of the total flocks. The reduction in the numbers of sheep over one year old, other than ewes, has occurred throughout the country, even in those counties in which the total numbers of sheep have increased. Early maturity is quite as potent a force among sheep as among cattle, and home-produced mutton consists much more largely of lamb and young mutton, than was the case 50 years ago. Sheep are similar to cattle in that the distribution in June gives no accurate indication of the relative importance of the different counties from the point of view of mutton supply. The first lamb sales occur shortly after the collection of the particulars on the 4th June, and the movement from one part of the country to another is heavy during August to October. census taken in the autumn or winter would show a different A state of affairs regarding the distribution of the sheep population from that revealed by the June figures. 4. Pigs.*-War-time slaughterings of pigs reduced the numbers to about 1,700,000, but this substantial reduction was followed by an equally striking recovery, the numbers in 1924 being well over 3,000,000 and the highest ever recorded. On the whole, however, apart from annual fluctuations, there has been no material change, and the average numbers in the decade 1916-25, embracing both the minimum and maximum numbers during the whole period are within 1 per cent. of those of the first decade recorded. The average number in 1916-25 was 2,290,000. The five-year average 1921-25 was 2,658,000, and it remains to be seen whether this higher figure will be maintained in future. The distribution of pigs in different counties is shown in Table 15 and Map XIV. On the whole the pig population is densest in the eastern counties. East Suffolk, Middlesex and the Isle of Wight have more than 250 pigs per 1,000 acres of crops and grass, and six counties-West Suffolk, Cambridge, Isle of Ely, Norfolk, Kent and Cornwall-have between 150 and 250, only West Suffolk of these exceeding 200. The smallest numbers are in Northumberland, Cumberland, Westmorland and Radnor, with 30 or less per 1,000 acres. As compared with 1908 most eastern counties had larger numbers per 1,000 acres in 1925, but the opposite was the case in the west and north of England and in Wales. In most counties there has been no substantial change in the numbers of pigs on farms over the last 50 years, but a few alterations of importance may be recorded. The total number of pigs in 1872 was practically the same as in 1925, but in seven counties (Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridge, Kent and Middlesex in the east, Lancashire in the north-west and Cornwall in the south-west) there were between these two years increases of 30 or more pigs per 1,000 acres of crops and grass, while in seven counties (Bedford, Berkshire, Buckingham, Oxford, Cumberland, Anglesey and Merioneth) decreases of 30 or more per 1,000 acres were recorded. As the average for the whole country is about 100 pigs per 1,000 acres of crops and grass, a change of as much as 30 represents a substantial alteration in the number of pigs kept. 5. Horses. As will be seen from Table 12 in the Appendix, which gives the number of horses returned for five-year periods from 1871-75, there have been changes in the descriptions of horses included in the annual returns, which make comparison over any long period somewhat uncertain. The following table gives figures for the various classes of horses in each of the last five years : * Detailed statistics in regard to pigs in England and Wales are given in the Ministry's Report on the Marketing of Pigs, Economic Series, No. 12. NUMBER OF HORSES ON AGRICULTURAL HOLDINGS EXCEEDING ONE ACRE IN ENGLAND AND WALES. During these years the number of horses used for agricultural purposes has been slowly but steadily declining. As would be expected, "other horses," which include saddle and carriage horses and vanners, are also decreasing. The reduction in the number of unbroken horses is very noticeable and indicates a marked decline in horse breeding. 6. Poultry. In considering the numbers of poultry in the country it must be remembered that the Ministry's returns relate only to holdings of over one acre in extent, and the numbers kept on cottage holdings and in gardens which are outside the scope of the returns are very considerable, while large numbers are kept in towns. Apart from this, however, the returns of the numbers of poultry are not likely to be so exact as those of other live stock, since many occupiers do not themselves know the precise numbers of poultry kept and are in many cases disinclined to take trouble in regard to a class of stock which they regard as of minor importance. For this reason the figures may be understated to a small extent, though they no doubt show accurately enough the relative importance of poultry keeping on farms in the different districts of the country. Returns of the number of poultry have only been collected at infrequent intervals, and the following table gives the numbers on agricultural holdings at the date of each return. The number of poultry in 1925 has been estimated on the basis of the changes in numbers as shown by the returns of 1924 and 1926. |