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 AGRICULTURE table showing at intervals of ten years the area under the principal crops and the number of live stock officially returned in the county since 1867 : — A. Area under Crops Crops. ,S67. 1877. .887. i897.' .906. Acres. Acres. Acres. Acres. Acres. Wheat 105,598 98,697 70,343 47,427 41.978 Barley 40.477 43,018 47,618 39,502 33.193 Oats 54.167 54.509 47.771 47,738 46,591 Rye 616 608 1.493 1.256 938 Beans 23,650 17,820 13,555 7,463 7,518 Peas 19.447 20,864 19,754 14,272 11,624 Total Corn 243,955 235,516 200,534 157,658 141,842 Potatoes 9,502 13,576 15,870 13,067 14,512 Turnips and Swedes. . . 33,297 27,095 24,781 21,582 17,059 Mangold 8,294 12,113 ii,8u 10,856 12,273 Clover and Rotation Grasses. 55,770 59,849 57.134 52,488 36,466 Hops 40,762 45,984 40,037 31,661 29,296 Small Fruit [12,344]' 22,080 22,146 Other Crops 26,372 31,030 32,561 27,050 31,045 Bare Fallow 13.908 10,178 8,913 10,902 7,249 Total Arable Land. , . . 431,860 435,341 391.641 347,344 311,888 Permanent Pasture .... 288,280 302,722 358,273 402,028 429,166 Total Cultivated Land. . . 720,140 738,063 749,914 749.372 741,054 B. Nuv ber of Live Stock - 1867. 1877. 1887. 1897. 1906. No. No. No. No. No. Horses — 29,616 28,041 27,641 27,679 Cows and Heifers .... 24,500 26,355 31,985 32,945 39.144 Total Cattle 68,137 64,597 75,222 76,447 93,251 Sheep 1.063,414 971,098 943,418 934,698 910,368 Pigs 75,570 64,654 54,678 57,135 60,979 Note. — The above figures apply to the stock kept in the county in the summer time. From the prevailing practice of the county it may be assumed that a winter census would show more cattle and fewer sheep. It will be seen that in 1867 arable land occupied three-fifths, and in 1907 only two-fifths of the cultivated surface, the decline being heaviest in vheat, beans, peas, clover and turnips. The grass area shows a corresponding extension. As regards live stock the chief features to be noticed are the large increase in cattle, especi- ally cows, indicating possibly an extension of dairying, and the steady decline in the number of sheep, of which, however, Kent still maintains a larger number per acre than any otherEnglish county. None of the foregoing changes have been peculiar to Kent, which has only shared, in some cases to a greater, in others to a lesser degree in movements which have been general throughout the country. But in one feature of its agriculture the experience of Kent during the last eleven years presents a striking contrast to that of nearly every other part of the country, for while there has been a distinct tendency in England for medium-sized holdings to increase in number 1 In the formation of the County of London in 1893, 19,570 acres were taken from the area of Kent. « In 1888. 459