* individual counties with the highest yields are Lincoln (Holland) and Isle of Ely, each of which average over 20 cwt. per acre. Low yields are found in most Welsh counties, the lowest being Radnor, with little over 12 cwt. to the acre. In Surrey, Hampshire, Worcester, Gloucester and Devonshire the yield is no higher than between 15 and 16 cwt. About one-half the wheat acreage of England and Wales (1,500,000 acres in 1925) is in the eastern and north-eastern divisions and the total production of these divisions in 1925 amounted to 713,000 tons, or 52 per cent. of the total wheat production of the country, which was 1,360,000 tons. Barley. As in the case of wheat, by far the largest acreage of barley is found in the eastern and north-eastern divisions. The ratio of the barley acreage to total arable acreage (shown in Map VI) is greatest in Rutland and Norfolk with 29 and 26 per cent. respectively, but barley now occupies only 12 per cent. of the arable acreage of England and Wales, whereas in 1880 it occupied 15 per cent. Norfolk and Rutland show small increases in the proportion of barley to the total arable area as compared with 1880, and other important counties, e.g. Suffolk, Yorkshire (North Riding) and Northampton (with the Soke of Peterborough), show little reduction. The heaviest yields are obtained in Lincoln (Holland) and Isle of Ely, with averages of 18 to 19 cwt. per acre, Cornwall coming next with over 17 cwt. Norfolk, Northampton and Rutland produce on the average rather. under 15 cwt. The yield per acre in the northern division is higher than in any other, averaging 15 cwt. Of the total barley acreage (1,318,000 acres in 1925) 57 per cent. is found in the eastern and north-eastern counties, which with an average yield per acre of 15.2 and 16.3 cwt. respectively provided 59 per cent. of the total production in 1925 (598,000 tons out of 1,010,000 tons). Oats. The growing of oats is much more widely diffused over the country than either wheat or barley and 17 per cent. of the arable area was devoted to this crop in 1925. As will be seen from Map VII it is grown largely in the north-western counties. Over 30 per cent. of the arable area in Cumberland, Westmorland, Lancashire and Cheshire, and also in Carmarthen, is devoted to oats, while in most of the Welsh counties the proportion lies between 25 and 30 per cent. Between 20 and 25 per cent. is found under oats in the northern group of counties and Derby and Stafford of the north-western, as also in Devon, Hampshire, Sussex, Glamorgan and Monmouth. Oats are grown least in proportion to the arable area in the eastern counties from Lincolnshire southwards and in a narrow belt of land running westwards from the Wash to the Bristol Channel. Since the year 1880, the proportion of oats to total arable acreage has increased from 12 to 17 per cent. in England and Wales. The increase * The average yields per acre referred to in this chapter are averages of the ten years, 1915-24. has been general; no counties except Westmorland and Middlesex, and one or two in North Wales, show a smaller proportion of their arable land under oats than was the case in 1880. The total area of oats in 1925 was 1,868,000 acres. The highest oat yields are found in the east of the country. During the 10 years 1915-24, the north eastern counties averaged 15.5 cwt. and the eastern counties 14.7 cwt. per acre, the remaining divisions ranging from 10.9 cwt. in South Wales to 13.6 cwt. in the northern counties. Thus, although the northeastern and eastern divisions had together only 26 per cent. of the total oat acreage in 1925, their contribution to the total oat production amounted to 30 per cent. or 415,000 tons out of the total production of 1,379,000 tons. Mixed Corn.-The growing of mixed corn crops is of comparatively little importance, except in a few counties of which Cornwall is the chief. The total area in 1925 was only 124,000 acres. The mixed corn crops of the south-west and Wales are mixtures of barley and oats, and provide fodder for live stock. On the other hand, much of the mixed corn returned in other parts of the country is a result of patching winter crops which have done badly. In Cornwall this crop generally gives a heavier yield than oats, and in 1925 gave a yield of 18.4 cwt. as compared with 14.9 cwt. for oats and 18.2 cwt. for barley. Similarly in Wales, mixed corn usually gives higher yields than oats in those counties where a fair acreage is grown. The total production of mixed corn in England and Wales in 1925 was 94,000 tons, of which 35,000 tons were produced in Cornwall, 9,200 tons in Devon and 10,700 tons in Wales. Rye. The total area under rye in England and Wales (50,000 acres in 1925) represents an insignificant proportion of the arable area. Most counties have small areas of rye, the counties with the largest areas being Suffolk, Norfolk, Lincoln (Lindsey), Nottingham, Hampshire and the East, North and West Ridings of Yorkshire. It is estimated that over the whole country about three quarters of the crop is allowed to ripen, the remainder being grazed or cut green for fodder. Estimates of production have only been made in the last two years, and in 1925 the total production of grain was estimated at 26,000 tons, or nearly 14 cwt. per acre. Beans and Peas.-Only about 3 per cent. of the arable land of the country is devoted to beans and peas, the former covering a larger area than the latter. By far the greatest acreage is found in the eastern and north eastern counties. Huntingdon, Suffolk, Essex, Bedford, Lincoln (Holland) and Worcester have over 4 per cent. of their arable area under beans, and the same counties with the exception of Bedford have 3 per cent. or more under peas. The average yield per acre of beans is lowest in the eastern counties (where the acreage is greatest) with less than 15 cwt. and highest in the comparatively unimportant south-western counties, where it reaches over 16 cwt. Of the total production of 159,000 tons in 1925 the eastern and north-eastern divisions together contributed 109,000 tons or 69 per cent. and the east midlands 22,000 tons or 14 per cent. The four divisions (eastern, north-eastern, south-eastern and east midlands) in which appreciable areas of peas are grown are remarkably uniform in average yield, all recording an average of between 13 and 14 cwt. per acre during the period 1915 to 1924, although of these the division with the largest acreage, the eastern, has the lowest yield, 13.3 cwt. per acre. The total production in 1925 amounted to 64,000 tons, of which 47,300 tons or 74 per cent. were obtained in the eastern and north-eastern divisions. The production of beans and peas given above excludes, however, the yield from those areas where the crop is picked or cut green and is thus by no means representative of the total production of the country. The total area of beans in 1925 was 191,000 acres and of peas 131,000 acres, and about 6 per cent. of the acreage of beans and no less than 33 per cent. of that of peas, were returned as for picking or cutting green in 1925, the great bulk being for picking green. These are dealt with in Section (f) of this Chapter with other vegetable crops grown for human consumption. (b) Potatoes.* Lincoln (Holland) and the Isle of Ely are pre-eminent for potato growing having in relation to total arable area 28 per cent. and 20 per cent. respectively under potatoes, while Lancashire and Cheshire come next with 18 and 12 per cent. respectively. No other county exceeds 12 per cent., but Bedford, Huntingdon, Lincoln (Lindsey and Kesteven), Soke of Peterborough, Yorkshire (West Riding) and Stafford have from 6 to 9 per cent., and the two groups of counties comprising all those to which reference has been made may be regarded as the chief producing areas of the nation's potato supply. Outside these areas, Durham (8 per cent. of the arable area) grows potatoes for the industrial north, and Middlesex (10 per cent.) and Kent and Surrey (6 per cent.) for the London area. Elsewhere the proportion of potatoes to total arable area ranges from 1 per cent. to 5 per cent., such districts producing almost entirely for local consumption. There is, however, an important movement of early potatoes from Cornwall, these potatoes being on the market before any are available from other parts of the country. Map VIII shows the area of potatoes per 100 acres of arable land in each county. The smallest acreage of potatoes recorded was in 1878, the increase in the area under potatoes between that year and 1925 * See also Report on the Marketing of Potatoes in England and Wales. Economic Series No. 9. 1926. |